Sausage counter: Guest Photo!

Over the winter break, Matthias and Seda snapped this completely heartwarming picture of a German sausage counter. What I find shocking, having seen about 100 Polish sausage counters, is the relative sparsity of smoked sausages. Here in Poland, people tend to vary the spices but use pretty roughly ground, nasty parts of the pig. Then they dry it via smoking. Every town (it seems) has its favorite version, its favorite pig parts. But look below at all these amazing semi-processed, smoothly spreading sausages. Perfect for Abendbrot.


Then, of course, there's the sausage counter outside of the grocery store, on the street. No worries, this guy wasn't hovering in the arcades off of Krakowskie Przedmieście when the temperature hovered around -22 degrees (Celsius, of course) for 5 days. I'm pretty sure that sausage (and vodka!) freeze at that temperature.

Mmmm Naleśniki

I am eternally indebted to Michael for helping me realize the joy that is the corner crepe place. It's just about one of the best places in Warsaw. And, do you seeeeee that melted cheese. Yes, you do. And you know, that's why Poles move to Wisconsin. The salami -- not from Poland -- is incidental.

Happy New Year!

And, of course!, a digression to wish health in 2010. Here's what I was eating (to ensure my own arteries' stamina?) as the clock struck midnight:


Well, I didn't eat ALL of it.

Cabbage digression

The holidays brought much sausage into my life, for this I am very thankful. Diverse and delicious, this portioning of meat has tremendous potential.

But before I got very serious about sausage, I was very serious about cabbage. This is essential in Poland: it is the healthiest available vegetable. And it reminds me of lettuce. Of course, it's also the staple of Christmas Eve dinner in Poland, and we had to do quite the work to prepare it for the various dishes that required it. It needed to be chopped and boiled and then ground into the smoothest of textures.

To start: a four kilo (!!!!) head:


An attack:


Superfastshreddingaction:


This smells really really terrible: