Turn of the century painting by Adrian/Marian Stokes in Slovakia High Tatra Mountain region .
Last week I had Easter dinner at my parents' house, my folks are of Slovak/Czech background, so we had stuffed cabbage and potatoes. My mother makes the absolute finest stuffed cabbage, and that is not just bias speaking. Hers are beautifully crafted with the tough cabbage rib cut back and only the softest, greenest leaves used. They are expertly rolled tighter than a Gauloises (the famous French non-filter cigarette that resembles a handrolled) and bathed in a rich tomato gravy punctuated with just the right amount of sauerkraut. She served them alongside boiled golden potatoes tossed with butter and chives. Roasted whole carrots completed the meal. I found myself enjoying that food more than any I had enjoyed in a while. It was a reminder that our bodies carry within them the genetic and mental memories of our ancestral foods. In the past I have flippantly remarked about how awful Slovakian cooking is, but I think in my more mature age I now have more of an appreciation for it. It makes sense that our bodies respond to that which they've been programmed to know. This isn't to say that I don't enjoy the food of other cultures (I love all sorts of ethnic cuisines) but I have noticed that foods from other areas of the world--while I love them--don't always love me back. Nothing enervates me more than an Indian meal. Chinese food makes me thirsty and sometimes even itchy (MSG?). Too much cheese (French), no thanks. Bangkok curry that's too hot? I wasn't built to handle it. And so on . . .
Having had the privilege to travel to Slovakia many years ago, I know that while the food was not gourmet, I had some very interesting items. I remember the bean and meat soups being fantastic--truly first rate. Salads consisted of lots of colorful purple cabbage and corn. Potatoes were tasty. Poultry with velvety sour cream/paprika sauce can be sublime. I'm thinking now about how I might incorporate more of the foods of my heritage into my diet in a healthful way. After all, my ancestors were sturdy farmers. No one was skinny--they were barrel-shaped and strong because they needed to be. In the New World, and as later immigrants who were reviled by American-born citizens and other immigrants, they worked the steel mills and coal yards. As a privileged academic (Slovaks quickly became committed to educating their children), I don't need the starches and calories they did to get through tough weather and harvests, but there are certainly things I might borrow.
Every now and again, my mother will get the urge to make a pan of cooked lettuce with a light brown gravy. It sounds odd to the modern American, but it takes her back to her childhood watching her grandmother cook and eating in her kitchen. My mother still grows tomatoes and herbs and remembers her grandfather starting tomato plants under an old glass window--having collected the seeds from the fruit of the previous year. She also claims their cabbage roses were unlike anyone else's--her grandmother would put broken china pieces in the ground to feed the soil.
Think about your heritage and how the foods of your folks might feed both your body and soul. What did they eat? When? Why? What spicing was used? What occasions demanded special foods? You might not practice those same rituals, but certainly there are ways to revise and borrow and bring some of your personal history into your life daily. As a history teacher, I'm enjoying rethinking my family's origins and how I can keep them alive and make myself more healthy in the process.
Take a happy culinary tour of your own history! Lisabeth
Having had the privilege to travel to Slovakia many years ago, I know that while the food was not gourmet, I had some very interesting items. I remember the bean and meat soups being fantastic--truly first rate. Salads consisted of lots of colorful purple cabbage and corn. Potatoes were tasty. Poultry with velvety sour cream/paprika sauce can be sublime. I'm thinking now about how I might incorporate more of the foods of my heritage into my diet in a healthful way. After all, my ancestors were sturdy farmers. No one was skinny--they were barrel-shaped and strong because they needed to be. In the New World, and as later immigrants who were reviled by American-born citizens and other immigrants, they worked the steel mills and coal yards. As a privileged academic (Slovaks quickly became committed to educating their children), I don't need the starches and calories they did to get through tough weather and harvests, but there are certainly things I might borrow.
- The veggies most used: Roots (potatoes, carrots, radishes, turnips, beets), cabbage (green and red), onions and garlic. And tomatoes and cucumbers in the summer.
- Fruits most often eaten are grapes, stone fruits (cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines) and apples.
- Dairy tends toward sour cream and soft cheese: Greek yogurt and cottage cheese would be healthful subs.
- Meats are most often pork, beef and chicken with lightly fried fish on Fridays.
- Sauerkraut and pickled beets, berry jams are popular too.
- Paprika: Hot, Sweet and Smoked offer great color, flavoring and variety. Dill and caraway are also popular.
- Nut rolls and poppyseed rolls--Walnuts and chia seeds added to fruit and yogurt are a nice remembrance.
- Raisins--golden and dark, are popular too. So many uses for these.
- Honey--especially used at holidays
Every now and again, my mother will get the urge to make a pan of cooked lettuce with a light brown gravy. It sounds odd to the modern American, but it takes her back to her childhood watching her grandmother cook and eating in her kitchen. My mother still grows tomatoes and herbs and remembers her grandfather starting tomato plants under an old glass window--having collected the seeds from the fruit of the previous year. She also claims their cabbage roses were unlike anyone else's--her grandmother would put broken china pieces in the ground to feed the soil.
Think about your heritage and how the foods of your folks might feed both your body and soul. What did they eat? When? Why? What spicing was used? What occasions demanded special foods? You might not practice those same rituals, but certainly there are ways to revise and borrow and bring some of your personal history into your life daily. As a history teacher, I'm enjoying rethinking my family's origins and how I can keep them alive and make myself more healthy in the process.
Take a happy culinary tour of your own history! Lisabeth
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