Mixing Friends, Foods and Cultures is an amazing avenue in bringing various ethnic groups together in celebration! It is a charming way to build friendships and community. What is most memorable of growing up in Bethlehem is that skin color, dress, holidays, and celebrations all had only tinges of differences! As kids, we mixed in, played together, went to school together and none of our differences made any difference to us.
We all went to mixed birthday parties, playdates and picnics and it was one happy community!
As kids, we often asked each other, “how do you celebrate Christmas” or Easter, or whatever was the happy occasion. To this day, I remember learning so much about each other because we lived, worked, went to school, and played together.
No mention ever about different skin colors other than asking curious questions that kids innocently ask! As a result, we grew up believing that was normal. And it should be ‘normal’ throughout our country. We all have skin and organs and our insides are all the same colors! Blood runs red regardless of the skin you are set in! It is just the top wrapping that is a different color. We love packages wrapped in different colors, don’t we? Skin is just our wrapping! Everything else about our bodies is the same!! Let’s all remember that we are much more the same than different!
Friends, Foods and Cultures-Becoming Besties for Life
As kids. we knew we were more alike than different! Aren’t we all? Something struck me as strange when my girlfriend said as we got to her front door. “Take off your shoes. We don’t wear shoes in the house.” “Why not?,” was my reply. “Because we never had carpets in our house, but now we got some and we do not walk on it with our shoes!”
Well, that made perfect sense to me since we did not wear shoes when my Mom scrubbed the floor! And, that’s how all our question and answer sessions went. In second grade, I took my old, favorite doll and prettied it up in red & green tissue for my good friend. When I gave it to her, she wished me “Happy Hanukkah!” I never heard that before and liked it! She loved my recycled doll!
We Are So Much More Alike Than Different
What does that mean?” “Just think of it as the way we celebrate what you call Christmas. Only we use blue and silver paper, not red and green.” “Oh,” I replied, with no further questions. From that day on I wrapped her gift in blue and silver paper. Later, I learned we both celebrate the birth of Christ, our Savior. Her folks celebrate the coming of their Messiah or Savior! It is a bit more lengthy than that, but the answer was satisfying at the time!
One of the commonalities with Slovak, Hungarian, German and the Irish, is that they all use allspice, paprika and bay leaves quite regularly in their recipes! My Irish Mother-in-Law used a lot of celery salt and onion salt as well, but that was because Pop (my Father-in-Law) was unable to tolerate fresh onions and celery in his diet. She was a super, fantastic cook and baker and her table was always a work of art. Her idea of nutrition was a colorful plate is a perfect meal!
We never used a cream pitcher on our table except for holidays, but after seeing Mom Eleanor’s table, it became a daily occurrence in my home. My Mother taught us to set a perfect table on Sundays and Holidays, but during the week, it was plates. dinnerware and napkins, but the creamer was the milk bottle. Isn’t it funny how the simplest things sometimes make the biggest impression on us?
Mixing Friends, Foods & Cultures Creates Good Community
As a young married couple, we were always exchanging meals with neighbors. One of them would warn you “Do not cook tonight because I made a ton of (whatever it was).” I, in turn, made more than we needed so I could share. At least one night a week we each got our break from cooking! I loved that neighborhood and the comradery. Friends to this very day!
Recipes from Several Ethnic Groups
Raw Potato Pancakes; Grate 6 medium to large potatoes, add one egg salt and pepper and just enough flour to make it a pancake type batter. Drop by small dippers-full into hot sizzling grease. (Veg shortening is perfect) Fry to medium brown on both sides and serve. (These are perfect for a meatless meal with eggs or for breakfast with eggs. (I have a recipe for a hash brown casserole and these are perfect!)
Friends, Foods, Cultures and Their Recipes
Strudels: My Mother stretched her own strudel dough!! It takes lots of time and energy! Today, however, you can buy it frozen and save hours of work by not stretching your own. Cabbage; Apple-Walnut; Cherry-Cottage Cheese are all delicious! Prepare any filling before preparing your frozen strudel (Filo) dough.
Cabbage strudel: grate fine 1 head of cabbage and squeeze water out of it. Salt and let set until limp (1/2 hour). Fry in vegetable shortening until right before it starts browning. Sprinkle strudel dough with melted butter. Add cooled cabbage and then roll like a jelly roll and bend under edge to prevent leakage. Bake at 375* for about 45 minutes until lightly browned. We had cabbage for dinner on Fridays when we did not eat meat. Delicious and Filling for a big family.
Apple Strudel
Apple Strudel: Peel, core and slice 9 medium apples. Mix apples, 3 tblsp. flour, 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/3 cup walnuts. Sprinkle cool, melted butter over strudel dough and add apple mix. Roll up as a jelly rool, tuck in edges to close and bake 375* for 45 minutes or until browned. Serve hot. (a scoop of vanilla ice cream on it is great)
Cheese-Cherry Strudel: The best of the best!! Mix together one egg yolk, 3 coffee dippers of sugar, 1 tblsp. sour cream, 1/4 lb. melted butter, 1 container large curd cottage cheese. Work fast doing this step so dough does not tear and leak: Smooth filling very sparingly on strudel dough and scatter a few teasp. sour cherry pie filling over the layer of cheese. Roll quickly and carefully to prevent tears. Bake 350* for 45 min. until lightly brown.
Lekvar Pockets: (Hungarian Dessert Pierogies) Pocket Dough: 2 cups Flour, 1Egg, 1/2 cup Warm Water, 1 tsp Salt. 2 tblsp Oil. Mix all ingredients in a bowl then knead until smooth. Let rest 30 mins then divide in half. Roll half of dough out to 1/8″ thickness then cut into circles. Brush each circle lightly with egg wash made of 1 beaten egg then place a dollop of lekvar in the center. Fold in half and pinch to seal being careful to get out all air around the filling. Boil 5-8 mins until floating and remove from water. When ready to eat, melt butter in frypan and add regular breadcrumbs. Lightly fry the lekvar pockets in breadcrumbs and serve immediately. Yummie!!!
Leg of Lamb w/Onions & Potatoes: An Irish Favorite. Rub a fresh leg of lamb with butter and garlic. Add salt and pepper and a few sprigs of rosemary. Surround the lamb with medium onions and peeled potatoes and bake in an enamel lid-covered roasting pan. The onions and potatoes cook and brown beautifully as the roast bakes and the are yummy! Serve the onions separately as one of your veggies, just like your browned potatoes. Bake at 350* about 2 hours for medium or until your thermometer reads 135* in the center.
Shepherds Pie is from a beef roast leftovers. In a piecrust lined pan, add your peeled potatoes, carrots, peas, and a half of a small sliced green pepper, salt, pepper and leftover gravy (or use jar gravy) to cover. Top with another crust or, my personal favorite is to top the pie with a generous amount of mashed potatoes! Bake 350* for 45 min. to an hour. Slice like a pie to serve. (for variety, other veggies like corn, and/or limas may be used.) Use remaining gravy for table use.
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