Just as I'm in nostalgic mode, I get an email about a new leadership foundation for Bulgarian youth (specifically girls and Roma youth). I was involved with Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) after my first year teaching in Bugaria. And some of my former students are pictured in the Roma Camp 2003 Gallery [Elena, white shirt, picture 08; Iliya, pictures 12, 14, 17, and 18], which took place in Pazardjik (the town I lived in from 2000-2002). So if you're feeling charitable, please donate. These camps are well-run and make a big difference in the lives of the participants.
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For stomach-related nostalgia, I made one of my favorite Bulgarian foods earlier this week. The weather's got to warm up soon, right? When it does, you'll be ready with this great chilled soup recipe.
Tarator (Bulgarian cucumber-yogurt-dill soup)
1 cucumber, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint (16 oz) plain yogurt
6-8 sprigs of fresh dill, chopped
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
~1 cup water or several ice cubes
salt and pepper to taste
chopped walnuts
Combine cucumber, garlic, yogurt, dill, and olive oil. Add water and/or ice cubes until soup is desired consistency. Season to taste. Serve chilled, topped with walnuts. This recipe is good to double. It's also pretty hard to mess up, so you can experiment with quantities of the various ingredients to get the combination you like. I ate two bowls and might have had more had there been any. Afterward Shmoo wanted to play "tent" (sitting on the couch with a fleece blanket pulled overhead). With the three of us under the tent, the air got pretty garlicky. So make sure the one you love eats it with you, or suffer the consequences.
PS: Did you catch that I inadvertently used HPR's real name in the previous post? Oops. Not that it really matters . . .
It's spring!
Posted by: SteveO | April 06, 2007 at 02:32 AM
I totally didn't catch the non-HPR reference. That's a big part of why I use our real names on my blog. I just can't be trusted to remember not to call Mike Mike. :)
Posted by: Erin | April 06, 2007 at 12:16 PM
The weather just might warm up soon, but in the meantime can Bossy eat pot roasts cooked in the oven for hours? Please?
Posted by: BOSSY | April 07, 2007 at 09:38 AM
That sounds quite tasty. The closest I've been to Bulgaria is Prague, and the food there is horrible. All grayish duck meat.
Posted by: Peter | April 10, 2007 at 04:23 PM
Wow. I just realized I've had your blog name spelled wrong on mine for months. I must go fix.
Posted by: Peter | April 10, 2007 at 04:24 PM