Steamer, mistakes and Thursday Dinners

 

I like cooking and since I started to be health conscious I like steaming as a cooking technique. I have had a steamer for some years and it has proven to be a great pot in which to prepare healthy, well balanced meals for one. Tasting good depends on the cook and her/his mood and ability to cook, the steamer will oblige. The trick is to remember to turn the gas off after the water has evaporated or add some more water before the pot burns. This did not always work well in my kitchen.  Consequently, I had to do a lot of pot scrubbing. The pot changed its colour and black is now a dominating tonality of the bottom part of the steamer. Since it is a New Year, a New Beginning, I decided that I will get myself a new steamer, a steamer I will treat better than its predecessor. I have accumulated a high number of points granted as a result of my Master Card purchases and I thought that it will be a good idea to get myself a new steamer through the Altitude Award Program. I found a really nice looking steamer among available to me goods and I ordered it, feeling that I have done a good thing to better  organise my kitchen.

I was waiting patiently for delivery of my new cooking tool and IT CAME yesterday. It is huge! 

I tend to be a bit quick in making decisions, not always doing appropriate research. That was the case this time. I did not check the dimensions of the pot. It says “super sized” on the box in which the cooker arrived. If it was not an internet type of purchase I would have never considered to buy it. But I have it now and have to think where I could store it in my small kitchen and how I could use it so I do not have feeling of failure.

For some time now, I wanted to hold regular dinners with my friends to discuss important, interesting, topical subjects enjoying friendly company and atmosphere. This idea is still in planning stage but the new steamer may precipitate the start of my Thursday dinners on Fridays. The strange name comes from famous Thursday Dinners given by the last Polish king, Stanislaw August. The dinners were instituted to discuss art at large and famous people were invited to share their views on cultural issues. 

I am no royalty and my place is not a palace. It is rather small, so my dinners will be for 6 – 8 friends who are not necessarily famous but as most of my friends – fun, knowledgeable in their areas of interest, interesting people. I expect the dinners to be lively and fun. My new steamer will be very useful in preparation of bigger size meals. This will make me feel better.

Why Thursday dinners on Friday? I think Fridays are better for most people to socialise than a middle of working weeks. King Stanislaw did not have to worry about such things.

Getting to know Australia – Thredbo

I have lived in Australia for many years, but during the years I lived and worked in here I went for holidays and traveled mainly in Europe. It is the time to change it especially that Australia is sooo beautiful. For an European beauty of the country may not be immediately visible. At least it was not for me. I missed European vivid green of late spring and summer and shy, pale green of spring. I was not impressed by the muted colours of gum and eucalyptus trees. I am now.  Now I understand beauty of Australia. These days colours of Australia are familiar and make me feel at home.

I went with two of my friends to Thredbo this week. A lot of Australian landscape I saw during the trip was new to me. We were driving for miles not seeing a sign of life. Maybe except for wombats, possums or kangaroos killed by drivers.  Not that this could be really called a sign of life. Vast areas of gold soil, dry grass with spars gum trees. I must have been in a good mood and easily pleased but I really liked the gold-silver views.

We went to Thredbo, Australian ski resort similar to Zakopane in Poland or Chamonix in France. It is strange to think of snow in Australia especially that we were there in the middle of hot summer.

This was the view from our window. I was told that the Kosciusko mountain  is just behind what we see at the picture. One day I would like to take the chair lift to the top and see the mountain with a Polish name. 

They were very enjoyable few days even if temperature was definitely on a high side for me. We still managed a walk along the local creek. For me it was another opportunity to discover Australian landscapes different to those I know from Sydney and its neighbourhood.

Additional attraction was a visit to Wildbrumby Schnapps Distillery. Place between Jindabyne and Thredbo. I loved everything about it. Design of the place, coffee they served, coffee place on a shaded deck with sweeping Snowy Mountains views and sculptures placed casually around the place, veg’s patches and most of all their selection of schnapps.

 I always loved eau de vie de Poire Williams and here I found a strong schnapps named Pear William. I could not believe my luck. After years of searching in Poland and Australia for the drink to no avail I found it in Australian middle of nowhere? Not quite, it is not the same drink but beautiful to my taste nevertheless. 

Australian schnapps

I left the place a happy person with three bottles of schnapps. My friends where a bit surprised at my excessive purchase. Maybe I did go over board... hmm... On reflection I found an excuse of my excessive behaviour. One of the bottles will be a present for my friend who likes after dinner drinks the other will be an ice-cream accompaniment and Pear William will be my after dinner. I think this is quite acceptable. One present, one cooking ingredient and one small bottle of Pear William for degustation. Nothing excessive.

Elegance and tennis

 

The idea of 2014 being a Year of Elegance is not mine but it resonated with me from the first moment I heard of it and I embraced it with enthusiasm. It may become my obsession for some time. I hope friends will let me know if I take it too far.

In January it is time for tennis in Australia. I do not play the game (yet) but I am an enthusiastic tennis fan and I watch many tennis matches. Talking to a friend I expressed my opinion on who I particularly like to watch and who I watch with less pleasure even if they are good tennis players with remarkable successes behind them. On reflection, I realised that for me it comes down to elegance of their play, behaviour and presentation.

My particular favourites are Roger Federer,  Novak Djokovic, Jo Tsonga and Agnieszka Radwanska. 

Agnieszka Radwanska

I do not like Andy Murray, Victoria Azarenka or Serena Williams.

In my opinion, my favourites play with more finesse than others, their movements are not only effective but also graceful.  Their tactics are sophisticated and intelligent. They dress with good taste and with simplicity. Most of the time at least. The last year, I got a bit puzzled when I saw shocking pink shoelaces appearing in the Melbourne courts tunnel. I expected Federer to appear but could not imagine that he could the owner of those shoelaces. However, he was to my surprise. I did not take it against him for some reason.

                           

I will watch the Australian open this year again and I will try not to be blinded by my increased focus on elegance of tennis players. I will admire and cheer any good player regardless of their outfits, graceful movements, refinement and sophistication. Even if they grunt, squeak or scream. But Radwanska will be my favourite. Of course. And Federer.

Happy 2014!

I like Christmas in many ways, it is a very special time for me and at the same time there is a lot of nostalgia and some sadness about it. Then, I am relived and happy that it is over, this is how I feel right now. Free to do normal things and look forward to a promise of the 2014.

New year, new resolutions, new plans. New beginning. Many like it and so do I. The trick is to live up to the resolutions given in this period of New Year energy. Even if many of my resolutions and goals seem to be perennial, I will still make them and, maybe naively,  believe that  I will make it all happen this time. 

A friend asked a New Year related question pointing to elegance. I liked it and I am happy to call this year My Year of Elegance. Elegance may mean many things. I think that it should be based on simplicity, restrain and truth. So I want all aspect of my life to be elegant. My behaviour and coaching, my writing and reading, my eating and clothing, my plans and promises... The list is much longer.

Christmas Eve Polish style Wigilia

Christmas Eve Polish style Wigilia

(Polish pronunciation: [viˈɡilja])

Here I go again. It will be about Poland. As Christmas is coming my thoughts go back to Poland more often than normally. It all links to old days which left their stamp on me. I like best my memories related to Wigilia.

For Poles, wherever they are, the most beloved and beautiful of all traditional festivities is that of Christmas Eve. It is then that the Wigilia, or Christmas Eve Dinner is served. It is a solemnly celebrated occasion and arouses deep feelings of kinship among family members.

For days in advance, Poles prepare the traditional foods and everyone anxiously awaits the moment when the first star, known as the Gwiazdka, appears in the eastern sky. For that is when the feast to commemorate the birth of the Christ Child begins.

There is always a thin layer of hay under the white tablecloth in memory of the Godchild in the manger (no idea where I could find hay in Sydney, now that I missed my lawn mowing opportunity). Before sitting down at the table, everyone breaks the traditional wafer (Oplatek) and exchanges good wishes for health, wealth and happiness in the New Year. This is such a deeply moving moment that often tears of love and joy are evoked from the family members who are breaking this symbolic bread. The Oplatek is a thin, unleavened wafer similar to the altar bread in the Roman Catholic Church. It is stamped with the figures of the Godchild, the blessed Mary, and the holy angels. The wafer is known as the bread of love and is often sent by mail to the absent members of the family. This is a beautiful form of symbolic sharing.

The dinner itself differs from other evening meals in that the number of courses is fixed at seven, nine or twelve. According to myth, in no case must there be an odd number of people at the table, otherwise it is said that some of the feasters would not live to see another Christmas. A lit candles placed in the windows symbolise the hope that the Godchild, in the form of a stranger, may come to share the Wigilia and an extra place is set at the table for the unexpected guest. This belief stems from the ancient Polish adage, "A guest at home is God at home."

The Wigilia is a meatless meal, no doubt the result of a long-time Church mandate that a strict fast and abstinence be observed on this day before Christmas. Although the Church laws have been revised and permit meat to be eaten on this day, my Wigilia  meal remains meatless. Items that would normally be included in a traditional Wigilia menu include mushroom soup or borscht, boiled potatoes, pickled herring (sledzie), fried fish, pierogi, beans and sauerkraut, a dried fruit compote, assorted pastries, nuts and candies.

After the meal the members of the family sing Polish Christmas Carols called koledy while the children wait impatiently around the Christmas tree (choinka) for the gifts to be exchanged.

Christmas tree in a Polish home

My last year’s Wigilia was very traditional and prepared jointly with my Australian friends. There are various opinions how many dishes should be served at Wigilia.   I adopted the versions of 12 apostles, 12 months in the year so there were 12 dishes. It was definitely an indecent  way of overeating.

Cold dishes

1.      Herring with onion in oil – Vodka – Żubrówka

2.      White fish in aspic

3.     Vegetable and potatoes  salad

Warm dishes

4.      Borscht

5.      Pierogi (Polish ravioli) with sauerkraut and mushrooms

6.      Sauerkraut with split pea and mushrooms

7.      Poached Salmon

8.      Baked Potatoes

9.      Vegetables with Polish dressing of bread crumbs and butter

Deserts

10.  Piernik – Spice/Ginger cake

11.  Makowiec - Poppy seed cake

12.  Dry fruit and spices compote 

Returning to blogging

I have had a long break in writing. When I look for excuses, I find some.

My readers had problems to leave their comments. I tried to change the situation but for a long while to no avail. I believe that it is now corrected but I am not sure if my new solution is not dependent on the technical internet setup of the reader.

Then I wanted to concentrate on my internet presence as a career transition coach. I considered blogging as a time consuming interruption in what is most important to me – coaching as an ability to help others to live better, happier, more fulfilling lives.

There was also another, perhaps the most important reason for not writing. I came back home to Sydney and my Polish inspirations disappeared. I still am not certain what I will be “observing” now. I feel like I need a theme. I had not intended to write about Poland when I started blogging but as I found myself in Poland and friends showed some interest in the country I started to see things I had not been aware of earlier and I wrote about them.

For years I considered myself 100% Australian, ignoring what I have been recently reminded of – my heavy foreign accent. The accent has become more pronounced after my sojourns in Poland. At the same time staying in Poland for extended periods of time made me re-discover the beauty and character of my home country.

I am reading Diaries of Judy Cassab. Famous Australian painter of Hungarian background. She writes about herself and migrants in general: “Without the familiar background no one is quite themselves, not in the eyes of the other or in their own. If one rebels too strongly one destroys one’s soul. If one gives in, one stops living. Is there a solution at all?”

This sounds very dramatic to me but still, I recognise some of my dilemmas in what she writes.

So what I intend to write about, what will be objects of my observations and musing? Not sure yet.

However, I promise myself to blog regularly from now on. I may find my theme in time.

Walesa - Man of Hope

Most of the world knows that Lech Walesa had a special role in turning over communism in Europe. I like to think that the demise of communism in all Eastern Block countries started from his heroic jump over the Gdansk shipyard fence. I am not going to write about Polish history of the 1980ies. I was not even in Poland then. I left the country 15 years earlier and all events of the times were as difficult to understand for me as for any other Australian. I went back to Poland in 2004. It was the day of Poland becoming a part European Union. One may say that I left a communistic country and returned to a true European one. It was a huge gap to fill in with the knowledge of the events and political and social transformation of Poland. I have not closed the gap yet and perhaps never will close it properly. When I came back to Poland I came to live in Gdansk, Walesa’s town. The town where most of the transformation events took place.







From my place I could see the cranes of the Gdansk shipyard. I did not like them at first, they are not that beautiful after all. I always liked old churches, castles and palaces for their beauty. Shipyard cranes? No, this was not what I would consider of any interest to me. But, this has changed with time and when I pass them now my heart jumps a bit. Jumps with gratitude and admiration for all the people who worked, fought there and even died. And this gratitude is directed to Lech Walesa above all others.
 
Walesa is recognised in the world and his Nobel price considered as well deserved. Not so in Poland. His position and reputation is not that of a hero. He is despised by big percentage of Poles and considered an enemy #1 by the current Solidarity. The same Solidarity Union he made famous in the world and the force he lead through the difficult days of strikes, deadly fights with militia, negotiations with the communistic government and finally to the victory. These days, at August anniversaries of Solidarity, he is a lonely man, coming early in the morning to lay flowers at the Three Crosses of Fallen Shipyard Workers. He would be abused if he tried to join official celebrations later on in the day. Lech Walesa co-founder and the first chairman of the “S” - Solidarity is now seen as the enemy of shipyard workers by a big percentage of Poles.

Three Crosses Monument in front of the main entrance to the Gdansk Shipyard

I still wonder how it is possible to ignore his past and twist facts around. Of course he is not a saint and he is very outspoken when expressing his views. His criticism of people and events, he does not approve of, is violent and his choice of words unmercifully hurtful. He has raffled many fathers of politicians with different views to his own. He is also an easy target to criticise as he is not a cultured man. He makes many, sometimes funny, mistakes in his speeches and interviews. But he is not a shy man and he voices his opinions loudly and provocatively. Having a week spot for him, even I find him at times embarrassing. But he is still my imperfect hero.
Walesa. Man of Hope a new film directed by Andrzej Wajda opened in Poland in September. I would very much like to see it and hope it will be screened in Australia some day or I must see it when in Poland. The film has been selected as an Oscar candidate for the best foreign-language film. I will keep my fingers crossed even if I do not give the film great chances. However The Guardian review is positive.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/oct/11/walesa-london-film-festival-review-nobel-peace-prize