Romanian visitors

[Guest guest]

This early this week I had the pleasure of having two

young Romanian ladies staying at my house. Thankfully

they were able to speak more english than I was able to

speak Romanian.

I was not sure what they might enjoy eating so the first

evening I took them out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant.

Neither of them had tried any of that type of food before,

so it was fun for them. Raluca ordered a cheese enchilada

while Miha tried a grilled chicken dish. I explained that I am

a vegetarian and then we discussed things they might enjoy

eating at my house the next day.

They informed me that in their households they eat alot

of soups and one thing they found interesting about

American cooking is that most people here seem to only

make soup in the winter. They also thought most of our food

was unhealthy and that we (as a whole) eat too many sweets

and junkfood items. They were right; most do! *lol* They said

they were all sick of pizza as most places where they traveled

they were served that; I guess many people just assumed

since they were teenagers that pizza was a safe bet.

Anyway, I asked if they would like spaghetti or if that was

not something they would enjoy. Both told me that they liked

pasta so I fixed a vegetarian sauce and served it with angel hair

pasta, veggie meatballs, garlic bread and tossed salad.

Interestingly, neither of them had ever tried garlic bread before,

but they seemed to like it. They loved the vegetarian meatballs.

Miha couldn't get over it that they contained no meat and kept

saying how she thought they tasted better than any she'd

ever had that contained meat. They weren't very interested

in the tossed salad. They explained that in Romania they

don't eat lettuce and their salads consist mostly of

chopped tomatoes, celery, green peppers and cucumber

in a simple vinegar... no added oils or herbs. Miha said that

they loved the fresh salsa they had at the Mexican restaurant

as it was much more like salads they were used to eating at

home.

I was sad to see them leave early this morning as they were

heading north to Washington before going home, but it was

such a nice experience to learn a bit about thier cuisine and

culture in this way. Makes me want to go to Romania someday.

 

~ feral ~

 

Be yourself and do not feign affection. Neither be cynical

about love; in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it

is as perennial as the grass.

~ Max Ehrmann, writer and lawyer (1872-1945)