Monday, March 17, 2008

Crazy

Yes, I absolutely forgot yesterday to mention the inhabitants of the marshes that belong to the property we are going to buy - the beavers (thank you, Darling!).

They live there in great numbers and build their underwater houses out of the trees around the river. The whole riverbank looks like that (photo above). Our marsh is also inhabited (our marsh, ha! *^v^*). There are also many other creatures, like storks, cranes (we met a pair flying high above the fields), wild geese and ducks and millions of other birds, muskrats, frogs will start to make noise any moment now... (not to mention cows, pigs, chickens, dogs and cats, of course!).

Of course we don't know anything more than we knew two days ago about the status of the land, ect, but we've already selected two favorite house projects!... We don't have money for the land yet, but we are already planning to buy the house. Isn't it a bit crazy?

We started to think about the possibilities to make a living down there, because it would take Robert about 2 hours to commute to work everyday (one way), so it would be impossible to work in Warsaw and live there. We thought about breeding fish (in the lake next to our land, yikes! *^v^*) and smoking them or making cheese (there is a good source of fresh milk from the friendly neighbor farmer) and selling all that at the markets in Warsaw on Saturdays. There are also lots of holiday allotments around the village, so I'm sure all the holidaymakers from the big cities would love to buy a fresh fish or cheese while being on vacation away from the city (I would! I always look for the local food when I'm on holiday somewhere). I could grow plants for natural dyes. These ideas have great potential for our future! *^v^*

And I wouldn't be myself if I didn't bring a new stone with me, this one is from our dream plot of land.



Look what I got today! The newly published in Poland cookbook by Jamie Oliver, one of my cooking gurus! *^v^*


I took part in the contest by Polish culinary tv channel Kuchnia TV and totally forgot about it. It turned out that my name was among the winners, yikes! *^v^*

And last, but not least, my lunch today: those who know this dish may now envy me, those who doesn't - weep that you don't! *^v^*
This is the famous simple Polish dish, but sometimes the simpler flavours the better. These are mashed potatoes with some chopped fried bacon, and on the side - curd (zsiadłe mleko), which is a sour set form of milk. Not just any milk, but fresh-from-the-cow milk, which I absolutely love! =^v^=


We brought four more litres of that real countryside milk and I made cheese with it, plus I'm going to prepare my own zakwas today, which is a base for the traditional Polish soup called żur or żurek.
The Spring Festival is coming and I'll be also making a traditional cake for the occasion, called baba (a woman). Recipe soon! *^v^*

4 comments:

  1. We are going to buy? did you decide? gosh, what a big adventure that'll be! will you have a HUGE studio! ;-)

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  2. How exciting with all those animals-it would be wonderful to sit outside on a porch or go or a little walk and see all the wildlife.
    You guys are putting a lot fo thought into this-sounds so exciting!!!
    Lunch looks yummy :)

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  3. This sounds absolutely exciting! I can't get enough of it...as if I'm right there dreaming with you!..then a stone from 'your' land...ahhh! The wildlife is awesome! What an awesome dream that I bet you guys will make happen ;) Is there ways of buying (through finance/loans) to get the land? I'm just thinking like here you basically finance any large purchase... just curious.

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  4. Hi! My Polish family has always had BABKA for Easter dinner. I found a great recipe at www.marthastewart.com and it is excellent. I make it with sliced almonds & craisins. Please try it--you will love it!!!

    Oh, Martha Stewart is Polish also!!

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