"Lou Decruss" > wrote in message
...
|
| Thanks to all who gave advice on the sugar-free cheesecake. I didn't
| go completely sugar free but pretty close using a combination of the
| advice you all gave. The old lady had no clue it was coming and was
| besides herself with joy when she saw it even though it wasn't very
| pretty. It turned out just fine and it made her very happy. She said
| at least 5 times what a nice easter she was having. Having her
| granddaughter and great-granddaughter with her for the holiday made
| her very happy.
|
| The old lady is Polish born and came here in 1949. Louise is the
| first generation born in the states. The immigrants practice
| something called Swieconka. Louise mentioned it to me last week but I
| thought she was joking but found out from another group she was
| serious. So the food was brought to the church and blessed on
| Saturday so we could celebrate on Sunday. I'm a non-believer but it
| was fun watching how happy granny was with the whole day. Actually we
| think the uncle that brought to food to be blessed just took it with
| him in the car and went to the bar for awhile.
|
| Growing up we always had pretty elaborate easter meals like the ones
| that have been described here in the last week but from what I read I
| knew that wasn't what was going to be served. When we arrived the
| food was on the table and the first thought that came to mind was:
| WHOA! Talk about the ultimate theme party! It was just how I had
| read. Bite sized fresh and smoked sausage, ham torn into bite sized
| chunks, rye bread, sliced boiled eggs, horseradish, and butter.
| That's it. Now granny didn't actually have butter and we knew she'd
| have margarine so we brought butter. We also know whole wheat bread
| is better for her so I made two loaves which is what everyone chose.
| Potato salad is also sometimes served for Polish Easter so I made some
| which went over well and everyone wanted some of the leftovers.
| Obviously none of my offerings were blessed but nobody seemed to mind.
|
| Granny lives in a 4 flat across the hall from her son. 25 years ago
| he married an Italian. Soon after the Polacks finished the meal the
| Italians started showing up for their feast. The doors were kept open
| and it was kinda like a dorm party with nobody under 40 allowed. It
| was a 5 hour food-fest and lots of fun. I was full so I didn't pay
| much attention to the other sides food but it all smelled good.
|
| We're under a boatload of stress right now and it was nice to have a
| day without a care in the world and lots of pleasure for a change.
|
| For those who don't know what Swieconka is:
|
|
http://annhetzelgunkel.com/easter/swiecone.html#basket
|
| The sausage came from a Polish Deli. You know.....The kind sheldon
| says doesn't exist. Cheap and authentic. They even have milk this
| week for less that Aldi does. We're hoping Louise can get by with her
| Polish because from what I read on Yelp you're SOL if you only speak
| English.
|
|
http://www.joeandfranks.com/
|
| Lou
Beautifully nostalgic and touching posting, Lou. Thank you for the
thought and effort. To me your finest touch was this phrase:
"... kinda like a dorm party with nobody under 40 allowed ..." You
have painted wonderful memories that I hope many of us still hold.
pavane