niedziela, 5 czerwca 2016

Bella Italia

It was an exciting and very intensive trip!
Sirmione
Everything started with a short call of my friend with an offer and my acceptance of it on Sunday evening one month ago. Then a meeting with an organizer of the trip, who is also a Polish-Italian sworn translator. In the beginning there were not too many questions - everything seemed quite clear and understandable. Some problems revealed only during our permanence in Italy...
I was a substitute of the translator, as she couldn't come because of some personal reasons. Our group consisted of five teachers, who accompanied the
Scaliger Castle
Girls' choir of Jerzy Kurczewski School in Poznan. There were 31 girls in the choir, at the age of 11-15. Firstly, we went to a little town Negrar in the region Veneto, where we booked in a hotel. The next day we went to a lovely town Sirmione, which is situated in Sirmio peninsula on Lake Garda. We visited a w
ell-known medieval Scaliger Castle - a showcase of Sirmione, which is now only an empty scheduled building. Then we found quite a nice and cosy restaurant next to the Scaliger Castle, and we ordered a delicious pizza to everyone.
Philharmonic Theatre of Verona
That evening we also went to Verona, the girls had a performance in the beginning of the International Choral Competition at the Philharmonic Theatre. Then we were invited to a meeting with a Choir La Parete consistits of male seniors, who were extremely funny and friendly towards us. They also performed for us a medieval Polish anthem Gaude Mater Polonia, which almost made us cry with excitement and commotion. Then we got back to hotel in Negrar.

Piazza delle Erbe
Arena di Verona Amphitheatre
Juliet's House
The penultimate day of our stay in Italy we went to Verona to pass our laisure time just walking in the centre of the city and visiting the most famous places, like Piazza delle Erbe, Arena di Verona Amphitheatre, the Juliet's House (Balcony) and her statue, Garda Family House ecc. We also couldn't restrain from eating a true delicious Italian ice-cream!
Garda Famly House
Lake Garda
 The last day we spent in mountains with a breathtaking view from the top...The name of the locality is Monte Baldo, where we got to the top of the mountain in a cable car, but unfortunately because of a strong fog we barely saw Lake Garda...We had dinner in a local restaurant, which was really cozy and comfortable.
It was quite an intensive and full of emotions trip. We couldn't spend so much time sleeping we would like to. Anyway, it was a great and very rich experience for me as an Italian-Polish translator. I wish I could go back soon to Verona, one of the most amazing and entrancing cities in the world!

Let's make the Ukrainian borscht!

Hello Friends! :)
Have you ever tried a genuine Ukrainian traditional first course - borscht? By the way, what type of cuisine do you like? Do you prefer to cook some dishes which belong to your own cuisine or do you relish some typical Mediterranean or Asian dishes?
As we know, Polish and Ukrainian cuisines have quite a lot of similar dishes and recipes. Both cuisines share many similarities, e.g. the dishes are quite fatty and nourishing, there are many braised products, the cabbage is in wide use and cooked in different ways, a meal for dinner consists of three parts: the first course is a soup (like cucumber soup, cabbage soup, sorrel soup), the second course is entree consisting of meat with potatos or kasha and vegetables, and the third one is a dessert and a hot dring or a cold beverage.
As to Ukrainian borscht, there is one recipe with fixed ingredients, but realised in plenty of ways depending on regions and even families, where it is cooked. So in this post I'm going to share with you my beloved granny's recipe of a true Ukrainian borscht!
You will need following ingredients:

  • 1,5 kg of beef;
  • 2-3 beetroots;
  • 8-10 potatos;
  • 0,5 fresh cabbage;
  • 2-3 carrots;
  • 1 onion;
  • tomato puree;
  • bay leaf;
  • beans:
  • salt, pepper.
  1. Cook meat for 1,5 hours;
  2. Cut an onion and fry it for 5 min.;
  3. Over time rub carrots with a big grator and add to the onion, fry it for 5 min;
  4. Then add 2 glasses of cooking bouillion;
  5. Slice the raw beetroots and add to the frying onion and carrots, brase the vegetables for 20 min;
  6. After 20 min add the tomato puree (not too much) and brase it for 20 min, add 2 spoons of cream;
  7. Over time cube potatos and add them to the bullion, cook it for 25 min;
  8. Shred cabbage and add it to bullion, cook it for 15 min;
  9. The braising beetroots add to the bouillion, cook until it boils for 15 min; 
  10. Then add some bay leaves, salt and pepper;
  11. Take the pot from the tile and leave it under the cover for 20 min;
  12. The borscht is prepared! Good appetite to you ;)
I hope you'll try to cook the dish using this recipe and enjoy a delicious Ukrainian barscht! :)

I recommend to serve the dish with pampushky (typical Ukrainian doughnuts) embrocated with garlic. :)