About Polish food in general- articles

[Bonobo]

www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2009/02/11/features/268232.txt

Hearty Polish fare



Don Campbell / H-P staff Maria Sendor, shown in her St. Joseph Township home, enjoys making the traditional Polish bigos, or hunter's stew, for her family.


Traditional bigos, potatoes and chrust make for a perfect winter dinner
By JANE AMMESON - H-P Correspondent

Published: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 4:46 PM EST

On winter days, Maria Sendor of St. Joseph likes to cook a hearty meal of bigos, a traditional dish of her native Poland, accompanied by potatoes and ending with chrusciki - also known as faworki or chrust, which are strips of fried dough sprinkled with powdered and vanilla sugar. Bigos or hunter's stew, often considered one of the country's national dishes, is easy to make and adaptable to whatever ingredients are on hand.

"You can use anything you have in your refrigerator," says Sendor, noting that it is a perfect "hunter's" stew because whatever was caught that day could be thrown in the pot. And though it is traditional, having been passed down from Sendor's mother and grandmother, it's a slow-cooked dish and thus lends itself well to modern crock-pot cooking.

"I guarantee this: Whoever cooks this, it will taste better the next day," says Sendor. "And it freezes well."

Sendor begins cooking bigos by grating fresh cabbage and draining the juice from the bags of sauerkraut she has bought at the grocery store. She prefers the type that comes in plastic bags instead of cans and also recommends, if available, German or Polish brands.

She then cuts bacon into pieces, fries it and begins adding the meats.

"You should have four cups of meat, not including the sausages and bacon," says Sendor, adding that hunters can even throw in some venison or rabbit. "If your family likes meat, you always can add more. My boys like to see a lot of different types of meat, but it doesn't matter what meats you use."

Though the ingredients can vary, cabbage, sauerkraut and sausages are always part of a bigos recipe.

Sendor also likes to add some grated carrots for an added touch of sweetness, a nice touch of color and because carrots help accent the sauerkraut. She also sometimes adds a dash of red wine during the last half hour of cooking. Because mushrooms are very popular in Poland, she usually adds two types - the white mushrooms commonly found in the U.S. grocery stores and dried mushrooms. Because she learned to look for fall mushrooms in Poland, she typically will pick mushrooms in the fall and dry them herself. For those lacking the expertise to mushroom hunt themselves, dried mushrooms are often available at the store. Because bigos has so many ingredients, it is a meal in itself, but Sendor likes to dish it up with a starch.

"I usually serve bigos with boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes or Polish rye bread," she says. Her husband enjoys eating it accompanied with a glass of beer.

"It has so much richness you won't feel the alcohol," she says. "People in Poland like to have hot tea with lemon afterward."

As for chrusciki, which are very similar to crullers, Sendor says the name comes from the shape of the pastry and its crunchy texture.

"Chrust means gathered twigs or branches in Polish," she says.

Chrusciki is often served at winter parties, particularly around Christmas and the New Year.

When serving this Polish meal, be sure to say "smacznego" - which means "bon appétit" in Polish.

Maria Sendor's Bigos or Hunter's Stew

1 medium green cabbage

2 to 3 pounds sauerkraut

Ham bones

1/2 package bacon, cut into small pieces

2 to 3 cups cubed beef

2 to 3 cups pork, cubed

2 medium sized onions, chopped

2 to 3 green onions, chopped (for color)

2 cloves, minced

1 to 2 carrots, grated

8 ounces mushrooms

1/4 cup dried mushrooms

2 to 3 cups water

1 pound smoked Polish sausage, peeled and cubed

1 pound fresh Polish sausage, peeled and crumbled

1 Knorr beef bouillon cube

1/2 cup dry red wine, optional

Salt and pepper

1 teasthingy dry or fresh dill

2 to 3 bay leaves

5 to 6 allspice

1/4 teasthingy caraway

1 teasthingy sweet paprika

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Place the grated cabbage, drained sauerkraut and ham bones in a large heavy pot. Add about one to two cups water. Turn heat on low.

In a skillet, sauté bacon and add cubed meat. Sauté until lightly browned. Add bacon and meat to cabbage mixture.

Chop onion, mushrooms and garlic, and add to bacon fat. Sauté until onions are tender and translucent. Add carrots and cubed smoked Polish sausage. Add to sauerkraut mixture.

Remove skin from fresh Polish sausage, crumble and fry to bring out flavor. Add to sauerkraut mixture along with caraway, bay leaves and allspice. Add beef bouillon cube. Add water as needed, cook for about an hour. If using red wine, add after about 45 minutes. Mixture should be thick, not soupy.

Fifteen minutes before serving, add dill and paprika.

Sprinkle parsley on top just before serving.

Potatoes

Peel as many potatoes as you like. Cut into large cubes, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender. Drain. Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle finely chopped parsley on top.

Chrusciki

1 1/2 to 2 cups flour

3 egg yolks

Pinch of salt

3 to 4 tablesthingys sour cream

1 teasthingy baking powder

1 to 2 tablesthingys vinegar or the same amount of vodka

Vegetable oil

Powdered sugar

Vanilla sugar Oktaer brand (available in the German food section of grocery stores)

Mix flour, egg yolks, salt, sour cream and baking powder together. Knead the dough about 5 to 10 minutes. Add vinegar (or vodka), trying to avoid adding more flour while you are kneading. Form a ball. Cut the ball into four pieces.

Keep each piece wrapped in plastic to avoid drying out. Work with one piece at a time. Roll out dough on a lightly floured board. Dough should be very thin. Cut, using pastry cutter, strips of 1 1/2 inch by 6 inches. The strips can be longer or wider depending on your preference. Cut a 2-inch gash in the middle of each strip. Pass one end through the strip, making a twist-like appearance.

Have strips ready for frying before heating the oil in a large frying pan. Oil will be ready if a small piece of dough will instantly rise to the surface and fizzle. Fry the strips on medium-high heat until both sides are a light golden color. Place on plate covered with paper towel to cool. The paper towel will absorb any excess oil. While still hot, sprinkle both sides with powdered sugar and vanilla.

[Bonobo]

Christine Fox of Franklin Square

LINDA PERNEY
February 15, 2009

A homemaker, Christine Fox lives in Franklin Square with her husband, Robert, her 6-year-old daughter, Eve-Marie, and her 7-year-old son, Hunter. She and her mother are writing a cookbook of Polish recipes.

How did you get interested in cooking? I have fond memories growing up as a first-generation Polish American in Brooklyn. I can clearly recall the aroma of Polish cooking permeating our three-story brownstone. My uncle and aunt, along with my two cousins, lived on the main floor; Mom, Dad, sister and I on the second; Grandma and Grandpa on the third. Our family would gather each night for authentic Polish meals and much laughter as we all took turns practicing speaking English.

When did you start cooking? At age 3, I was given small jobs, like adding an ingredient or two, and by the ripe old age of 5 I began to make my own recipes. One of my first desserts was my mother's garden-grown strawberries smothered with dark chocolate and crushed peanuts.

Is your husband interested in cooking? I taught him how to chop onions; he didn't know how to brew tea. Now, he's on a barbecue team, and he's quite famous for his chili.

What about the kids? They eat Polish food, and they speak the Polish language. I want them to know the language and culture.

Polish food can be very heavy - how do you deal with that? I tweak recipes. I may not use as much bacon as might be called for. I use canola or extra-virgin olive oils; and fresh kielbasa isn't as saturated with salt. My husband is a hunter, and he harvests a lot of meat for us during the season. I use a lot of game - buffalo, venison.

Do you have a favorite dish? One of my favorite recipes is bigos or hunter's stew, the Polish national dish. Hearty comfort food. Great accompanied with a good rye bread. The secret of Bigos is that it gets better as it's reheated.

CHRISTINE FOX'S BIGOS

(HUNTER'S STEW)

3 pounds sauerkraut

2-pound ham with bone, pork spareribs or pork-rib roast

1-2 bay leaves

1 ounce dried mushrooms chopped

20 black peppercorns

10 allspice berries

1/2 teaspoon salt

11 cups beef broth

1/3 cup dry red wine

2 pounds cabbage, shredded

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 pound Polish sausage links cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 pound Polish white sausage with garlic cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 pound bacon cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1. Rinse sauerkraut with cold water; drain well.

2. In a large stockpot, combine sauerkraut with ham or pork, bay leaves, mushrooms, peppercorns, allspice and salt. Add 6 cups beef broth. Cook, uncovered, 15 minutes over medium heat. Cover and simmer over low heat 45 minutes. Remove meat and let cool.

3. Place cabbage in a large saucepan. Add remaining 5 cups broth and red wine. Bring to boil. Cook, uncovered, over medium, 1 hour or until cabbage is tender. Add to sauerkraut mixture.

4. Bone cooked meat, cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Melt butter or margarine in a large skillet. Add meat, smoked sausage and white sausage. Saute over medium heat 10 minutes or until browned. Add to sauerkraut mixture.

5. In same skillet, saute bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels. Add to sauerkraut mixture. Cover sauerkraut mixture and cook over low heat 1 hour or longer. Remove bay leaves. Makes 12 to 14 servings.

Know a great home cook? Write WHO'S COOKING, Food Dept., Newsday, 235 Pinelawn Rd., Melville, NY 11747-4250 or Linda Perney at [e-mail]
www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sunday/lilife/ny-who6033340feb15,0,2569738.story

[Bonobo]

blog.oregonlive.com/food/2009/02/pierogies_an_eastern_european.html

Pierogies - An Eastern European Treat
Posted by Ozzie February 21, 2009 16:43PM

Just ask my son John, pierogies are a treat. In our home, we have a tradition of preparing the dinner of choice on each birthday and my son John requested pierogies to our surprise.
Over the holiday's, my parents were visiting from New Jersey and I thought it would be a fun time to get my Mom in the kitchen and have her teach me how to make pierogies. Like the one's we had when I was a boy, and that both my grandmother's made. Many a family feast on various holiday's included pierogies. I can picture my cousin Art eating them like it was the last meal he'd ever have, or maybe the first time he'd eaten in days, I'm not quite sure. he would battle it out with my cousin Steve as a huge plate was placed on the dinner table. Thank God that their Mom seemed to have an endless supply.
My family had gotten re-aquanited with them years ago at the Polish Festival held annually in September up on Interstate Avenue in North Portland. My boys grew fond of them, and even introduced them to their friends who are not of Polish or Ukrainian heritage seem to love them as well.
The following recipe is one that I cobbled together from a few on the internet and my Mom Sophie's recipe, so I hope you enjoy them.

Pierogies are traditionally filled with potato, potato and cheese, or a flavorful sauerkraut with bacon drippings, apples. They are even filled with fruit, like blueberries or cherries, mixed with some sugar and corn starch and served cold with sour cream.
I made a few that way for my son's, and had them for dessert a few nights later. I mixed some sour cream, you know kids won't eat sour cream, with some blackberry jam, and served them for dessert. Hank, my youngest said "Dad, you've been holding out on us. These are the best!" I hope your family likes them as much as mine. For the recipe, click thru....

Potato and Cheese Pierogies -

The Dough

4 cups of flour
3 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp of salt
2/3 of cup of warm water

Filling -

1 - 1 1/2 lbs yukon gold potatoes
2 tbs butter
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste

Peel the potatoes and put in a pot of salted water to boil, about 10 minutes until fork tender.
While cooking the potatoes, mix the flour, eggs, sour cream, salt and water together in a bowl.
Turn out on a cutting board and knead for a few minutes until it is firm and elastic.
Cover with a moist towel and let it rest.for at least 10-20 minutes.
When potatoes are done, let cool or run under cool water to room temperature.
Melt butter in a pan and gently saute onion until translucent.
Mix/mash with cooled potatoes, cheese, salt and pepper.
Cut the dough into 3-4 sections, keeping the remainder covered and moist, and roll out one section at a time onto a floured surface.
Thin it to about 1/8th inch thickness, and cut into rounds with a glass or cutter about 4-5 inches across.
Fill with about 1 tsp of potato mixture, being careful not to overfill.
Pinch and crimp the edges to form a seal, and the pierogi into a half moon shape.
Lightly dust with flour, and set aside until you complete all the dough.
Gently boil the pierogies until they float, and place on a tray to cool.
When ready to serve, they are best sauteed in melted butter until browned with some diced onions. You can even add some mushrooms.






m.kare11.com/BETTER/news.jsp?key=107664
Pastries straight from Poland
February 23, 2009 16:49 PM


From sweet to savory, Polish confections are good with just about anything. Marta Pachnik, from the Polish American Cultural Institute of Minnesota, shared two tasty recipes for you to try at home!

Nalesniki(Stuffed Crepes) 2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 tsp salt

1 slight heaped cup of sifted flour

1 cup water



Beat eggs, milk, and salt with a wire whisk until well blended and creamy. Gradually add flour a little at a time, beating constantly. Batter is sufficiently beaten when all lumps of flour have disappeared and air bubbles appear on the surface. Mix in water. Add only as much water as needed to get a thin batter that easily spreads along the bottom of skillet. Hint: Your naleúniki will fry better and easier to fold if you add 1-2 teaspoons of oil to batter.



Heat a 7-10 inch skillet until fairly hot and pour in a small amount of oil. Pour a little batter into the skillet, tilting it so batter covers entire surface. Fry until golden on bottom, then flip over and fry other side to same color. Place fried naleúniki on an inverted dinner plate. Oil the skillet before frying next naleúniki as above, and continue.



If you don't plan to use the naleúniki immediately, keep them stacked on the dinner plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.

When ready to use, spread with filling of choice, roll up, and brown on both sides in butter until nicely golden brown. Another way is to place in a well-buttered baking dish in layers, drench with melted butter (or dot with cold) and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Pastries straight from Poland

Placki Kartoflane Latwiejsze (Potato Pancakes the Easy Way)

8 potatoes

1-2 eggs

1 quarted onion

1/2-1 tsp salt

Peel and dice about 8 potatoes.

In blender place 1-2 eggs, 1 quartered onion, ½-1 teaspoon salt and about 1 cup diced potatoes. Whirl until blended, before adding remaining potatoes 1 cup at a time.

Add 1 level tablespoon potato starch and 2 heaping tablespoons of flour and blend briefly to get a uniform batter. Spoon into hot lard or oil in a skillet.

Flatten each pancake gently with spatula as they should be on the thin side. Fry to a crisp golden brown on both sides and serve immediately.

Poles generally don't drain these on absorbent paper, but feel free to do so. Top with a little salt and sour cream or sugar and sour cream if desired.

[valpomike]

Tell us more on what the Polish, in Poland do for Easter, and some of the old recipes, of that great Polish food.

Mike

[Bonobo]

Mar 24, 2009 17:00:38 GMT 1 valpomike said:

Tell us more on what the Polish, in Poland do for Easter, and some of the old recipes, of that great Polish food.

Mike

Mike, lookie here.
My pics from Easter
polandsite.proboards104.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=customs&thread=85&page=1

Easter traditions
polandsite.proboards104.com/index.cgi?board=photographsfrompoland&action=display&thread=149

polandsite.proboards104.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=151

polandsite.proboards104.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=152


As for recipes, I am sorry, I am not a cook.



Butter lambs are an enduring symbol at Easter
Albany Times Union
Saturday, March 28, 2009

The Rev. Carl Urban: Pastor of the Church of St. Adalbert on Crane Street Hill in Schenectady for 35 years. The parish, formed in 1903, serves 750 families.

Background: Born in Schenectady. St. Adalbert's was his home parish and where both his parents and grandparents were married. His religious training began at the former Mater Christi Seminary in Albany. He then attended St. Paul's Seminary at the University at Ottawa in Canada. After ordination, he celebrated his first Mass at St. Adalbert's in 1966.

For more than a century, St. Adalbert's parishioners have been making butter lambs, or baranki, every year at this time. Tell us about the tradition.

It is Polish as well as one embraced by neighboring Eastern European countries of Lithuania, Slovakia and Ukraine. It dates back more than 600 years to the days when the Lenten fast was very severe and people did not eat meat products or even buy meat products and that would include butter and cream.

The religious significance of the lamb is found in the New Testament. John the Baptist referred to Christ in the scriptures as the Lamb of God. "Behold the lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world," he wrote. That phrase is used in Mass.

After the reality of the resurrection, the Christian community saw in Christ the fulfillment of the Paschal lamb of the Hebrew scriptures.

For the end of Lent, celebrations at one time included eating butter and other dairy products. The butter lamb would be placed in the food basket, along with eggs, sausage, ham and other groceries to be eaten on Easter Sunday, and taken to this day to church on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter, for the blessing by a priest. It is the centerpiece of the Easter table. The lamb softens and is used as butter during the meal.

That annual custom of taking food to church in a basket was the origin of the Easter basket. The whole family would make the trek to church, but it was the children who carried the basket.

How are the lambs made?

We have wooden molds in the form of a reclining lamb that are filled with butter and put in ice water to make it cold and hard. About a quarter of a pound of butter is used for each lamb. They are a bit smaller in length than a television remote.

Once formed, the lamb is removed from the mold and decorated — cloves for eyes and a red mouth made of a little piece of red string or cord, and a banner on a small stick, symbolic of the Easter resurrection, inserted into the base.

We get a group together, volunteers, from St. Adalbert's and St. Mary's, and over the course of a week, we made close to 1,000 lambs. This year, it was done in St. Mary's Church hall beneath the church on Eastern Avenue. The workers set up a production line. The lambs are sold at $3 apiece and proceeds benefit retired Sisters of the Resurrection at Mount St. Joseph in Castleton. Years ago, the sisters made the lambs when the order had more members.

— Carol DeMare

[gigi]

Mar 24, 2009 17:00:38 GMT 1 valpomike said:

Tell us more on what the Polish, in Poland do for Easter

How about pisanki?




Just make sure the eggs are unfertilized...

[Bonobo]

Poles waste food
thenews.pl
31.03.2009

Around four millions tonnes of food is likely to go to waste in Poland this year, while over 2.5 million Poles suffer from poverty and undernourishment.

According to studies conducted in March for the Federation of the Polish Food Banks, Poles are aware of the food wastage problem. As many as 79 percent of respondents said that a lot of food products are wasted in Poland.

Still, as many as 30 percent admitted that they tend to throw away food which could still be used.

"In spite of the tradition, which puts a lot of pressure on respecting food, especially bread, many people admit that they throw it away," said sociologist Kuba Antoszewski, quoted in the Dziennik newspaper.

The main problems are irresponsible shopping when people buy food without any particular plan, as well as improper storage of food products.

The Polish Food Banks have started a nation-wide campaign under the banner: "Don't waste food. Get rid of old habits".

In Poland there are over 2.5 million people living in extreme poverty. According to a report by the European Commission published in May 2008, as many as 35 percent of Poles admit that they can't afford a meal containing meet, poultry or fish at least every other day. This is one of the worst results in the whole of the EU.

[valpomike]

There is a joke like this. A nude women drooped out of a third floor window, and landed in a garbage can. When she lay there, a drunk man came by and said, what a waste, she looks like she have a few more good years left.

Mike

[Bonobo]

The family sausage comes full circle

By PETER ABBOTT

Sussex Sun

Apr. 14, 2009


Submitted Photo
TRADITION - Amy Brady's daughter, four-year-old Kate Brady, steps into her mother's sausage-making shoes 35 after her own initiation by the same crew: (from left) her grandfather, Stan Jaskolski; her childhood friend Kristi (Kasprzak) Ohberg; her mother, Amy; and her grandmother, Cindy. The Jaskolski, Kasprzak and Murray families started the tradition in 1972, and the event has since expanded to more than 100 families making a variety of sausages and competing for best of the night. Kristi's sister, Linda Kasprzak (not shown), was this year's winner.

It's come full circle. A 37-year-old Good Friday sausage-making tradition that began when Amy Brady was just two years old saw her 4-year-old daughter, Kate, follow in her mother's footsteps last Friday at the Kasprzak home in Sussex.

The tradition began in 1974 when Amy's parents, Cindy and Stan Jaskolski, joined forces with Barbara and Jean Kasprzak and Dottie and Bob Murray to make Polish sausages to break their Lenten meat-fast after midnight on Good Friday.

Jean Kasprzak, who worked at a Polish butcher shop on the north side of Milwaukee back then, taught them all the basics.
What began as a three-family affair (complete with a trophy for the best sausage of the night), grew to more than 100 families in later years as the three originals began to call friends and neighbors to join in the festivities.
The Jaskolskis have since moved to Pewaukee and the Murrays have moved out of state, but the lure of communal sausage-making draws them back together every spring.
The Murrays, however, have to settle for a phone connection. "Even though they can't join us," said Cindy Jaskolski, "we call them every Good Friday to let them in on what's happening."
All the families who now participate own their own sausage-making equipment. The Jaskolskis still use the old-fashioned kind that came as attachments for their old Kitchen Aide tabletop mixer.
Cindy Jaskolski and Jean Kasprzak actually knew each other as children in their old Milwaukee north side neighborhood where they went to school together at St. Mary Czestochowa Church. They drifted apart, but Jaskolski went back to her old church one day and saw Kasprzak again.
"He didn't recognize me until I told him who I was," Jaskolski said. "Our friendship grew from then on, but we still laugh about that to this day."
It was Kasprzak who suggested they all make sausage together at a Good Friday get-together in 1974.
"We had such a good time, we decided to do it every year," Jaskolski recalled in an interview last week.
The Good Friday sausage-making also figured in an odd way into Stan Jaskolski's career. Back in 1995, he received a call from a White House lawyer who told him President Bill Clinton was considering him for an appointment to the National Science Board.
During the course of the next six months, federal government staff conducted a security check, which turned up a 1995 article in the Sussex Sun about the Polish sausage-making festivities.
"The lawyer called back and wanted to know if we were prejudiced or something because we only made Polish sausages," Cindy Jaskolski said. "The fact is, though, that since all those other families have joined in, we have all kinds of sausages now."
Stan Jaskolski got the appointment anyway, and served on the National Science Board from 1996 to 2002.
And this year's Good Friday sausage-making trophy returned to its family origins. Linda Kasprzak won with her family recipe for Polish sausage.



--------------------------------------------------------------



From Offal to Off Milk
Dana Dramowicz
The Krakow Post
30th April 2009

www.krakowpost.com/imgsize.php?w=350&img=i/2009/0501-tripe.jpg

The mysteries of Polish food unveiled

As a Pole born and raised abroad, I've always had my fair share of identity issues. But since living here for the last few of years, I have felt quite happy with my progress in understanding my estranged-homeland' s culture. However, as a person with a keen interest in gastronomy, my trouble accepting a few unusual yet essential Polish dishes has always been a thorn in my pride.

It's true though, that Polish cuisine is generally a pretty tame affair. Meat, potatoes, soup and dumplings dominate the kitchen and flavours are usually subdued. The vast majority of our culinary heritage has been defined by the poor and when they were craving a bit of meat, pink and perky chicken breasts were not always on the menu. And so began Poland's love affair with the wonderful world of offal.

In most Western countries, and particularly in North America, the subject of offal is fairly taboo. But in fact studies have continued to show that humans are not inherently averse to what they then grow up to deem "disgusting, " and this can be plainly seen in cultures that readily pop insects as a snack. These aversions are culturally learned. So think about it - what, logically, is so much more appealing about a eating an animal's leg instead of eating its foot? If you've made the choice of taking an animal's life in the name of your dinner so you can luxuriously chew on its ribs, it is simply insulting the beast and most of all completely wasteful, to reject its head, intestines, and any other edible part of its body.

But then again, unusual bits of animals are not the only part of Polish cuisine that are a little weird - preserving food and avoiding waste has created some practical solutions - such as zsiad³e mleko (soured milk). But all in all, this is the kind of food about which Poles like to comment thus: "Don't try it! You'll only like it if you're really Polish." And with this challenge in mind, I began my quest to understand a little more about the art of being Polish.

Kaszanka

Some of you may cringe at the idea of eating congealed pig's blood, but at every moment of everyday, I can guarantee you someone in Poland is eating kaszanka (blood sausage - similar to British black pudding). Blood and kasza (groats) are stuffed into a sausage casing (i.e. intestine) and are eaten raw, sliced onto a sandwich with mustard, or fried up with onions. The texture is reminiscent of rough ground beef mixed with rice. When fried, the meaty flavour is intensified, and the most prominent flavour, the heavy metallic after-taste, is minimized. It takes a while to get used to that aftertaste, as it can really overpower the initial flavour. If you thought kissing someone after eating too much garlic was bad, don't try kissing them with blood-breath.

Flaki

Tripe soup is also not strictly a Polish dish, but it is so popular it's impossible to mention day-to-day Polish food without a word about this cow-stomach soup. The flavour of the actual flaki are greatly overpowered by the smell, which really takes quite a lot of getting used to. Thankfully the yellow slices of stomach taste just fine, as does the peppery broth (which is in fact delicious). If you've got a few chances to try this one out privately, I suggest training yourself to adjust to the smell in quick, regular sniffs. If you've got Poles watching, staring curiously in anticipation of your reaction, just hold your breath and chow down!

Zsiadłe mleko

Left your fresh milk outside the fridge accidentally? Are things starting to separate and get a little funky? No worries! It's time to make your own Polish sour milk. Just like yoghurt and cheese, sour milk is easy to make at home - all you have to do is forget to refrigerate for a couple of days.

Zsiad³e mleko, or sour milk, closely resembles dairy products we happily eat everyday such as yoghurt, sour cream, and particularly buttermilk, but it is also one of the least understood by foreigners. If you leave a glass of fresh, raw milk at room temperature it will begin to ferment, or "clabber," separating the top layer of thick tangy cream from the watery bottom. This is very different from when your pasteurized or UHT milk goes off in the fridge. Its sterilization process killed all the friendly bacteria that makes zsiad³e mleko a stable and healthy drink even without refrigeration, while your fancy modern day milk has simply gone rancid. Try sour milk on boiled potatoes with dill (or baked potatoes with chives - though not a very Polish solution), or whizzed together with frozen fruit in a blender for a healthy home-made smoothie.

And more...

Ozorki (tongues) of cows or pigs are also popular, whether in aspic (natural gelatin) or not. Chicken hearts and stomachs are common additions to broths, and are later eaten quite enthusiastically. Another example, unrelated to animals for a change, is kisiel, a pudding-like hot fruit drink - though its consistency may be suspect to most foreigners. That is, perhaps with the exception of those familiar with Asian soy bean curd desserts.

Perhaps the strangest but most classically Polish weird food is czernina, a soup made of duck's blood and broth. Unfortunately I never got a chance to taste the stuff simply because it is no longer on modern menus. Also, I'm not particularly interested in beheading a duck in my studio flat.

In the end, I realized that even after forcing myself to repeatedly taste these defining Polish dishes, I can't relocate my childhood memories to Poland. Throughout my taste tests it became apparent that the experience would have been absolutely vital in appreciating most of this food. And despite my attempts at prejudice-free eating, I doubt there will ever be a time when I will happily cook and eat a pig's tail soup. Then again, if it's offered to me, I will make it a point to try my best.

Sure, 95 percent of Polish cuisine is actually quite safe-tasting meat and potato-type dishes. But if you can overcome your psychological barriers and accept that remaining five percent, you'll feel hugely rewarded. You may not transform into a flesh and blood Pole, but you'll certainly come close.

[Bonobo]

Stuffing one's face, po polsku

Warsaw Business Journal

11th May 2009
Poland is well known for its hospitality and the copious amounts of food which accompany it - visitors from all over the world have returned home to spread legends of Polish feasting.


Courtesy of Poland Culinary Vacations

WBJ.pl chats with Ma³gorzata "Sarna" Rose, the president of Poland Culinary Vacations, a firm specializing in gastronomic tours of Poland.

Roberto Galea: How did the idea for your business come about?

Ma³gorzata Rose: Culinary trips, which combine hands-on and demonstration- style cooking lessons as the main focus and also include sightseeing, have been organized for years to destinations famous for outstanding cuisine like Italy, France and Spain. Poland is not yet well known around the world for it's outstanding regional cuisine and drink – maybe with the exception of our fine vodka – but offers a plethora of both.

So, I thought, why not create a company that focuses exclusively on regional culinary tourism to Poland? Poland Culinary Vacations offers ... a culinary learning experience – with local village women in their homes and professional city chefs, as well as cultural discovery, which includes sightseeing.

Plus, when you add the legendary hospitality of Poles, you get a perfect combination.

What is your target demographic?

Foodies, sophisticated world travelers, people who want to go slow and see more.

Most are women 35 and older, who like to travel together as girlfriends or mother/daughters, but also many solo travelers and couples.

Most culinary travelers come from North America but this specialty tourism is growing in popularity among foodies and travelers from all over the world, including countries like China and India.

What do your clients want from these trips? Which is more popular, food tours or cooking lessons?

Clients request great food: natural, organically sourced, healthy and varied. Of course [they also want] a great time!

The weekly trips are more popular but some people who are in Poland on business or short stays will do a one-day cooking lesson with a chef.


What percentage of your client base includes people who have some "Polish blood" and are trying to rediscover their roots?

I would say it's 50/50. Adventurous travelers are eager to try new cuisines as they explore the world, even if they've never tried Polish cuisine. Third and fourth generation Polish-Americans, Polish-Canadians etc, come to experience what "their Babcia used to cook" – the association of happy memories with food is strong in those individuals. They want to learn how to make the delicious pierogi their Babcia used to make!

As a native Pole who has moved to the US, what is the general perception, in your experience, of "Polish food" in the US?

Outside of the big Polish-American population centers like Chicago and New York, where people are able to try authentic Polish food in restaurants run by Polish-Americans, Americans know very little about Polish food/cuisine. They may know Polish kielbasa and vodka.

They think that Polish cuisine is based only on cabbage, meat and potatoes and that's far from the truth. We need to do a better job of promoting the variety of foods [which Poland] offers.

[Bonobo]

Chłodnik litewski - cool beet soup, literally.




Eastern European Recipes

Cold Beet Soup (Chlodnik - Poland)

Large bunch of beet tops (stems and leaves)
1 or 2 beet roots
2 or 3 salted pickled gherkins - preferably Polish
Some of the pickle juice
Fresh cucumber, dill, onion, chives
Creme fraiche, sour cream or yogurt or a mixture of these
Concentrated veal stock
Cold fried veal chops or pork tenderloin,
cut into small cubes (good, but optional)
Lemon

The evening before you make the soup, grate a beet finely and leave it overnight in a bowl with a little water added.

The next day, chop the beet tops, put them in a pot and pour 2 1/2 cups of boiling water over them. Allow it to come to a boil once more and take off the stove. Dice the cucumber and the pickles. Large or small cubes are a matter of preference. Squeeze the juice from the grated beet and pour juice in a pot. Set grated beet aside.

Add pickle juice, creme fraiche and yogurt to pot. Add boiled beet, cucumber and pickles, and give it a stir. Add some of that veal stock, just enough to make a change in the taste. Add the cold meat if you wish. Season with freshly chopped dill, chives and very finely chopped or grated onion. Now, if you like the soup to have a bit more color, add some of the leftover grated beet, or better still, some freshly grated. Finally, salt, pepper and maybe a squeeze of a lemon wedge will bring it to perfection. Chill for a few hours before serving.
www.recipegoldmine.com/worldeasteuro/cold-beet-soup.html












Ingredients:

1 cup chopped baby beet greens and little roots
1/2 to 3/4 cup ham
2 cups boiling water
1-1/2 to 2 qt. sour milk
1 peeled cucumber
1 bunch radishes
1 bunch green onions
3 tsp. freshly chopped dill
Salt, pepper and sugar
Directions:
Place 1 cup chopped baby beet greens and roots (smaller than a radish) and 1/2 to 3/4 cup diced boiled ham (or diced cooked veal) in pot with 2 cups boiling water. Simmer for 15 minutes. Cool.

Add 1-1/2 to 2 quarts sour milk beaten smooth with wire whisk or commercial buttermilk, 1/2 cup fork blended, pourable sour cream, peeled cucumber, bunch radishes, bunch green onions (all vegetables chopped and shredded) and dill. Add a little salt, pepper, and sugar (optional). Sour to taste with a little dill pickle juice or lemon. Refrigerate overnight for flavors to intermingle or at least 5 hours.

Serve cold over sliced hard-boiled eggs.
Comments from angel :
A refreshing hot weather treat! To get the proper deep-pink color add juice of grated, raw beet or canned beet juice.


foodgeeks.com/recipes/recipe.phtml?recipe_id=17558

[Bonobo]

Jun 26, 2009 20:08:39 GMT 1 locopolaco said:

Today I cooked Hungarian gulash but half the company didn`t like the classic tomato sauce I prepared. Strange guys.

hungarian goulash does NOT contain any tomato in it.. maybe that is why your guests turned their nose at it.. i know i would. [/quote]

I am so sorry, Loco, but the Hungarian bogracz gulash DOES contain tomato. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D At least most recipes say so:

www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/688/Bogracs_gulyas_(goulash)

Ingredients

1 kilo chuck steak or gravy beef – diced
1 kilo potatoes, peeled and diced
80 mls vegetable oil
1 brown onion
3 tablespoons of sweet paprika – (hot if you are fan of heat)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon carraway seeds
2 cloves garlic crushed
3 Hungarian (yellow) capsicums or sweet banana chillies diced
1 tomato chopped

Soup pasta (csipetke)
80 grams plain flour
1 egg
This will make a 100g of dough which is enough for six as a soup pasta.
View conversion table
Preparation

Fry chopped onions to golden yellow, lower heat and add ½ of the paprika, stir rapidly, add meat, salt, caraway seeds, finely chopped garlic and small amount of cold water. Stir occasionally while it’s braising not boiling.

While the meat is cooking chop the vegetables to same size pieces (1cm).

Prepare the soup pasta (csipetke) by mixing 80g flour with 1 egg. The dough should be well kneaded and rested before making it into little pinched and rolled soup pastas around the same size as a large rice grain.

Before the meat is tender (1 ½ to 2 hrs), reduce the pan juices and add vegetables and the remaining paprika. When potatoes are almost cooked add the pasta and adjust quantity by addition of water.

[Bonobo]

Jun 26, 2009 20:08:39 GMT 1 locopolaco said:

Jun 26, 2009 19:55:26 GMT 1 Bonobo said:

Today I cooked Hungarian gulash but half the company didn`t like the classic tomato sauce I prepared. Strange guys.

hungarian goulash does NOT contain any tomato in it.. maybe that is why your guests turned their nose at it.. i know i would.

I am so sorry, Loco, but the Hungarian bogracz gulash DOES contain tomato. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D At least most recipes say so:

www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/688/Bogracs_gulyas_(goulash)

Ingredients

1 kilo chuck steak or gravy beef – diced
1 kilo potatoes, peeled and diced
80 mls vegetable oil
1 brown onion
3 tablespoons of sweet paprika – (hot if you are fan of heat)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon carraway seeds
2 cloves garlic crushed
3 Hungarian (yellow) capsicums or sweet banana chillies diced
1 tomato chopped

Soup pasta (csipetke)
80 grams plain flour
1 egg
This will make a 100g of dough which is enough for six as a soup pasta.
View conversion table
Preparation

Fry chopped onions to golden yellow, lower heat and add ½ of the paprika, stir rapidly, add meat, salt, caraway seeds, finely chopped garlic and small amount of cold water. Stir occasionally while it’s braising not boiling.

While the meat is cooking chop the vegetables to same size pieces (1cm).

Prepare the soup pasta (csipetke) by mixing 80g flour with 1 egg. The dough should be well kneaded and rested before making it into little pinched and rolled soup pastas around the same size as a large rice grain.

Before the meat is tender (1 ½ to 2 hrs), reduce the pan juices and add vegetables and the remaining paprika. When potatoes are almost cooked add the pasta and adjust quantity by addition of water.

[locopolaco]

no, not one drop of tom in REAL magyar dish:




it's all paprika.. (4-5 Table spoons (T) of the real stuff)


;D

[locopolaco]

Gulyasleves


* 2 lb. beef chuck
* 1 tsp. salt
* 2 onions, white or yellow
* 2 Tbsp. lard or shortening
* 2 Tbsp. imported sweet paprika (most important to use real hungarian paprika for ultimate flavor)
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 Qt. water
* 4 peeled and diced potatoes
* 1/4 tsp. black pepper

Cut beef into 1 inch squares, add 1/2 tsp. salt. Chop onions and brown in shortening, add beef and paprika. Let beef simmer in its own juice along with salt and paprika for 1 hr. on low heat. Add water, diced potatoes and remaining salt. Cover and simmer until potatoes are done and meat is tender. Prepare egg dumpling batter:

* 1 egg
* 6 Tbsp. flour
* 1/8 tsp. salt

Add flour to unbeaten egg and salt. Mix well. Let stand for 1/2 hour for flour to mellow. Drop by teaspoonful into Goulash. Cover and simmer 5 minutes after dumplings rise to surface.

Serve hot with dollops of sour cream.

Serves 6.

[Bonobo]

Jun 26, 2009 22:21:10 GMT 1 locopolaco said:

no, not one drop of tom in REAL magyar dish:
;D

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Why are you so stubborn on it?? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D You don`t have Hungarian roots.... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Well, the matter is a bit ambiguous. It seems there are no strict rules on the usage of tomatoes.


Goulash' is a spicy dish, originally from Hungary, usually made of beef, onions, red peppers, and paprika powder. Its name comes from Hungarian ''gulyás'' (pronounced goo-yash), the word for a cattle stockman or herdsman.
Goulash is traditionally prepared as a soup. Meat is cut into chunks, seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika, and then browned in a pot with oil. Shank, shin or shoulder is used — goulash derives its thickness from tough, well-exercised muscles rich in collagen, which is converted to gelatin during the cooking process. Sliced onions, hot red peppers and garlic are added. After the meat is browned, water or stock is added and left to simmer. Some finely diced potatoes may be added to provide starch as they cook, making the stew thicker and smoother. Other herbs and spices may also be added, especially bay leaf, thyme and ground caraway seeds. A small amount of white wine or a very little wine vinegar can also be added near the end of cooking to round the taste.
Some cooking books suggest using flour or cornstarch to thicken the stew, but this produces a starchy texture and a blander taste. Others suggest using generous amounts of tomatoes for colour and taste. A small amount of tomatoes in the stock that is used, or a drop of tomato puree, may improve the taste and texture, but goulash is a paprika-based dish and the taste of tomatoes should not be discernible. Many Hungarian chefs consider tomatoes to be absolutely forbidden in goulash, and they also feel that if they cook a stew instead of a soup, it should only be thickened by finely chopped potatoes, which must be simmered along with the meat.
Goulash is generally served with boiled or mashed potatoes, polenta, dumplings, or spatzle, or, alternatively, as a stand-alone dish with bread.
This "beef stew" version is not usually referred to as gulyás in Hungarian but is rather called ''marhapörkölt'' (or "stewed beef"). Gulyás is more often used as the shortened version of gulyásleves as described below.
Goulash is nowadays popular in almost all the former Austrian-Hungarian Empire, from Northeast Italy to the Carpates.
'''Also: goulashes'''

tripatlas.com/Goulash

[Bonobo]

Pedaling for Pierogies: Lomzynianka
By Frank Bruni
The New York Times
7/28/09

Late Saturday morning, great weather, a brand new bike. I wanted to tool around some, and I wanted to make food a part of it. I always want to make food a part of it.

So off we pedaled, my Saturday companion and I, from downtown Brooklyn to Greenpoint. We'd been talking for a while about heading there for Polish food, and had dallied, I think, because of the heaviness of that kind of cooking. The bicycling gave us the justification— the inoculation—we needed. It would burn off some of those extra calories.

The last time we'd done this sort of biking-for-eating thing, it hadn't worked out so well. The prompt was a pizza-heavy weekend, in the service of the pizza roundup I recently wrote, and we decided to do as much riding as we could manage without blowing out our knees or losing too many hours to the effort. Our reward? By weekend's end we no longer had bikes. We'd left them locked around a No Parking sign on a busy sidewalk—all the proper bike racks were taken—and someone had come along and uprooted the sign from the concrete in order to get at, and spirit away, the bikes.

How many passersby watched it happen? Had to be scores of them. New York's a merciless, merciless town.

But not when it comes to food. When it comes to food New York's beneficence knows no bounds. Before heading to Greenpoint, we did a vigorous Internet inventory of our options for traditional Polish cooking, and there were many to sift through. We ended up choosing Lomzynianka, for one reason above all others: among its positive reviews was one from my colleague Eric Asimov, who checked it out in 2002, when he was writing the $25 and Under column.

Here's some of what Eric had to say back then: "It's pronounced Lahm-zhin-YAHN- eh-ka . . . The small dining room has the look of authenticity that comes only from artificiality: brick wallpaper, plastic tablecloths, fake plants and a stag's head with tinsel-draped antlers."

He went on to offer tempered but genuine praise for the food, singling out the potato pancakes and the "light, white veal meatballs," which he noted were just $4.

How much of this would still hold true, seven years later?

The décor is pretty much as Eric described it: a poignantly economical stab at fanciness that will be familiar to just about anyone with an immigrant grandmother from the Old World. To Eric's description I'd add one note: each table has its own tiny shaded lamp on it. And that touch gives the small dining room an even more intimate feel.

The prices, obviously, have changed since Eric's day. But they're still low enough that you're likely to do a double take when you see them. The veal meatballs, three of them in a white gravy stippled with dill, are $6.50, which includes a veritable mountain range of mashed potatoes to their side.

The potato pancakes, a half dozen of them, are $5. The Polish platter of three pierogis, kielbasa, stuffed cabbage and potatoes is $7.50.

We tried all of that. But first we were given the salads that apparently come with any entrée: a generous tangle of shredded, lightly pickled vegetables including sweet carrots, cabbage and beets. Served cold, it was a terrifically refreshing answer to a muggy summer day.

The veal meatballs were fluffier and lighter than anything with meat has any right to be. The stuffed cabbage had a similar lightness, a contradiction of all the stereotypes and all my worries about how heavy Eastern European food is. At this restaurant it has a surprising delicacy.

Except for the potato pancakes. I don't know that delicacy and potato pancakes can ever nestle together honestly in the same sentence, and I don't know that they should. These were faintly greasy, sufficiently crunchy, thicker than expected and completely addictive. We finished them all, figuring we'd just pedal with extra vigor to make up for it.

The pierogies and the mashed potatoes, which the restaurant uses with too much abandon in too many dishes, were bland, and as much as I love dill, I do think a kitchen can go overboard with it. Lomzynianka' s certainly did.

But I looked back into that kitchen and saw a stout elderly woman at the stove. Then I looked anew at the little lamp on our table. Finally I looked at the bill: about $24 for the two of us, including soft drinks but not alcohol, which the restaurant doesn't serve. And I was definitely happy.

Lomzynianka, 646 Manhattan Ave., Greenpoint, Brooklyn; [phone]. Soups, blintzes and such, $1.75 to $5; entrees, $5 to $7.50.

[valpomike]

Does anyone know of a Polish bread filled with sour kraut? What is it called, and how is it made? Does anyone have a recipe for this, please.

Mike

[valpomike]

This bread could have been called Pagach, and is not very high, and the kraut would have been chopped up, so that you can tear off a part, without cutting it.

Mike

[valpomike]

Could also been called, Rozky or Pogeca.


Mike

[valpomike]

All the great cooks in this group, and no one know who to make this? I can't believe.

Mike

[gigi]

Sept 1, 2009 0:09:00 GMT 1 valpomike said:

This bread could have been called Pagach, and is not very high, and the kraut would have been chopped up, so that you can tear off a part, without cutting it.

Mike

I found pagach, a Slovak bread, on this site:

easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/slovakbreads/r/pagach.htm

[valpomike]

Gigi,

Thank you very much, you are a great help.

Mike

[gigi]

Sept 1, 2009 16:09:52 GMT 1 valpomike said:

Gigi,

Thank you very much, you are a great help.

Mike

You're welcome!

If you try the recipe, I'd love to hear how it turns out.

[Bonobo]

Sept 1, 2009 15:57:18 GMT 1 valpomike said:

All the great cooks in this group, and no one know who to make this? I can't believe.

Mike

Not Krakow tradition. I have never heard of, let alone tasted, pagach.

[valpomike]

Check it out, and try it, you could like it.

Mike

[locopolaco]

nope, never heard of it either. we have bigos and kraut pierogis. not all kraut dishes out there are polish or german, you know.

thanks for the link gigi.. i may give it a shot sometime.

[Bonobo]

Mexican cuisine gaining popularity in Poland
By Nacho Temiño.

Warsaw, Aug 26 (EFE)- Mexican cuisine is gaining more and more traction in Poland thanks to the proliferation of Tex-Mex restaurants and the enthusiasm for Hispanic culture in that country, though diners there are wary of challenging their taste buds with the spicier fare.
"The Poles especially like the enchiladas, quesadillas and pork loins with pasilla chile sauce," Mauricio Blanco, head chef at the Taqueria Mexicana chain in Warsaw and apparently the only Mexican chef working in the Polish capital.

But he said that despite repeated attempts, he hasn't been able to win Poles over to spicier dishes. "They're interested, they try it, but not in great abundance." Polish diners do like seasoning with vinegar and "the acidic flavors, the plates that have sauces with some acidic taste," said the 41- year-old, who left a restaurant in Mexico to try his luck in faraway Eastern Europe.

Poles also haven't yet taken a liking to entrails and insects that have no place in traditional Polish cuisine, which is heavy in sauces and abundant in pork, potatoes and mushrooms.

"We haven't even tried with ants, worms or grasshoppers, " Blanco joked.

U.S. Tex-Mex chains are partly responsible for popularizing Mexican cuisine in Poland and peaking Poles' interest in authentic Mexican food.

"Due to the increase in U.S. chains with Mexican products, or Tex-Mex, the public has become interested in authentic Mexican cuisine, little by little more products have been imported, there's much better prepared dishes and a better representation of Mexican culinary culture," said Yunuhen Hernandez, an importer of Mexican products to Poland.

Both Mexicans agree that another factor in the growing popularity of Mexican cuisine is the current enthusiasm in Poland for Hispanic culture and for studying Spanish, which has become all the rage there in recent years.

Hernandez, a native of Uruapan in the western state of Michoacan, mainly sells jalapeño peppers and tortillas. He says Tex-Mex establishments - which offer a regional American cuisine that makes abundant use of melted cheese, beef, beans, and spices, as well as Mexican-style tortilla s - offer an Americanized version of Mexican cuisine yet also have left Poles with a desire to experience the real thing.

"Gradually some dishes are being prepared in the pure Mexican style, although most of them have to be adapted to suit the Polish palate," he said.

Authentic or not, Mexican cuisine is making more and more inroads in Poland, a country whose population of 38 million includes a tiny community of roughly 100 Mexican immigrants.

[Bonobo]

How the Sausage is Made
By Elizabeth Takacs
The New York Times
8/18/09


Pias Meats and Provisions


Succulent sausages hanging in Piast Meats and Provisions.

Many might know of Piast Meats and Provisions, 1899 Springfield Avenue, from Maplewood's Mayfest celebration. The aroma of kielbasa sizzling on the grill never fails to draw a hungry crowd.

Step into Martin Rybak's store and you'll find over 16 varieties of sausage, in addition to other Polish specialties, some familiar and some not so common this side of Warsaw.

"Everything is made according to the traditional way," Mr. Rybak, 28, explained. "We have our own meat production in the back. It's pleasing to the eye to see how it's done."

Almost all of the meats, those 16 varieties of kielbasa included, are prepared and smoked in Piast's own smokehouses, two of which are in the Maplewood location. The Rybak family, including Henry Rybak, Mr. Rybak's father and the founder of the Piast enterprise, owns three stores, the Maplewood location being the first. The other two are in Garfield.

Martin Rybak

Piast owner Martin Rybak and an employee.

The process of smoking the meats is both primitive and sophisticated. The meat itself is cooked over an open fire pit. Gas heat also makes a contribution, and calibrating the one with the other requires the expertise and instinct of a seasoned professional.

"It really is a skill," Mr. Rybak said, explaining the process.

In the morning you have to start it up correctly to get a right balance between the smoke and the heat. Then you have to maintain it throughout the day. It's a very, very complicated process. It's very hard to find people who can do this. But we found them. And when the sausages come out, they're glistening as if you cooked them over a campfire.

Kielbasa, a variety of hams, bacon and even beef jerky all come out of Piast's smokehouses. Mr. Rybak introduced beef jerky, made from certified Angus beef, to his assortment two years ago in an effort to reach out to his non-Polish customer base.

What he didn't expect was how far he would reach. "I have people from factories in North and South Carolina order 300 pounds of this at a time. I have no idea how they found me," he exclaimed.

Pierogies made the Piast way are also just as work-intensive, with results that are just as rewarding.

"I have nine full-time people who just make pierogies," Mr. Rybak said. "We looked into ways to automate the process and decided that, you know what? It just isn't worth it. The dough, the filling, the rolling of the dough, the stuffing, the boiling are all entirely hand-made. We're very proud of what we sell."

And the Piast kitchen is testimony to this. The kitchen itself is sleek and modern, yet beyond the industrial glean of stainless steel, you see many hands at work chopping, kneading, stirring, tending, all rooted in another time and place. And it smells just heavenly, like your grandmother' s kitchen — or if not yours, then somebody's grandmother' s kitchen.

"I think that the trend is that people are going back to their roots, away from mass-production and towards locally made foods," Mr. Rybak explained. "Not only does it stimulate the local economy, you know where your food is coming from. You know who made it. You can shake hands with the guys who made it."

The local economy is very much on Mr. Rybak's mind these days.

We're very grateful and thankful to Mayfest for helping us out. We're hurting like anybody during these times, but we're focusing on value right now.

For instance, Piast offers hot dinners. Take-out dinners range between $6 and $7. Customers have a choice of one entrée and two sides, plus dessert. Desserts, baked goods and breads are also homemade. You can add soup to your meal for a $1.

And looking outside his door, Mr. Rybak is more than aware of the hard times that are falling on his fellow Springfield Avenue business owners as well, but he remains optimistic.

"I have no doubt Springfield Avenue is going to be a beautiful area, a great shopping district. I have no doubt," Mr. Rybak said. "That's why I'm staying here. I could easily shut down and focus on my other businesses, but I see potential. I see people coming in."

And so when you do come in, be sure to take a moment and say hello.

[valpomike]

Yet Taco Bell for the U.S.A., some time ago, left Warsaw. Why?

Mike