Food

Week #1 in the village - food

Today is Sunday part 2. It’s been a full week. Today I spent most of the afternoon in bed with a cold.  My host mom thinks it’s because of the wind. (I’m going to call my host mom Z from here on out) I have lots of theories….

My theories…

I’ve tried to be gracious and to jump into Bulgarian life in a small town. 6 days later I have to make some changes.

Food - All the food is cooked. The only time I have had any salad is the first week at the orientation – we had sliced cucumbers and tomatoes available for every meal, and frequently had a cabbage and carrot slaw. Fresh fruit was also provided for dessert. In the village, it is early spring and gardens are being planted – it’s too early for fresh produce. The tiny markets are limited in what they carry but occasionally there are fruits and vegetables. A banana is about 75 cents and they even had kiwi fruit for about $1.50 each. Expensive by US terms and outrageous by village terms. The coffee that is served is espresso (not brewed) and that is about 35 cents a cup. Oh yeah, it’s served in small plastic cups which soften with the hot liquid.

So what have I been eating? Z has been generous with the food - too much so. The following are served at every meal – a 2”inch slice of white bread (she’s gotten used to me saying I want half of it), feta-like cheese called white cheese, jack-type cheese called yellow cheese, salami, marinated little peppers and tea (the Bulgarian word for tea is chai) with sugar. Breakfast might include soft-boiled eggs; a “sandwich” bread dipped in beaten eggs, yellow and white cheese on top and broiled; left-overs from the night before; yogurt (plain). I have had two of my favorites – apples and yogurt and yesterday we found a box of granola in the little store so this morning I had granola and yogurt. Z tried the granola and didn’t like the taste of it. She thought it was way too unhealthy too…….white bread is much healthier for the body.

Lunch and dinner overlap – meaning she’ll prepare something and we eat it until it’s gone. Nothing is wasted here. Food scraps either are eaten or go to the dog or 6 chickens. MishMash is a casserole of diced potatoes, ground meat (not sure what type) and maybe eggs and/or cheese. Moussaka is similar – not sure what the difference is yet. Cooked spinach with onions, garlic and vinegar and maybe some white cheese melted in it. This one I liked a lot. Rice pudding (white of course). Z’s brother lives nearby and has dairy cattle so that is a great source of fresh milk – delivered right after pasteurization (aka warm) in a recycled plastic water or juice bottle (1 litre). Yesterday I finally said no to the milk – the cheese is o.k., the yogurt is great, but I don’t like milk. Friday night we had a special treat – we had vanilla ice cream as our appetizer. ;) Z doesn’t have a freezer, so it had been in the fridge for a while. I must say the food is very tasty, but I haven’t decided if it’s the salt or the oil that makes it so….

I have made progress is expressing my preferences even though I’ve tried to honor her efforts cooking for me, her Americanka. She knows I like “malko” a little of this and that; I like yogurt and tea with honey rather than sugar; I like apples; I don’t drink their homemade hard liquor – Rakia – I will drink malko red wine (also home-made). Z does have a sense of humor and seems to laugh at my preferences and then tells her friends when we visit about my odd tastes.

So why do I think I have a cold………too much food in general and too much dairy, oil and salt. Yesterday I noticed I had swollen ankles (water retention) for the first time in 28 years. So today – being sick is an opportunity to take time off from eating and to flush with extra water (which is bottled). A few other volunteers have been drinking the local tap water and have not gotten sick, so I may head in that direction. Bottled water is not too expensive, but it creates a lot of empty bottles. And as I mentioned earlier, the only form of recycling is to re-use bottles after they are empty. Just about everyone does for one thing or another – it doesn’t matter if they are hot or cold liquids. Z also uses the bigger bottles as starter pots filled with dirt for seedlings.