International Children's Day - June 1st



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   International Children's Day - in Polish "Dzień Dziecka" is celebrated in Poland , Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine since 50's and it falls on June 1st. However, it is also a common holiday in many other countries and it falls on different days during a year. International Children's Day was an initiative of an organization called International Union for Protection of Childhood. Its main goal was to assure safety to all the children in the world. Speeches about children's rights, safety and well being are very popular during this holiday. There are many events for children organized on this day which include concerts, plays and festivals filled with many attractions. Parents buy small gifts and candy for their children, while teachers organize fun day at school, or rather without school, by taking students on field trips, to the movies and buying them ice cream.
   Although, this day is reserved for children only, my mom keeps sending me cards and small gifts till today :) As my mama says, I will remain her child forever. It is one of the sweetest things she does for me and I love being a CHILD="DZIECKO"... :)

"Szczęśliwego Dnia Dziecka!"
 Happy Children's Day to you all !!!


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Mother's Day - Dzień Mamy

Mother's Day in Poland falls on May 26th each year. It is called in Polish: "Dzień Mamy" or "Dzień Matki".
On this day children  give their moms cards, flowers, chocolates and small gifts showing their love, respect and appreciation. Among many beautiful words, the most important are following : "Kocham Cię Mamo" - I love you Mom.

Naleśniki - Crepes



With strawberries and whipped cream
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"Naleśniki" is a name for Polish pancakes and they are known in Europe and in United States as "crepes". They are easy to make and can be served not only as a breakfast item, but also as a dessert or a great meal for lunch/dinner. Dinner version of  "naleśniki"  has spicy filling, such as cabbage, mushrooms or meat with nutmeg. Prepared this way "naleśniki" are folded into rectangular shaped roll and are coated very often with bread crumbs before being fried again. The spicy version of "naleśniki" is called "krokiety".

I make "naleśniki" every time when I want to get myself in great mood! :) This means that I am choosing a sweet version for myself!
You can find recipes for spicy fillings in my next post "Pierogi time".

Recipe:
2 eggs,
1 cup all-purpose flour,
1/2 cup milk,
1/2 cup water,
1 tsp sugar (optional),
pinch of salt (optional),
vanilla sugar or dash of vanilla extract (optional),
Butter or vegetable oil for frying.

Whisk all the ingredients together (all optional ingredients are for extra flavor, you don't need to use them to make great "naleśniki"). Melt some oil or butter on the frying pan and wait until it gets hot. Pour small amount of batter and tilt the pan so the batter coats the surface. Fry on both sides until gold. Add oil or butter before frying each "naleśnik" (singular form).

Makes 8 small crepes/ "naleśników".


Ready for some filling :)
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With strawberries and confectioners sugar
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Fillings of my choice are:

• cherry jelly (rolled "naleśniki"),
• fresh fruit and cool whip/confectioners sugar,
• any pie filling,
• apple butter and walnuts, 
• cream cheese filling

I fold "naleśniki" with fruit or cream cheese filling into half - only once if they are small or twice if they are bigger. "Naleśniki" with pie filling, jelly or apple butter can be rolled.

Cream cheese filling:
Mix cream cheese with one big spoon of sour cream, some sugar and dash of vanilla extract.

With cream cheese filling and chocolate
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You can choose your own filling and enjoy these delicious babies! yummy!!

Smacznego!

Majówka

"Majówka" (from month May - "Maj") is a name for a short spring break or weekend escapade which takes place anytime during a month of May. It is usually a short trip to the countryside, hiking trip to the Polish mountains or hiking/camping trip anywhere close to the beautiful Polish forests and lakes. All you need is a small backpack, smile and great company! There are many beautiful destinations for this kind of trip. The weather in May is usually sunny, air is fresh, flowers are blooming and birds are singing! After all May is "the month of People in Love" - "Miesiąc zakochanych"....

May 2009
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"Majówka" can start as early as on May 1st which is a Labor Day in Poland ("święto pracy"). Followed by another national holiday "Constitution of May 3rd" ("święto Konstytucji 3 maja"), both holidays create a great opportunity to take a small break from work or school.

Happy May🌸

***A note about Polish Constitution:

• Constitution of May 3rd, 1791 is considered to be the first written Constitution in Europe and the second in the world, after United States Constitution. 

Śmigus-Dyngus!! Really Wet Custom

Today, many Polish people get soaked... Monday after Easter is called "Śmigus-Dyngus" or "Lany Poniedziałek", which means Wet Monday. This holiday has been celebrated in Poland since 15th century. It is definitely fun for children, but also adults like going back to their childhood and get each other wet. It is very popular to pour buckets of water on each other and yes, I mean buckets! Especially boys love to wake up girls by pouring buckets full of water on their heads. There is an old saying, that a girl who gets soaked the most during this day (even few times) will get married first. However, you don't have to be cruel to your loved ones ;) - there is also a nice way to wake up others.... by spraying on them a little bit of perfume or cologne. And if you are in Poland during this holiday, be aware that someone may run to you and get you wet! If you think that you are safe sitting in your car, make sure to close all the windows, because your car can receive a special "wash" on this day...

Pisanki, kraszanki, malowanki - decorating Polish Easter eggs

In many regions of Poland decorating Easter eggs became an art.
The most common name for an Easter egg in Poland is "Pisanka" ("Pisanki" in plural).
This name comes from a verb "pisać" which means "to write". "Pisanki" are created by coating eggs with a wax design followed by dyeing. Although, it is very common to use the name "Pisanki", there are various names describing Easter eggs, which are corresponding with a method being used to decorate them.
At my parents' home we would use natural materials, such as onion peels, to color our eggs into brown or dark red color. Eggs colored this way are called "kraszanki" (from a verb "krasić" - "to dye", "to decorate"). Once this step was completed, we would scratch on them different designs using a needle. Eggs decorated this way are called "drapanki" or "skrobanki" (from verbs "drapać" and  "skrobać" - "to scratch").
The other types of Easter eggs include also "malowanki" 
(v. "malować" - "to paint") and "wyklejanki" (v. "wyklejać" - "to stick on"). 


As I was writing this blog post, I realized that it might serve a purpose of learning some Polish vocabulary and I hope, it did. :-)

Here is a YouTube video which explains really well various techniques of decorating eggs in different regions of  Poland. Happy watching!

Easter in Poland

Easter and Christmas are the most important holidays in Poland. There are many traditions which represent both holidays. Polish people (Polacy) enjoy family gatherings accompanied by different types of meals. They also stay true to the traditions known since childhood, passed from generation to generation.

Happy Easter in Polish
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Easter Sunday (Wielkanoc, Niedziela Wielkanocna) is a celebration of Resurrection of Jesus. After a forty-day period of fasting called Lent, Easter Sunday is a colorful and joyful family day.

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A week prior to Easter Sunday, Catholics go to church with beautiful palms, that represent palm branches waved by the crowds when Jesus entered Jerusalem. This Sunday is called Palm Sunday - Niedziela Palmowa.  Most of the palms are made of willow, raspberry and currant branches mixed with box/yew. Palms are decorated with colorful ribbons, fresh flowers or even tissue paper flowers. Tradition of preparing beautiful palms lasted in many regions of Poland; in fact there are places which host annual contest for the tallest and the most beautiful palm. Those palms are really impressive and can reach up to over 30 meters height (around 100 feet). 
One of the customs is to gently hit each other with blessed palms after leaving the church. It is supposed to bring health and good luck. 
Palms are burnt at the church on Holy Saturday. The ashes from burnt palms are being used during Ash Wednesday the following year.

Polish Palm
Source: Wikipedia.pl,  Author: Aneta S.

On Holy Saturday people go to the church to bless Easter baskets called święconka. Baskets consist of food items, which will be consumed the very next day during Easter breakfast. They are beautifully decorated with box branches, ribbons and little, yellow chicks. Typical Easter basket consists of dyed, hard boiled eggs called kraszanki, a small piece of sausage, a slice of bread, a slice of cake, salt, pepper, and sugar or chocolate lamb – a symbol of Resurrection. Day after that, Easter basket is placed on the breakfast table, and breakfast begins from sharing blessed eggs from święconka between family members. They are cut into small wedges, so that every family member gets a piece, and then exchanges Easter wishes.

Easter Sunday starts for many Catholics by attending very early morning Resurrection Mass followed by a procession. Morning Service usually starts at 6 a.m., so the breakfast takes place pretty early, around 9 a.m. Typical Polish Easter breakfast consists of, but is not limited to:

- white borscht (barszcz) - sour wheat soup 

or "Zurek" - sour rye soup (both served with hard boiled egg and white sausage)

- devilled eggs, usually with mayonnaise

- ham and other deli meats

- roasted meats

- Pasztet (meat spread)

- horseradish

- salads

- breads

- desserts such as: 

“Mazurek” (very popular Easter cake, usually rectangular in shape and very sweet),

“Babka” (usually round or loaf shaped pound cake or yeast cake), 

and variety of other cakes. 

All to satisfy a sweet tooth of anyone who has been fasting during Lent and gave up sweets.

Devilled Eggs

Cheesecake

And some ham and fresh veggies

Trying to continue Polish breakfast tradition in USA