Zucchini Wonders

Well….per norm, Sfecla & Spice disappeared for a bit. But, we have re-emerged from the depths of Moldovan chaos and, of course, expecting love and acceptance from you all.  On a serious note, forgive us because we are busy volunteers trying to fulfill the lives of everyone one while tending to our own personal needs…..like, remembering what day of the week it is because time moves way too fast these days.

**We actually have 2 months until we close our service in Moldova!!**

Now, lets take a journey back  in time, like…waayy back…as in last fall. It was during that time when I shared a post about purchasing ENTIRELY too many  kilos of zucchini at the local piața. What can I say? Sometimes, I’m attracted to shiny things just like a monkey– other times, my foodie mentality takes over. (Which clearly happened on this day).  That delectable  green zucchini just twinkled in my eyes.

I was feeling guilty about not exercising  that morning, but Due to my over excitement of green veggies, I conveniently worked in my strength training by carrying  a couple kilos of these green goddesses up 3 flights of stairs. Ironically, I think the local produce lady was proud that I finally stepped-up and bought more than 1/2 a kilo of a vegetables in a single visit. [The underlying fact is that I return 2 days later for the same thing, so…. why not buy it all at once?] <—- I know this what’s running through her mind.

So, here are some tastycreations for the “oops I bought too much dovlecei in the piața”

1 kilo = $0.47 USD

ZUCCHINI SOUP!! This looks like baby food from a jar. However, the taste is much more succulent! As much as we would love to share the recipe, we forgot. Shocker. We would blame the time lapse but is probably something along the lines of “Oh let’s Google ‘what to cook with kilos of zucchini’ and this is one of the things we discovered, threw together, and totally disregarded the recipe. To be fair, all recipes with zucchini soup are the same we added very little sour cream, only for texture, and it was amazing. So, old wise one “Master Google” will help you along for this one. Throw in some spice, or seasonings…. for PCVs– we did sautee the zucchini down to a soft texture and then you can mash it together in a gentle fashion.  Nothing is exact. Best of luck. It will taste great.

Zucchini Soup

ZUCCHINI CASSEROLE!! This dish is freaking amazing. Plus, you can make it more low calorie than a normal casserole dish! Per norm, I sort of glanced at about a dozen casserole recipes, then ignored the instructions and then did my own magic. To lower the calories, I did substitute sour cream for the mayo and added a little less cheese than one would expect from a traditional casserole.

 

mouth watering goodness- the picture does this creation no justice

 

Once again, we’ve been distracted and our meals have not been all that impressive……Okay, that’s a lie. We never slack when it comes to treating ourselves to a good meal. Forgive us, and we’ll have some of our made-up recipes that have helped us to survive these two years in Moldova posted soon!

Hai!

Sfecla. n. (romanian) the crimson-red root vegetable that

Sfecla. n. (romanian) the crimson-red root vegetable that one eats steamed, cooked, or raw in salads, soups, sautées, or whatever other creative form to keep one’s bowel movements regular during a long Moldovan winter.

Beets. Delicious red beets that neither Lindsey nor I would have much considered to put into our daily diet until we braved one Moldovan winter, where green things were hard to come by and the gray skies left us lacking not just our Vitamin D.  So we fully embraced heart-healthy, vitamin and mineral-rich sfecla to add a little color to our potatoes, onions, and carrots. Did I mention how cheap they were? 6 lei/kilo at one point (49 cents), which would maybe be the same price of a small tomato at that point.  Sfecla is much better paired with something though.  Sfecla & spice carried us a long ways last winter.

We would go so far as to, on long weekends away from site, come prepared with 1-2 kilos of beet salad.  A few other volunteers would look at us like we were a bit too prepared and crazy. But we knew that they were jealous. We were saving bani (money) which seems to fly out of your pocket when hungry in the capital city, and we were staying regular. Who really wants to wallow in constipation when you should be enjoying the luxuries of good friends and city conveniences?

So in order for you to enjoy life like we bani-bagging, unbloated fete (in other words, penny-pinching, happy girls) do thanks to our sfecla, we would like to share a couple recipes.  They are very alterable. Carrots are also sometimes added.  

Asian Beet Salad
1 kg, Shredded raw beets
2 big spoonfuls, fresh finely chopped ginger
2/3 part, balsamic vinegar
1/3 part, soy sauce
A touch of olive oil
Pinch or two, cayenne pepper
Maybe a pinch of cinnamon
1 cup, double cream branza (like a dry, dense cream cheese in the U.S.)
1/2 cup, chopped nuts (optional)

The first and hardest step is to shred the beets. Mix together the dressing (leave out the branza). Add to the beets and mix. When ready to serve, add branza and chopped nuts. Poftiti!

Sfecla Surprise
1kg, chopped beets
1 big spoonful, garlic
1-2 big spoonfuls, mayonnaise 
1/2 cup, chopped and pitted prunes
2/3 cup, double cream branza
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and eat. Surprise! It tastes pretty darn good!

Tip: if beets are to expensive, boil red cabbage for 5 minutes and use that as a filler. 

Unfortunately, beets are going out of season so try these recipes out soon or keep them in mind for next fall and winter!

http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/beets.html

 

 

Welcome to Sfecla & Spice!!!

Our Dearest Virtual Friends & Fellow Foodies,

Welcome to our blog! Since our friendship first blossomed in June of 2012 as new Peace Corps Trainees, we always seemed to meet on one common ground- FOOD.

I accept the fact that I was a food snob from a young age. Even in elementary school, I was probably the only child that refused to indulge in white bread, beanie-weenies, or drink 2% milk. I was a whole wheat bread & skim milk girl. Of course, back in the 1990’s, before Jamie Oliver decided to revolutionize school lunches, the cafeteria’s did not offer the healthy option of skim milk. I completed my college years in Charleston, SC, which only reiterated my obsessive love for good food. My life started to revolve around food- this necessary matter needed for survival that we put into our bodies…only to poop out. My working hours were spent in a restaurant. My friends were amazingly talented chefs. After working all night serving food- we would go sit in another restaurant surrounded by more food. My weekends consisted of food festivals & dinner parties. And then you throw in my obsession with gym workouts, Tae Bo, and healthy organic eating…..whew! (But, I must admit that I am not nearly as ‘hard core’ as some of the people out there today.) One of my favorite restaurants in Charleston is called “FIG” (Food Is Good)…because it is. What an ingenious name. Food is darn magical at times.

My side kick, Demmel, is a true Nebraska farm girl. Her admiration for the process of planting & harvesting crops is inspiring. During training in Cricova, we would daily walk past a wheat field & I even found myself saying to her “Look at that golden wheat. So pretty. It’s time to harvest, Demmel” Whoa! The farm girl was rubbing off on me after only 5 weeks in Moldova. Also, the super awesome & cool thing that makes Laura really appreciate food is that she had a chicken business in high school. Yep- true story. Raised and sold chickens. Impressed? I was. She has an incredible love for the land, a true appreciation and understanding for the effort required to produce quality food. But, that’s not surprising since the majority of her life has been spent on a farm. Her stories about her times in the FFA (formerly the Future Farmers of America) or work at the National Farmers Union in Washington, DC also provide insight into the rich tradition of agriculture she adores.

During our Pre-Service Training in Moldova, an entertaining past time for us would be to check out every magazin, alimentara, and food market that crossed our path. The majority of the time we would not buy anything- just wander around the 12 ft by 18 ft store… annoying the cashiers. We’ve continued this habit, now in Causeni. We pretty much know exactly what is in each market, price points, and delivery dates. Often times, we address our strange, possibly unhealthy obsession by strolling through the stores on the way home, simply…. because we can. It makes us smile.

So, this idea for a food blog came about after we got ridiculed from friends, mostly PCV’s, about our constant photos & status updates about the amazing food we had created. We felt that consolidating, and sharing our passion, could open the doors to new gourmet ideas for others who might share the same food challenges as we do in Moldova. Honestly, we surprise ourselves with what we create- whether it’s delicious grub from the same old carrots, cabbage & potatoes or an epic failure-then-made-success like chocolate chip cookie bars. We hope you all enjoy, laugh a little, and appreciate the ‘art’ of cooking tasty, usually healthy food!

-Lindsey