Pie

One thing that the Polish don't have here are pies. Although the expression 'as American as apple pie' is prominent where I am from, I can also say I have had many a British pie in addition to the wide range of 'American' ones too. Those who haven't had 'pie', of any type, should naturally be exposed to this delicacy. So call today Operation Pie.

Apparently pie is a food that goes back way back when, and consisted of filling and baking either sweet or savory ingredients into a pastry casing, usually made from flour, fat, and water.

The Oxford English Dictionary traces the first use of the word "pie" as it relates to food to 1303, noting the word was well-known and popular by 1362.

Find more info on pie, here! 

While pie has transformed into just about every kind of flavor and changed in shape. It's not just apple pie, but fried pies too, and pizzas, as well as the famous British variety Steak and Kidney pie. As an American I come to appreciate the one pastry that takes some considerable time and patience to make... and that is usually gone in 5 min, but hey it's PIE! Today I felt like having some one-on-one time with the kitchen, so I decided to make my great-grandmother's Vanilla Creme Pie. Well, minus the meringue--we were running low on time. ;) I had always watched my mother make this but hadn't ever tried it on my own. Somehow I had to find a nice substitute for the graham cracker crumb base (Poles don't have those either), so I settled on some crushed ginger cookies and some butter. Worked nicely, but I know not as good as the real thing. Still it came out beautifully, despite me having what they call corn flour over here and not cornstarch. It thickened up so nicely and set rather well in the fridge. I didn't have time for a meringue, but it tasted just as good without.

So the verdict.... the question of course of 'what is it?' Marceli didn't like the crust. Go figure, that kid is the pickiest eater I have ever seen. But the other two both had seconds. So I guess I did something right. Hoorah for pie!

Carrying on the topic of pie, I decided to make pizzas from scratch using a really good pizza base that I had found. Yep, that was a big hit too, after all you can't go wrong with pizza. I literally raided the fridge and used up the leftover tomato sauce I had in the freezer from a few weeks ago. On the one we had leftover turkey pieces, sundried tomato, some greens, roasted red pepper, cheese, and spices, and the other was an assortment of fresh ham, cheese, and some garlic. Neither lasted very long. In fact Marceli claims 'it was the best pizza he had ever had'. Just don't tell him it had cheese on it (he hates cheese). And I am getting oh so good at hiding it in his food, hehe.

So today folks was one successful day in the kitchen. Tonight.... lemon curd!

Dzien Kobiet or Women's Day

Who knew March 8th was such a funny holiday here. Apparently today is Women's Day, although I am not sure it is just for Poland, because I see other people posting it as an 'international' holiday--still I thought I would share this holiday with you simply because the traditional gifts cracked me up. Tradition was (during the war) that men gave their special lady a pair of tights... in addition to flowers. Now I am not so sure the tights are still given but I did see alot of people buying flowers today. Who knew? Reading up on the holiday I found that the holiday is similar to Valentines and Mother's Day. It was first created in 1948 in an intention to replace a Roman Catholic feast day of the 12th century monk, Blessed Wincenty Kadlubek, but also to celebrate women as hard-working contributors of the economy. Noble intention, yes? While this feast was enforced by the government, it quickly became accepted and part of Polish culture even to this day. So, Happy Women's Day peeps. :)

So far I have learned how to make three authentic Polish dishes:

1. Boiled red cabbage (Beard Burner) 
2. Leniwe pierogi or 'lazy pierogies'
3. Boiled beetroot

Yay! More recipes to add to my collection--which is getting pretty extensive. So far this week I have managed to make a pretty awesome Cinnamon & Raisin loaf and some very strange red velvet cupcakes. I say strange because this recipe called for beetroot and a certain type of cocoa. Not to mention I did some substitution for the butter and cheese and used oil and sour cream instead. Don't get me wrong they were good.. but strange, so strange. And they were not red. Nowhere close--more like a strawberry brown. I like to call them 'Mystery Cupcakes', or 'What's that flavor'. You see the kids and I debated about the taste and this is what we came up with.

- Kasper claimed they tasted like tomato.
- I thought they tasted like lemon and chocolate.
- Cecylia said they were more like potato.
- Marceli stated they were just 'strange'.

Smart kid--I think he was on to something. What is so strange is that they tasted better and more 'normal' the second day. I am not sure how I feel about the 'experiment'.

On to other news--it is snowing again! Just a light drizzle and more wet than anything else. It was a nice surprise driving home tonight on these windy roads and in the pitch black. Is it any consolation that I now know these roads like the back of my hand and don't need my high beams anymore??

Oh and D saw the Queen, Prince Phillip, and Kate today on the train. I seriously thought he was joking, but apparently not. I told the kids today and all three of them said 'alive??' Yes, alive.

Happy Thursday!

And March came blowing in...

Crazy how time flies--March already and yet it feels like it just turned February not too long ago. It also puts into perspective what you really have been up to... and for me it has been an exceptional time in the past 30 days or so. I also regret that I have not written in such a long time. Apologies, apologies.

On that note, we welcomed March with much warmer temperatures. Poland is actually quite nice in the spring (not to say it wasn't nice before--I actually am glad I experienced winter too), and the sun has been glorious. I have had the windows open in the kitchen lately for the nice fresh air. One of my favorite things here is one of the drives that I take sometimes in the morning to pick up the kids from the swimming pool. The road happens to wind through several villages and there are many cool farmhouses, fields, and just nature in general along the way. This makes for an especially nice drive now that the days are longer and I get to experience the sun coming up over the horizon. It makes me want to get out my camera and just drive nowhere in particular. There are so many little country roads I have yet to explore. However, the thought of doing this in a family size mini-van ultimately puts that thought in question... I nearly got the thing stuck in the mud a few weeks ago after our rainy period. Darn country roads. More photographs are still on my to do list--and I will conquer those muddy roads!

Speaking of photographs, I have loved spending my time arranging my pictures of my time here in the form of a book. As some photography enthusiasts might tell you the perfect addition to a bookshelf, coffee table, or for your own personal enjoyment is a book of photographs. I could spend hours looking through such books, and since I find them so fascinating I have decided to create my own project inspired by my year abroad in Poland in the form of 12 little books, one for each month. January and February look fabulous--and each one is only a couple dollars! Love.

Doesn't it look like Courier & Ives?

 March also brought a goodbye of an American au pair (Natasha we will miss you, but hey a visit to Chicago is in the works!) that I have come to love spending time with while here, while also bringing in a new American au pair in her place (Caitlyn you will be awesome!). Life has its way of introducing new people to you and I like what it has given me so far. Even though I have only been here a little more than two months, I found myself helping Caitlyn in any way I could. I knew she would need encouragement and knowing that if she ever needed anything she had support. She was hard to read at first as our first meeting consisted of us walking around the mall as I chatted about where things were and what she might find helpful. I honestly felt like I did too much talking, but maybe that was due to her being a super quiet person. And I thought I was quiet--oh boy. In spite of that, we did have a nice conversation about the overall au pair experience, and Natasha and I both agree it had its benefits and also things that would change your life and also the way you see things. We both agreed we had/were learning how to live on our on (even if we were at the mercy of a family), to be so-called 'parents' to children, to live in a country that doesn't speak English as it's native tongue, and living the life God has called us on. Even though we laid out what would be difficult, we also praised God at the opportunity and told her it would be an amazing year of her life.

I have become comfortable. In three months I have learned so much, and it makes me excited what I might come to learn and experience during the rest of my time here. This church I had doubts about here has been one of the things I come to enjoy and look forward to every single Sunday. I love the people there, and I love how full my heart gets every time we sing and worship our King. I like feeling a happiness that can't be described. I like being closer to God. It's brought me to a new understanding in how I am growing spiritually, how I need to read my Bible more, how I need to pray. It's so wonderful to know and to see how that is working in me now. How it affects me as an worker in this house, a friend, a girlfriend, and a daughter.

In a nutshell, I have learned how to prepare myself for a life on my own, to take care of someone's children as if they were my own, and to attach myself to a life more in tune with God's Word. In all of this God has been the greatest stronghold I could ask for, and I have Him to thank for this journey.