#i really like savory bread over sweet bread though - the white bread in america is SO sweet i hate it. whole wheat is where it's at ����

[shalom-iamcominghome]

I tried out a new challah recipe! It's a very soft bread and, if it makes sense, has a thin bite to it (as in, it's a very light bread). The dough was also surprisingly pleasant to work with! I didn't have to alter much of it at all in order to get to work

There's honey in it (I hate honey), but it's baked out pretty well, though it hasn't been baked out well enough that it can be a savory bread. If you added cinnamon or chocolate chips or something to sweeten it, I think the flavors would make even more sense. I think next time, I'll try to make it sweeter because the honey notes are confusing me a bit.

Good shabbos, everyone!

Recipe and credits below!

Ingredients (U.S.):

2 eggs

1 cup of water

1.2 teaspoons of yeast

1/3 cup honey

4.5 cups bread flour

1.2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup oil

Optional: Everything bagel seasoning, sesame seed, cinnamon

In a bowl:

Break and combine both eggs. Set aside a small portion to serve as the egg wash. Stir well, add water, and stir until combined.

Before mixing well, add yeast, honey, and flour to the bowl

Add salt then oil. Mix.

Knead the dough for ten minutes

Cover the dough in a bowl until it doubles in size (approximately 45 minutes)

Deflate the dough, then separate into six equal parts

Roll out each ball, then braid the dough together

Use the eggs as an egg wash for each challah, then add any additional toppings

Bake at 350°F/176°C for 25 minutes

Here is the recipe in video format, by @jennmysterion on Instagram:

[hms-chill]

RWRB Study Guide: Chapter 4

Hi y’all! I’m going through Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue and defining/explaining references! Feel free to follow along, or block the tag #rwrbStudyGuide if you’re not interested!

The Willard (75): A luxury hotel just down the street from the White House, where rooms can cost up to $8,000 per night. It hosts the turkeys to be pardoned by the president.

Cornbread and Stuffing (75): Traditional Thanksgiving dishes. Pardoning turkeys are commonly named after foods associated with Thanksgiving, recently including Bread, Butter, Cheese, and Apple.

Pennsylvania Avenue (75): The street that the White House and Willard are on.

Until I pardon them (75): The pardoning of the turkeys is an actual American tradition. Americans began sending turkeys to the president around the same time we started celebrating Thanksgiving, and the tradition of pardoning them began with Clinton in 1999. Only one turkey is officially pardoned, but there is always a backup turkey, and you can read their names here. 

En suite (76): A bathroom directly connected to a bedroom.

CNN (76): Cable News Network, a liberal news station.

Republican primary debate (76): A debate between candidates for the Republican (conservative) party, held before the party decides who they will nominate for the presidential race.

Summer home in Majorca (79): Majorca is an island in the Mediterranean, just off the coast of Spain.

Jurassic Park* (79): A movie in which dinosaurs escape from their cages and the main characters have to escape them.

Autoerotic asphyxiation (80): “erotic asphyxiation” is essentially sexual choking; if it’s “autoerotic” it would be Alex doing it to himself.

Silk pillow over my face (80): This may be a reference to the Shakespeare play Othello where (spoilers, though it’s been out for like 500 years) the title character smothers his wife with a pillow after rumors that she’s cheating on him.

Jaffa cakes (80): A British snack with a sponge cake base, a layer of orange jam, and topped with chocolate.

Jabba (81): Jabba the Hutt, a Star Wars character.

Great British Bake Off (81): A famously wholesome baking show that is technically a competition between home bakers from around the UK, though it is far from competitive.

Scandinavian skin care (81): Many luxury skincare brands have come from Scandinavian countries in the past few years.

Chopped (82): An incredibly competitive American cooking show.

The Manson tapes (82): A series of tapes revealing the dealings of the Manson Cult, which was responsible for nine murders in 1969.

David Bowie (82): A famously bisexual British actor and musician known for his bold presentation and stagecraft. He was admitted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. (listen here and here)

Seinfeld (82): An American sitcom from the 1990s. Wayne Knight, who played Dennis Nedry and had a very bad time in Jurassic Park, was also in Seinfeld.

Jeff Goldblum (82): An American actor (and force of chaos) known for his role as Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park, a scientist who sees from the very beginning that maybe breeding massive predators is a bad idea.

The Post (84): The Washington Post

Oval Office (84): The president’s office in the White House

Lincoln Bedroom (85): A guest bedroom that is part of the Lincoln Suite in the White House, named after President Lincoln, who used to room as an office.

Chocolate shop on the first floor (85): According to the White House Museum online, there is a chocolate shop on the bottom floor of the White House that prepares the chocolates served in the White house.

The Atlantic (85): An American editorial magazine that covers news, politics, education, science, and more. It targets serious readers and “thought leaders”. (More)

Truman Balcony (85): A balcony overlooking the White House’s South Lawn (in the “back” of the White House).

Mijo (85): For those who haven’t read my fic “Speaking My Language” here, “mijo” is Spanish term of endearment that translates directly to “my son” (Mi hijo)

Washington monument (86): A tall obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, DC, dedicated to George Washington.

Eisenhower Building (86): The Eisenhower Executive Offices Building is a building that houses the executive Office of the President, including the Vice President’s office.

Los Bastardos (86): Spanish for “The bastards”.

Caldillo (86): a spicy Mexican beef stew.

Masa (86): A corn/maize dough used for making corn tortillas, tamales, and other Mexican/Latin American dishes.

Valedictorian (87): A student who ranks the highest in their graduating class in high school.

New Orleans (87): A city in Louisiana known for its vibrant blend of French and Creole culture, its jazz scene, and its Mardi Gras celebration. It is also Casey McQuinston’s hometown.

AP classes (90): Advanced placement classes are high school classes taught at a college level; at the end of the year, students take a test to determine whether or not they will get college credit for it.

Hanukkah (90): A Jewish celebration honoring the second rededicating of the temple in Jerusalem. It is not traditionally a major Jewish holiday, but it has become one of the best-known due to the fact that it occurs near Christmas every year. 

“Good King Wenceslas” (91): A traditional Christmas song about a king who braves the cold to give alms to a poor peasant on Christmas.

Jim-jams (91): Pajamas.

Tiger sharks over a baby seal (91): According to my roommate, who loves sharks, tiger sharks are one of the most vicious types of sharks. They’re bottom feeders, so they wouldn’t necessarily get seals too often, but if they got one, they would be all over it.

Bougie (95): Fancy or upper class (from the French “bourgeoisie”).

Real Housewife (95): The Real Housewives of [City] are a string of semi-popular American reality TV shows.

East Room (95): An event and reception room in the White House.

Tramp stamp (96): A tattoo on the lower back, associated with less savory activities and a general air of trashiness.

Zac Posen (97): A gay, Jewish fashion designer from New York, known for his glamorous evening gowns and cocktail dresses.

Middle-shelf whiskey (97): A “middle shelf” alcohol is one step up from the cheapest option; a whiskey is a dark alcohol associated with Texas/the West.

“American Girl” (98): A 1976 rock song that has become a rock classic. (Listen here)

Center for American Progress (98): A liberal public policy research and advocacy organization.

Pez (candy) (99): A type of small, sweet pieces of candy that come from fancy, collectable Pez dispensers.

Sky writers (99): Sky writers use the trails of their airplanes to write things in the sky. It costs at least $3,500 for a single message.

“Get Low” (101): Despite its incredibly raunchy lyrics, this song was a common one at school dances in the early 2010s. I was in middle school in roughly 2010-2012, and I have vivid memories of people being into this song.

The Kid ‘n Play (102): A dance move pioneered by the hip-hop duo of the same name, loosely based on the Charleston. (see it here)

Vato (102): Mexican slang for “friend”, “person”, or “dude”. 

Moët & Chandon (102): A luxury French champagne.

New Year’s Kiss (103): At least in the US, it’s traditionally considered good luck to kiss someone at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s.

Peach schnapps (103): Schnapps is a sweet, inexpensive, and very alcoholic drink.

Rookie NFL running back (103): A running back is a football position responsible for running with the ball. Most are either short and quick to avoid tackles or big and stocky to power through them.

Yacht kid (104): Someone rich.

Orion**(105): A winter northern hemisphere constellation of a hunter/warrior. According to Greek mythology, Orion was the only man (or person) the goddess Artemis ever loved, but she refused to give up her life with her huntresses for him. He began burning/destroying her forest in retribution, and she is forced to kill him.

America’s golden boy (105): A “golden boy” is a boy who is favored or put upon a pedestal. 

Tequila (106): A type of alcohol that originates from central Mexico.

Bloke (106): British slang for a “regular dude” or everyday man.

Teen Vogue (106): An American magazine aimed at teenagers that used to focus on fashion and celebrity news, but has more recently shifted to dealing with serious social issues.

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*This movie is especially known for its special effects, which are incredible because they actually built animatronic dinosaurs and also got real scientists on the project to help them figure out how dinosaurs would move/act. After it came out, earth and environmental science departments around the world got a ton of funding to see if they could find any dinosaur DNA in fossils, as that’s a central part of the movie’s plot.

**According to a nerd astronomy class I took in like 4th grade, every culture who could see Orion saw a warrior, which is just... really cool to me. That so many people for so long saw the same thing in a set of stars.

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If there’s anything I missed or that you’d like more on, please let me know! And if you’d like to/are able, please consider buying me a ko-fi? I know not everyone can, and that’s fine, but these things take a lot of time/work and I’d really appreciate it! A massive thanks to @lyanna-wilson for the ko-fis the other day; they meant a ton!

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Chapter 1 // Chapter 3 // Chapter 5 

[thesustainableswap]

Plant Based Eating in Disney World.

So leading on from my last post we talked about trying to stay zero waste in Disney World and Universal and we uncovered: it’s bloomin’ hard. But how hard is it to follow a vegan or vegetarian diet in the parks and on the go? Now it’s not too hard, you’ll always find options (I’ll correct that to ‘you’ll always find one option’), they just might not be good quality. Especially if, like me, you’re used to eating organic, locally grown produce as close to the season that the food would naturally grow in (i.e endives in December!) America doesn’t have the same laws as the UK or EU when it comes to food quality but a lot of the products in Disney do boast ‘no GMO’ on their packaging which is good, as I already avoid unnecessary preservatives and chemicals in my food so I wouldn’t want to be eating anything genetically modified.

I will quickly say I was on a dining plan for my time in Disney World which means when you book the holiday you pay for your meals up front and receive credits. The amount of credits changes depending on what plan you are on. It’s a really good thing to do if you can, as it means any money you bring can be either spending money or tips for your servers. If you can’t do this and don’t have a huge amount of spending money you’ll most likely be dining at ‘quick service’ locations rather than ‘table service’ locations. If I wasn’t on the dining plan there is no way I would have been able to afford the ‘table service’ options. It’s all about weighing up what is important to you on a trip. If you’re a foodie and willing to spend the extra, try and eat at table service locations whenever possible, they are so worth it. If you’d rather spend money on souvenirs then quick service will get you through the trip, it just might not be a great time for your stomach.

In Universal breakfast was always spent at a Starbucks. While I have spoken already on how much packaging they use for their porridge (oatmeal), this meal was a really great start to the day. Oats, nuts and berries, mixed together with warm coconut milk... it was such a nice get up and go item filled with goodness. Me and my partner liked it so much that we bought a fruit and nut mix from our local bulk store to add to our porridge now. The only downside to this meal was the packaging, but porridge is always a safe, go to healthy option to give you energy in the morning. (Future Jess editing: They would only let us substitute the milk in our porridge at a Starbucks location. When we asked in Disney World at our hotel, they said no).

Moving into the parks, we had lunch one day at Krusty Burger (Krusty Land, Universal Studios) in Universal. My partner had a plant based black bean burger with avocado, tomato, lettuce, some kind of burger sauce and chips. I really wanted this option, but unfortunately avocado is a food that hates me. My face goes red and I’ll usually be sick a few minutes later. Not fun. Instead I settled with a cheese pizza, because the pizza was served on a paper plate. It was average. I would have chosen a salad but there was lots of plastic involved there. So, if you dined here I’d recommend the burger, my partner said it tasted great even if it looked a little sad.

Three much better options were found in Universal’s City Walk, and if you’re looking for good food with more choice you’ll definitely find it there. The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen was brilliant and definitely up there on my ‘highly recommend’ list. I had pasta with tomatoes and artichokes in a white wine sauce and my partner had a superfood salad (which I tried, and I was a little bit jealous that I didn’t choose it because it was not only amazing but huge). Both these were solid choices, though I think mine was only vegetarian while my partners was vegan. Our second restaurant was Hard Rock Cafe and it is a great place due to the memorabilia. I love looking around at all the instruments and costume pieces. The food here is good (I’m certain I had an impossible burger which is generally something you can’t go wrong with!), but out of this and Toothsome, the Chocolate Factory just has a bit more wow factor. For something quick, Panda Express was a winner in my book, though it is much more cafeteria style dining so don’t expect anything fancy here. Just some gooooood noodles.

Moving over to Disney World - I won’t touch on everything I ate here because this post would go on forever but I will give a shout out to the best of the best and also my least favourite item so you know what to avoid. Let’s start with my least favourite so that we can focus on the good stuff after. I ordered a rice bowl from Pecos Bill (Magic Kingdom, Frontier Land) and it was terrible. A plate of unattractive looking, definitely just-been-zapped-in-a-microwave, mushy black beans, rice and a yellow and green courgette mix appeared before me. This was the most bland thing I ate the whole holiday. If you see this in Pecos Bill, avoid avoid avoid. Especially when Pecos Bill have a really great plant based burger and super tasty trio of tacos (where you can instead ask that your three tacos be filled with cauliflower instead of meat). No to the mushy rice bowl.

Yak & Yeti (Animal Kingdom, Asia) is a definite go to spot for all veggies and vegans alike and this restaurant is amazing because not only is it a table service location, but it is also a quick service location! Expect lots of spicy noodles, perfectly cooked veg and curries. On our visit to the table service location of Yak & Yeti I ordered the Vegetable Lo Mien. It’s important to note that despite no animal products being listed in the ingredients I noticed it didn’t have the customary green leaf printed next to it (which is Disney’s way of showing you if an item is plant based.) I asked my server this and she explained that the noodles were cooked in an oyster sauce, but that it could be changed to create a vegetarian dish. She even asked whether I wanted my noodles changed from egg noodles to rice noodles so this could even be made into a vegan dish - you just have to ask. My partner ordered the Roasted Vegetable Bowl which was out of this world. It was everything I wanted the rice bowl from Pecos Bill to be and more, spicy and sweet with a ton of veggies. Yak & Yeti’s quick service menu is good too, though there is only one plant based option: a Vegetable Tikka Masala. Still, it was super tasty, so regardless of your budget Yak & Yeti is a sure place to visit.

The Brown Derby (Hollywood Studios, Hollywood Boulevard) is pricey, I’ll be honest. Saying that, this was the best table service meal of the entire holiday. Whoever the chef was who came up with the Ginger-Lemon Grass Pho has my tummy’s eternal gratitude. I’d honestly wager to say this was one of the best things I’ve eaten in my entire life. On top of that, the portion was huge. This is always a bonus for me, because sometimes vegan and vegetarian options can look a little sad, and be a little small. But my oh my this pho really packed a punch. It came with three spring rolls, and a selection of chilli’s, jalapenos and coriander so you could have some fun customising it to your tastes. If you can spare some dollars this is 100% the place to visit. Such a lovely atmosphere, and incredible food.

Finally, Docking Bay 7 (Hollywood Studios, Galaxy’s Edge) has my heart as the biggest surprise of the holiday and best quick service location. Myself and my partner loved Galaxy’s Edge and decided to see what options they had when it came to food. At first we were disappointed, because the initial quick service location we ended up in (a circular room with a fake Star Wars-esque pig being spit roasted) didn’t have a plant based option. We continued our journey expecting to be left hungry but happened upon Docking Bay 7. We checked out the menu and ordered their only plant based option - the Felucian Kefta and Hummus Garden Spread. We initially ordered one to share and after the first bite my partner went back up to the till to order himself his own portion. It was that good. We even came back a few days later to have it again. Essentially it is made up of three plant based meatballs, hummus blended with herbs, a tomato and cucumber relish and two pieces of what to me was like a thin naan bread. If you’re in Hollywood Studios and you need a quick bite to eat, this is the location for you.

A few small shout outs now: Teppan Edo in Japan serves amazing food with a show from the chef and, in general, Epcot does have some good options around their Food & Wine festival. My only niggly thing is that most plant based options at the festival were desserts. My highest festival praise goes to the booth in Africa, lowest festival praise goes to the booth in India (which surprised me as I perceive India as a country which eats lots of vegetables so, maybe the dishes decided on were not the best to reflect their country.)

Have you eaten at any of these locations in Disney World? Are there any plant based favourites of yours that you think I missed? Let me know!

Until next time,

The Sustainable Swap.

[primortravel]

New Post has been published on https://primortravel.com/20-traditional-polish-foods-to-try-in-poland-or-at-home/

20 Traditional Polish Foods to Try in Poland or At Home

Ready to take a tour of traditional food in Poland? You’ve got everything from your standard fare that’s been eaten in Poland for generations to dishes that even molecular gastronomist Ferran Adrià would applaud. On your next trip there, make sure you try some of the following food in Poland.

I have to say: before I left for my trip to Poland, my idea of Polish cuisine was pierogi and kielbasa. While I did find those traditional Polish foods aplenty, I also was surprised by the diversity of other foods in Poland, including some pretty amazing contemporary cuisine at cutting-edge restaurants.

Must-Try Traditional Polish Foods

This post was originally written by Susan Guillory and has been updated by The Planet D with even more delicious Polish dishes.

1. Pierogi

Pierogi is a must-try food in Poland

You won’t get far in Poland without running into a pierogi, and believe me, you won’t mind. Eating Pierogi’s in Poland is like eating dumplings are in Asia, or empanadas in South or Central America: flat dough discs stuffed with delightful fillings and then boiled. At the restaurant Zapiecek, which seems to be as ubiquitous as TGIFriday’s in the US (though much tastier in my humble opinion), we also sampled fried pierogi, which, frankly, I preferred.

The most common pierogi are filled with beef, though you’ll find both sweet and savory fillings like twaróg cheese, (a type of cottage cheese) lentils, turkey and carrots, mushrooms, and even fruit or jams. Served with a side of sour cream for savory pierogies or powdered sugar, butter, or even whipped cream for sweet pierogies.

Red Barszcz (Borscht)

Red Barszcs with noodles

Red Barszcz is a Polish beet soup that is similar to borscht of eastern European countries like Russia and Ukraine. (We at a lot of Goulash on the Mongol Rally). Traditional borscht is usually made from cabbage and contains meat and tomatoes while the Polish version of barszcz is meatless and is a basic beet broth soup that is red in color. You can really put anything in you like and it is often served with potatoes and vegetables. Note: White Barszcz is similar but uses fermented rye flour or sour rye bread base. Make your own Barszcz with this authentic European recipe.

Zurek

One soup we had over and over again in Poland (not that I minded) was Zurek, or sour bread soup. It was tangy and creamy, and at Hotel Bristol’s Marconi Restaurant — which got my vote for the best zurek — it also had a quail’s egg and bits of ham.

Nalesniki

Nalesniki is a Polish crepe similar to French crepes. They can be filled with whatever you like and are often eaten as breakfast food. But they can be filled with other ingredients like sauerkraut, cheese, meats, and mushrooms. Popular sweet fillings are jams, fruit, and cottage cheese can also be used. See how to make Nalesniki at home with this recipe.

Krokiety

Krokiety is stuffed Nalesniki (crepes) that are battered with breadcrumbs and fried to perfection. These Polish Croquettes are stuffed with mushrooms and fried onions and are usually served with Barszcz. A traditional Christmas Eve dish, they can also be stuffed with any meat or cabbage. But they aren’t only eaten at Christmas, Korkiety can be found in most Polish food restaurants and food stands. Polish foodies blog has a good recipe to follow.

Mizeria

Mizeria is a refreshing Polish cucumber salad. The term Mizeria means misery in Polish but this salad is anything but miserable. This creamy cucumber salad is made with sour cream, vinegar, fresh dill and salt and sugar.

Salatka Jarzynowa

Another type of Polish salad is Salatka Jarzynowa made of boiled carrots and potatoes. Mix these main ingredients with mayonnaise, pickled cucumbers and peas, and onions. You can also add boiled eggs for some protein.

Rosol

Rosol is a Polish chicken soup that is served on special occasions. Like your grandma’s chicken soup, Rosol is also eaten when feeling under the weather for the ultimate comfort food. The chicken broth is served with noodles, carrots, parsley, and other herbs and spices.

Placki Ziemniaczane (Potato Pancakes)

Mmm mmm good. These Polish potato pancakes are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. The easy to prepare recipe makes it a staple in Polish cuisine. Grate potatoes and add eggs and onions and then fry them up in oil for a quick and easy meal. Serve with a side of sour cream and you have a delicious snack. The Polish Housewife shares a couple of recipes here.

Makowiec (Polish Poppy Seed Roll)

Makowiec (strucla makowa) is rolled dough filled with your choice of filling with the main filling being poppyseed. Add butter, sugar, walnuts and raisins and you have a sweet and delicious treat. You can find these poppy seed rolls at any bakery in Poland. And it is often served on holidays like Christmas and Easter. Learn how to make this yummy treat at the Spruce Eats.

Paczki

Another sweet treat to add to your Polish dinner party is Paczki. Paczki are the Polish version of doughnuts. Deep-fried dough is usually filled with jams, fruit, or custards and sprinkled with powdered sugar. People started baking Paczki on Fat Thursday to use up the lard, eggs, and fruit to prepare for the fasting of Lent.

Bison Grass Vodka

At home, I could take or leave vodka, but once I had my first szarlotka (also known as tatanka) beverage upon arrival, there was no going back. Poland is proud of its vodka and will argue to the grave that they — not Russia — invented it and then perfected it. Zubrowka is the brand of choice because of one unique flavor: bison grass. The grass gives the vodka its distinct mellow vanilla flavor, and even decorates the inside of the bottle.

Mix Zubrowka with apple juice, and you have the szarlotka. It helps if you have the amazing light apple juice you can find in Poland rather than the artificial stuff in the US.

Burning Rose Dessert

If you’re like me, you skip dessert at the end of the meal simply because there’s no room in your tummy. But after my fellow travel writers and I saw the cloud-like Burning Rose being delivered to a nearby table at Krakow’s Szaragez, we changed our tune. The clouds turned out to be cotton candy, which was lit on fire to melt to a dish of raspberry parfait. The actual dessert was as good as the performance!

Kabanosy

Kabanosy (kabanos) is a Polish sausage. This long thin strip of sausage is often touted as the finest meat stick in the world. The process of salting and curing this sausage can take from 3 months to one year. It got its name from the nickname given to the young fat pigs (kabanek) that are raised in Eastern Poland with a diet of mostly potatoes.

Golabki – Polish Cabbage Rolls

You can’t visit Eastern Europe without tasting traditional cabbage rolls. Golabki consists of boiled cabbage stuffed with minced meat, rice, and chopped onions. Smother them with a tomato sauce for savory goodness. Check out the Polonist for the ingredients and how to make it.

Bigos – Hunter’s Stew

Bigos is a Polish meat stew and shredded cabbage and sauerkraut. You can really put anything you like in it from different meats to sausages or no meat at all. Slow cook it with mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes and let the aromas seep into your house. Check it out here.

Kopytka

Kopytka is potato dumplings that are popular in southern Poland. They can be eaten as a side dish or as a main meal. Their diamond shape is said to resemble little hooves. Similar to Italian Gnocci, Kopytka can be served any way you like. Top them with tomato sauce, saute them with garlic, mushrooms and onions, top them with buttered breadcrumbs, or even make them a sweet treat with powdered sugar. Get this mashed potato dumpling recipe to make at home.

Kotlet Schabowy (Breaded Pork Cutlets)

kotlet schabowy is similar to Schnitzel

Kotlet Schabowy is a breaded pork chop that reminded me of Schnitzel in Germany or Austria. This main course dish is made of pork that is pounded to a thin piece of meat, breaded with bread crumbs and flour and an egg and then cooked in oil over high heat. Serve with Sauerkraut and mashed potatoes and you have the perfect Sunday afternoon meal.

Gulasz (Goulash)

This comfort food is a Polish stew similar to Goulash you’ll find in Hungary. Gulasz is a meat stew usually made with beef, onions, and tomatoes with a dash of paprika. It can be served over boiled potatoes or noodles and with a side of fresh baked bread. Polish Meals has a good easy to follow recipe here.

Steak Tartare

On our last night in Warsaw, I swore I wouldn’t eat meat again. As amazing as the food had been, I was meated out. But then I saw steak tartare being prepared tableside at Stary Dom, and I knew I was a goner. The chef, in his 60s, I’d guess, prepares between 150 and 200 steak tartare servings each day! First, he deftly chops the steak, then mixes in mushrooms, fried onions, seasonings, and other goodies. The portion was way more than we could eat! I hated leaving it, but what can you do in a country that is so generous with its portions?

Poland surprised me in many ways, not the least of which was its memorable cuisine. Do you like Polish food? What is your favorite dish?

Photos by Susan Guillory and the following:

Silar, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons – krokiety

Steven Depolo from Grand Rapids, MI, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons – cabbage rolls

Kuruni, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons – Golabki

Silar, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mariuszjbie, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons -Mizeria

JanKokular, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons – crepes

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[abiteofnat]

TRENDY MY ASS, THIS WAS JUST PURE DELICIOUS... 

Because now that avocado toast is a must-have at every brunch, healthy restaurant, and cafe that incorporates natural lighting and yellow accents it is a competition of who has the best one. Sometimes avocado toast tastes like bread with unseasoned guacamole on top, and sometimes it’s so full of flavor and texture you can’t understand how God put it on our green earth to enjoy. 

As I watch Moulin Rogue and go through all the photos from my ten days in New York (both upstate and in the Big Apple) I’m amazed by the amount of ground covered and food eaten. I mean we like food, but we were in Syracuse for literally 12 hours and managed to do a whole Food Network season of Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives in that time. My family began our East Coast Adventure with a crack-o-dawn flight to Syracuse on a Friday, creating a deep rooted need-not-want for a giant iced mocha and a thicc everything bagel with veggie cream cheese from The Great American Bagel in the B concourse of O’Hare. While I am a morning person, I also wake up so intensely hungry for hard carbs and pure fat that in order to remain calm on a small plane catapulting through the open sky I had to enter a carb coma and that bagel surreeee did it! If you’ve never had Great American Bagel, hold your hand out right in front of your face this moment. Now picture a bagel that fills up your entire hand finger tip to finger tip that smells like bread right out of the oven and filled with what I think is the BEST cream cheese ever. For airport food, it is the Beyonce of airport food. I went there. 

Once in Syracuse we realized there is absolutely nothing to do there BUT EAT, as we had from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. to amuse ourselves before seeing my sister’s “summer college” theater performance she had spent three weeks there working on. After walking around the cute but sparse downtown of this old salt mine city, we found Original Grain, a cute & healthy eatery on the corner of the most picturesque section in town. It’s a warm, inviting spot filled with painted white wood accents, blue and yellow chairs around tall tables, and a ceiling covered in ivy and flowers. It feels a bit like a grotto, or somewhere that you would find in Hawaii while cruising around. There are two counters of morning food and afternoon food options, with the morning side offering different variations of avocado toast and a ton of smoothies/ energy drinks blended up right there. The afternoon side offers salads, poke bowls, and wraps for your lunch break pleasures and lemme tell you everything was so colorful and “crunchy” looking that I was nearly temped to eat a poke bowl at 11 a.m.. Too early for raw fish in my book though, also I was still very full of bagel. Mom and Dad ordered two different avocado toasts though, the Smashed Avocado and the Egg Man (minus the meats). 

The “smashed” had red pepper flakes, scallions, very crisp ripe tomatoes, and then a carrot & cumin dressing that I want to put on EVERYTHING. This dressing was such a weird freakin flavor; a mix of savory and spicy and rich and light all at once. It had a slight Asian flair to it, same with the ponzu sauce on the other option- it was sweet but given the saltiness of the soft-boiled egg placed on top it created a full mouth of flavor. I’ve never had an egg soft boiled like that where the outside was firm but the inside creamy as if a deviled egg had been reconnected at the seam and holy crap I have to get over my fear of eggs and learn how to make it!!! Also that would require a water boiling pot which requires a stove which neither I own. 

I also got a smoothie, the likes of which I had never had because it was full of chia seeds and berries and witchcraft instead of a brown banana and some almond milk such as I am used to making myself. I cannot recall what it was called but order any smoothie and I promise you will be full of nutrients and vitality when it’s gone. 

After OG Grain we went for a drive to small town America part of Syracuse near the river filled with family-owned ice cream shops and little places for travelers such as us to stop in and enjoy their road-trip vibes, which Regional Donut Authority served up perfectly! My mom, the queen of donut hankerings, found the one kooky donut place in the twenty mile radius and I fell in LOVE with the whole damn thing. The outside is like a vintage teen television show set and the inside takes you back to the 50′s, where you can picture teens sharing a donut before Jenny has to be home by 9, and there are old posters with witty sayings strewn about. There’s something about old Coca Cola merch that hits my nostalgia button even though I’m a 90′s kid, and the table and chair sets inside were all clad in Coca Cola logos which made it a stellar spot anyway- but then the DONUTS.

Each handmade from start to finish, decorated by some sweet young adult behind the counter, and in a cute lil display case with a million options to choose from. I went with the s’mores and also a Fruity Pebbles once because I have no self restraint from anything that will make a dynamic photo and also taste AMAZING and ya know what? For $2 a pop I think I could swing it. 

This S’MORES DONUT WAS JUST FREAKING CRAZY. The cake was moist and not greasy or heavy, the marshmallow fluffy like a Hostess cupcake filling, and the graham cracker slightly chewy from the August heat and entirely melt in your mouth. The frosting on both was perfect; not sickly sweet and not gooey. Just good ole frosting with a lot of tasty stuff on it. While these donuts are small, they are full of flavor AND fun. Plus, I got to enjoy them with my parents and learn the story of how they met which is really special. 

The last stop on our tour de eating a lot was a dinner destination called Pastabilities, a popular Italian place downtown and where we were meeting up with a family friend who also had a child in the Syracuse summer college thing. Suddenly this desolate downtown was packed with people, and they ALL wanted to go to Pasabilities, but this place was prepared and once inside it was easy to see they’re used to a large volume of humans and have ample space. But very very cute space! This is no tacky Italian location, it is a real classy place with a modern twist and lovely plates of homemade pasta that was making my stomach growl. You get their delicious hot bread and “Famous” spicy tomato oil upon sitting down which I took full advantage of, and then we ordered a round of rose and some burrata for the table because who can resist burrata????? 

This burrata was fresh, smooth, placed on fresh greens and good enough to eat sans bread. We also ordered a kale caesar that was full of fresh cracked pepper and sundried tomatoes, and then for the main course we enjoyed some linguine alfredo that made me want to kiss the chef. This alfredo was rich, dense, full of various cheese notes and there’s no need to describe the taste of homemade pasta because there is no way to describe that. It is a full toes to mouth taste that makes you go “HOT DAMN”. While Syracuse is not my number one favorite place ever visited, I really did appreciate the time spent with my parents and family friends over delicious food and in a new place in general. The beauty of travel is seeing the world no matter where in the world it is, and that comes with visiting places some call home and some make home if even for a few hours. We’re often in small, odd towns due to family stuff that forces us to be a funny, adventurous unit and make the best of it; the next morning before we drove to Cornell to begin a college tour for my sister we stopped at a local coffee chain called Freedom of Espresso and in the early morning sipped mochas made with locally sourced espresso in a quiet, hidden part of town, and that was worth the whole trip. Coffee, new places, and the knowledge there’s even more to see real soon. That’s the best thing in the world, I think.  

ANYWAY, should you ever find yourself in ‘Cuse and need a million pick-me-up’s and larger pants to fill, please follow in my steps!! Should I find myself there due to an intense need to visit Destiny USA (their mall, the name is fabulous) I will for sure be trying the Penne Vodka at Pastabilities next because good GOD it looked yummy. (Note: my dad just walked in and I showed him this post and he goes, “Yes that burrata was unexpectedly good.” So if you don’t believe me, trust Keith, he’s a tough critic.) 

Keep your peepers open for my next post on summing up NYC!!! How do I have normal blood pressure and cholesterol I eat like a street vacuum cleaner!!! 

Until next time, Happy Eating!

- Natalie 

[siemprelluvia]

This week we’re talking about food! (Doesn’t it all look awesome?)

So here’s the thing about food: There’s a lot that I haven’t gotten to try yet, and a lot that I haven’t gotten pictures of yet. But that’s okay, I’m going with what I’ve got!

Food, in my opinion, is one of the best ways to represent culture. The ingredients in a dish and the methods used to prepare it can say a lot about where you’re from and what you’re accustomed to. How you serve that dish, what time of the year and what setting you eat it in, and who you serve it to can tell stories about social structure, day to day life, holidays, family... anything, really. Everything comes from context.

The context I have observed in my homestay is this: breakfast is served at 7:30, but you don’t have to eat right away. Lunch comes between 11:30 and 2pm, and that serve time depends on what you’re doing in the day. Dinner is at 7:30. You can eat early or you can eat late, but the food is ready and waiting at 7:30. Meals can be eaten individually or as a group- the only one that is consistently eaten as a group is dinner. Also, the television is on at most meals. It’s usually playing the news in the morning and a gameshow called EEG at night. At 8 pm, the telenovelas start. And Gaby loves to watch them with you as you finish your dinner.

Some recurring trends I’ve noticed are the ingredients. Avocado, mainly. Probably around half of the meals I’ve eaten have contained avocado in some way, shape, or form. Frankly, I’m thrilled. I love avocado. (Fun fact! Avocado is called plata in Peru) I’ve also noticed tons of tomatoes. Also a favorite of mine. Tomatoes get sliced up fresh and placed in salad- both cooked and fresh- or layered on sandwiches, or served up as a garnish. Tomatoes are everywhere. I see a splash of red in my food and it’s most definitely a tomato. And on the topic of tomatoes, I’ll mention ketchup- it’s sweet! Ketchup in the US is kind of a vinegary flavor that highlights the acidity of tomatoes. Here, the second ingredient is sugar. Far from being a bad flavor, sweet ketchup actually pairs great with mayonnaise- which usually has some lime juice in it!

 And now for an A-to-Z of some of the highlights of Peruvian cuisine!

 Ají de gallina: shredded chicken in a creamy yellow sauce made from yellow chilis (ají amarillo), cheese, and milk. Often served with bread or boiled potatoes, occasionally garnished with walnuts. I had this for the first time over boiled potatoes in Chincha, and it was absolutely delicious! Not at all spicy, but full of wonderful chicken, cheese, and ají flavors.

 Alfajores: crumbly sandwich cookies made of flour or cornstarch cookies filled with manjar blanco (caramel-like, similar to dulce de leche, a reduction of milk and sugar) and covered in powdered sugar. I haven’t had any Peruvian alfajores yet, but I have made them before! If you like shortbread cookies and caramel, these are the treat for you.

 Anticuchos: popular street food (and favorite of Carlos). Cuts of stew meat or beef heart marinated in vinegar and spices such as cumin, ají, and garlic that are skewered and grilled. Often served with boiled potatoes or bread. I haven’t tried any yet, but I fully intend to before I leave!

 Arroz con leche: rice pudding! My favorite iteration of this so far is arroz zambito- rice pudding kissed by the sun. It’s traditional rice pudding that is sweetened by chancaca and flavored with coconut, raisin, and aniseed. We were served arroz zambito when we went to Mundo Libre in Pachacamac. It’s a warm dessert, but the perfect end to a meal.

 Causa: a potato dish usually made as a potato cake or stuffed roll. Yellow potatoes blended with oil, lime juice, and ají amarillo are used to make a paste, which is the causa itself. The type of causa I had in Chincha was a roll stuffed with shredded chicken, served cold. An odd experience, but very good.

 Ceviche: an extremely popular seafood dish, characteristic of coastal regions such as Lima. I haven’t eaten any ceviche yet, as it is seafood, but I’ve heard it’s quite good if you enjoy fish. There are many different types of ceviche, but they are typically made from fresh raw fish that has been cured in citrus juice and spiced with ají or chili peppers.

 Chicha morada: classic Peruvian beverage made from purple corn. Made with sugar, cinnamon, and clove, and served with pretty much any meal you choose. Takes a little getting used to, but absolutely delicious! Personally, I think it pairs best with savory meals.

 Chicarrones: fried pork belly or intestines. In Peru,  it is boiled with seasoning until no water remains, then fried in its own fat. I haven’t had them yet, but they’re another popular street food and favorite of Carlos.

 Chifa: a Peruvian take on Chinese cuisine! Think of all the Chinese food you have in the United States… and make it sweeter. I’ve had Chifa one time since I’ve been here and honestly… I mostly ate the wontons. Everything was really good, but the wontons were excellent. Also, chifa tends to be served with Inca Kola!

 Churros: best found at a street cart in Parque Kennedy. There are tons of different types of curros, but my favorite are hot and filled with melted manjar blanco. S/. 2.50 in Parque Kennedy and worth every centimento.

 Cuy: guinea pig. Straight up guinea pig. Again, not something I’ve eaten yet. It’s a big food source in the Andes, but less so here on the coast. Give me a few days- I’m headed to Cusco and I’m going to try it.

 Empanadas: stuffed bread/pastry that can be baked or fried. Empanadas can have a ton of different types of fillings. I’ve had chicken and I’ve had cheese, and they’re all delicious. One curious thing about the chicken empanadas is that they nearly always have quail eggs inside with the chicken filling. It takes a little getting used to, but it’s good.

 Inca Kola: practically the national drink of Peru. Seriously. Inca Kola was made in Peru in 1935 and has since exploded throughout Latin America. The true flavor of Inca Kola is lemon verbena, but everyone tastes it slightly different. The flavor is commonly referred to as cotton candy or bubblegum. It’s definitely a drink that needs some adjusting to. After three weeks, I’ve found that Inca Kola is probably my favorite soft drink. It smells like bubblegum and tastes like… well, tastes like Inca Kola.

 Lomo saltado: beef stir fry typically served with rice. Can also be made with chicken (which I prefer). The meat is thinly sliced and fried with onions, tomatoes, soy sauce, and ají amarillo. Each time I’ve gotten any type of saltado, it also has French fries. And each time I’ve gotten saltado, it’s been delicious.

 Mazamorra morada: a popular dessert  made from purple corn and fruit. I haven’t eaten any yet, but it supposedly tastes like blackberry pie filling. It tends to be thickened with flour or corn starch and spices with cinnamon and cloves (like chicha morada) and served cold.

 Papa a la huancaína: a cold dish that consists of boiled potato slices covered in Huancaína sauce. The sauce is yellow and creamy, as its base is the ají amarillo pepper. It is often served with hard-boiled egg quarters, a black olive, lettuce leaves, and tomato slices. Typically an appetizer and not a main dish. I’ve had these potatoes several times, and each time it surprises me that they’re cold. Even so, they are by far one of the most tasty and iconic foods I’ve had here in Peru.

 Papa rellena: a type of croquette. In Peru it is a baked potato dough filled with chopped beef, onions, eggs, and whole black olives, with cumin and other spices. Once stuffed, the potato ball is deep-fried and is served with an accompanying ‘salsa criolla’ or ají sauce. We had papas rellenas for dinner a few days back, and while they were a little odd, they were pretty good. I could definitely get more behind this dish if it had slightly less black olives.

 Picarones: vaguely circular pieces of deep-fried dough. Kind of like a donut, actually, but crispy and covered in honey. Picarones are served hot from the fryer, but the honey is always cold. I’ve had street picarones and I’ve had restaurant picarones and both are delicious. I fully intend to find a recipe and attempt to make some back home.

 Pisco sour: the actual national drink of Peru. Though I am of legal drinking age here in Peru and I have had a couple of drinks in safe company, I have not tried pisco sour. I’m not sure if I will while I’m here, but I’d like to find a way to brink some pisco back to the states so I can mix up the drink for my parents. Pisco sour is a cocktail. The base liquor is pisco, which is mixed with fresh-squeezed lime juice, simple syrup, and egg whites. These ingredients are shook in a cocktail shaker with ice, then poured into a glass (sans ice) and garnished with Angostura bitters. Served straight up.

 Tejas: a dumpling-shaped sweet created in the Ica region. The filling is typically a whole walnut and manjar blanco, and the exterior is a sugar-based shell similar to fondant. There are versions of tejas that are accurately named chocotejas, as the exterior is made up of a chocolate shell instead of a sugar one. I got to try some chocotejas this past weekend when I was in Ica, and they were excellent! If I thought they could survive three more weeks and a plane ride to the US, I would have gotten some to bring home.