Polish Comfort Food

All across the world people are craving comfort food. They're also missing take out and restaurant food as well. In Poland there are eateries that check off those boxes. People are loving it  as familiar dishes and tastes are easing anxiety and tears.

Regular contributor Amelia Neirenburg wrote about this leftover of Poland's Communist regime.They're called milk bars - so called because they were historically vegetarian, and are a strange hybrid of diner and soup kitchen. Despite offering Communist nostalgia and Communist pricing, they are surprisingly hip and now vital. Their prices are low. Five dollars is the most anyone can spend in them and they'd be walking off with a feast. Before the shutdown, diners would order their meals at a window and then carry a tray with their food to the milk bar's  many tables, sort of like a high school cafeteria.Milk bars actually long predate the Communist Era , surprisingly being started by a member of Poland's landed gentry Stanislaw Dluzewski in 1896. They were popular , especially during the Depression when they offered quality, inexpensive meals for the workers and poor. The Communist Era kind of put a damper on them and Poles lost interest as international foods such as McDonald's , Vietnamese dishes and kebabs flooded the cities.

Yet milk bars connected the country with its' troubled past. Food is apolitical and there are almost always good memories associated with it. Recipes are as traditional as they come. Customers can buy zurek, a soup made from fermented rye and bacon and another soup, barszcz, a beet soup served with sour cream or dumplings. There are scores of differently stuffed pierogi like spinach and mushroom along with potato and cheese. Kompot, a warmed fruit drink,  popular with older people is also served. Ms. Neirenberg includes two recipes, one for pierogi Ruskie, a potato and cheese dumpling and barszcz, classic Polish borscht, Both require a lot of ingredients. and are labor intensive but they're worth it. They're also something different that will get the family out of the usual culinary rut. The pierogi dough is a simple one , similar to pasta dough. The filling is a tasty mix of waxy potatoes, onions and quark cheese.If you can't find the last cottage cheese or sour cream can be nicely subbed in. These can be made and frozen along with being boiled or pan fried in butter. The borscht not only has beets but carrots, parsnips and onions too.Garlic and herbs such as marjoram also add flavor. It does need to be strained and then recooked. You could serve it in very large teacups and drink it Polish style. Add a big dollop of sour cream for more flavor.

Milk bars are offering comfort food in a time when it's desperately needed. Poles need pierogies and beet soup to get them through these strange , trying times. Familiar flavors and taste help.

Lent And Fish

Today is Ash Wednesday which starts off Lent. It's when some Catholics and other Christians give up meat completely,Fish is allowed by the church so it's also a good time to try a pescatarian diet.

Alison Roman gives us a good fish recipe in today's New York Times Food section,It is salmon with whole lemon dressing.It's an easy dish to make on any fasting days like Wednesdays and Fridays.The fillet is dressed with a blend of lemon, white wine vinegar, shallots and olive oil. Herbs such as oregano, marjoram and thyme give the salmon a lovely green flavor.It's mixed and then poured  over the fish . After the fillet is baked for fifteen to twenty minutes or until the flesh is an orange-y pink.It's served on a bed of butter or Little Gem Romaine lettuce. Ms. Roman also has sliced cucumbers and radishes for crunch but you can omit these if you want.

You could easily make any kind of fish for this Lenten season. Cod is good and it can be prepared a variety of different ways. The simplest is buttered cod cooked in a skillet. The fish is first seasoned with paprika, salt, pepper and garlic powder then sauteed. Serve with a side of steamed spinach for a light, yet filling supper. Try it Greek style where it's lightly coated with flour spiked with coriander, paprika and cumin. It's first seared then baked with lemon  juice, olive oil and a lot of minced garlic.One of the best fish to eat during this Lenten season is salmon. It's chock full of Omega 3s and Vitamin B's along with reducing the risk of heart disease. Try them in steak form with a marinade of Worcester sauce , lemon juice and butter. You could also try air fried salmon patties for a different spin on the fish.

Lent is a time of fasting and giving up. It's also a time for discovering healthier eating and healthier foods. Try the fish diet during this period. It may be the first step towards better eating.

The Easy Herb Garden

Home chefs think longingly think about starting a garden when the temps heat up. The problem with that idea is that it requires a lot of work. There's fertilizing, checking for aphids and fungus along with pruning and protecting fruits and veggies from hungry critters. Also many  don't have that green thumb that it takes to grow ruby red tomatoes and plump eggplants. An easier solution would be an herb garden. You can still have that fresh grown taste without all the problems of a regular garden.

One of the best things about herb gardening is that theywill be used in all sorts of dishes. Plant the ones that you use the most.You can also plant the easiest to grow too, but all herbs are easy to grow. , Remember , like other plants , they do need space.Rosemary , sage, mint and marjoram need three to four feet of space while basil, thyme, tarragon and savory need only two feet of land around them so reserve a plot of land for them in the back yard  and them. If you have very little land to work with then plant cilantro , dill, chives or parsley.Prep the soil with compost - leftover fruit and vegetable detritus , Herbs can also be grown in large pots on the patio. They can be clay or plastic and anywhere from 8" to 18" in diameter. You can combine herbs that have the same watering requirements in one pot .Fertilize with  herb or vegetable fertilizer. Dig deep holes for the plants and once planted, gently press down on the surrounding dirt. water when the dirt is dry  to the touch.They should also get four hours of sunshine on a daily basis. For harvesting cut off about 1/3 of the branches when the plant reaches between 6" to 8 " tall.

Home chefs get excited when their herb gardens start growing. They want to snip and cut, eager to scatter a handful in a salad or marinade.However there is a way to cut them and  to pick the right leaves to get their optimum flavor. Basil growers will tell you that the tastiest leaves are the smallest or the "baby" ones.Leave the larger ones. These are like the solar panels of the plant, keeping the stems and shoots  warm.Also gather herbs early in the day., after the dew has dried but before their essential oils  get baked by the midmorning sun(try anywhere between seven and eight AM).If you've collected stems then strip them of their leaves U
se a small scissor when you're dealing with parsley, bay or tansy.What about storage?. You can do what our colonial ancestors did and gather herbs in to a bouquet. Wrap ten to fifteen stems tightly together by either a rubber band or twine. Hang the bunches on a drying rack if you have one or make one. A plain old hanger works just as well as does a nail in a wall. Strip crisp dry leaves off of stems before hanging. Herbs can also be stored in  airtight glass or ceramic containers away from heat and light., They will last up to a year after picking.

Herbs are and easy was to include that just picked taste into any dish. It takes very little work to come up with a lush green plot that's full of fragrant leaves and stems. It's the perfect garden for a  busy home chef

Gyro In the Making

Yesterday's New York Times Food section had an interesting article on the gyro, that yummy Greek mainstay. New York city is known fro them (probably selling more a day than Athens does) and it can either be a delight or a nightmare. if dome right a gyro is heaven with a melange of all different tastes and textures,



Gyro is actually where our word hero comes from. the article written by David Sagal, explains how they became a part of tho American culinary scene. It actually started with a non Greek, John Garlic (no kidding) who mass produced the gyro cone and sold them from fairs to universities, making the gyro a staple of American fast food. The meat, a combination of lamb and beef along with bread crumbs, water oregano and other seasoning was put in these cones made for easy rotisserie grilling. They had been a staple of of Greek restaurants and Greek family barbecues for decades. Now was the chance to bring it to the masses.

Sadly enough the article doesn't go into the delight of having one. A gyro is a wonderful meal, especially when it's made fresh with lamb or beef. There are the wonderful spices of oragano and marjoram in the meat iself. Add feta cheese, tomatoes and onion and top with tzatziki sauce. This last is a topping of yogurt, sliced cucumbers, garlic oil and vinegar. It moistens the meet in much the same way mayo does a sandwich.

Gyros are a fun dinner or even snack. The article doesn't say that the bestones are what you can find in authentic Greek restuarants or if you're lucky to attend one, at a true Helenic barbecue.