romanian cooking

Greetings,

Today we didn't do too much, but picked stuff up at the cleaners, went to the store and got groceries for the next several days and did some laundry. We were also lucky enough to be able to talk with some friends on Skype and my parents, too. I have to say I love Skype! Being able to see your friends and family and make unlimited calls from computer to computer for FREE?!?!?!? Are you kidding. How great.

Also, this afternoon our landlady showed me how to make a traditional Romanian dish, Tocanita, with some dehydrated soy nuggets. I know -it sounds odd- but apparently the previous tenant of this apartment was another Fullbrighter and he was a vegetarian. Apparently she showed him how to make traditional Romanian dishes using vegetarian ingredients and these nuggets look similar to dried mushrooms. So, in order to make the dish, the nuggets had to be rehydrated and then mixed with a sauce made with onions, garlic, tomato sauce, and sweet paprika. It is traditional to serve this with mashed potatoes or polenta. I had a packet of mashed potato powder and so we made this. The Tocanita was pretty good, though I think I would use less salt and oil in the future. As for the potatoes- I prefer from scratch, but these were fine for tonight. One funny moment was when we were to fry the onions, our landlady asked for oil. I handed her the bottle of olive oil I had and she just shook her head. She insisted that one can not use olive oil for cooking, only for salads and finishing. Apparently, the oil of choice in Romania is sunflower oil and so she went to her kitchen upstairs and retrieved the proper oil. Now I have had some authentic Romanian cuisine and we have leftovers - score!

Well, that is it for now. We have plans to have coffee with another Fullbrighter tomorrow, which we are both looking forward to. Take care.-S