Jan 7
Lithuania is truly beautiful at this time of year. The ground is covered with a fine layer of snow, the skies are clear and the sunsets are magnificent. We can watch the sun setting from the warmth of our conservatory. It happens to coincide with our afternoon coffee and we are both drawn to the rapidly descending circle as it approaches the horizon, steaming mugs keeping our hands warm. Read more
Christmas is over and the New Year is upon us, bringing with it the annual profusion of “healthy” recipes. Clever marketeers prey on your lingering sense of guilt from any holiday over-indulgences with recipes or food products boasting to be gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, low carb, low GI, vegetarian, vegan or paleo-friendly. I have nothing against any of these food types or diets, but it is when people slap the word “healthy” in front of them that I start to get irritated. Read more
“Don’t slam the door!” my mother would yell as I walked into the kitchen. The Christmas cake was in the oven and in the early eighties, when oven seals weren’t quite what they should be, slamming the door could create enough draft to cause the cake to sink in the middle. Or so the theory went. Read more
To all of you who have read, liked, commented, shared, pinned, etc. over the past year – thank you so much for your time and your company.
Wishing you and your families a very Merry Christmas and wonderful things for 2016. Read more
One of the things I most looked forward to about moving to Lithuania was a white Christmas. The Lithuanian countryside is stunning when it is covered in snow – vast open fields surrounded by forests and dotted with deer. It doesn’t get more picture-perfect. This year, though, the weather has decided not to play ball. It was a balmy 9 ˚ C (48 ˚ F) here today – about 15 degrees above what would be expected in mid December. Read more
Grandad tore a strip off yesterday’s newspaper and leaned down to light it off the gas flame. He lifted the burning paper to his lips and lit his cigarette before throwing it into the empty fireplace. It was Saturday, so the fire was not lit. My grandparents always went out for a drink on Saturday night and didn’t waste their time or their fuel lighting the fire when they would not be home. Instead, if it was chilly (as it was today), they would light the Superser. Read more
In our house certain things happen so often that they have been given their own name. One of our most frequent occurrences is “where-is-age”, a phenomenon whereby Arūnas can’t find something he needs, despite the fact that the item is exactly where it’s supposed to be. “Where’s my wallet?” “It’s in the drawer, darling.” (Where it always is.) “Where are my keys?” “They’re in the drawer, darling.” (Where they always are.) You get the gist. Read more
Preparing traditional dishes is never straightforward as everyone has their own view on how they should be prepared. There is nothing more soul-destroying than spending several hours cooking a meal only to get a look from your husband that says “these are not as good as my mother’s”. I have received that look many times as I developed my recipes for šaltibarščiai, koldūnai and cepelinai. With my balandėliai, I a little fared better – I got “the look” for the first attempt only. After that, something unprecedented happened – I was told they were even better than his mother’s. Read more
I stumbled on these photos as I was going through my archives. For some reason they amuse me – I can think of twenty good captions for each of them. I’ve included a couple below. If you have a good one please share – what are those three boys thinking or saying? Read more
I was sixteen when it first happened. I had been on a weekend school trip to an outdoor pursuits centre and come home with a stiffness in my back. I wasn’t sure what had done it – 4 hours downstream in a canoe, rock climbing a jagged cliff, lifting the heavy sail of a windsurf or jumping from port to starboard as we tacked and jibbed our way across a choppy bay. Read more
As the evenings grow ever shorter and the year draws to a close, I have been looking back on the last year and, indeed, over the last three years since this blog began. Both the blog and I have come a long way. Initially it was a food and travel blog, covering our journey through Europe discovering the wonderful food and drinks on offer. Then we settled here in Lithuania and it became more about our personal journey with food and our life here, growing our own vegetables and enjoying country life. Read more
I don’t really go in for ornaments, preferring instead to decorate my home with plants, flowers and natural products. My summer bowl contains the dried petals from the roses I got for my 40th birthday last year. This is my autumn bowl – chestnuts I collected from the schoolyard near my home. Aren’t they gorgeous? Read more
It feels like the weather for the past few months has been on a timer, changing abruptly from month to month. It rained for the whole of July, then not once in August. September saw rain again, but mixed with warm, sunny days – perfect for sprouting mushrooms. October was crisp and clear with a fascinating array of sunsets as the sun moved lower in the autumn sky. It remained clear until after All Saints’ Day, a very important date in the Lithuania calendar. Then, on November 2nd, the sky became grey and overcast and the air damp and heavy. Read more
I can’t tell you how much I love living in the country. We have the best of both worlds. We live in a tiny village surrounded by open fields and forests as far as the eye can see, so we have the comradery of community but the peace and solitude of the hinterland. Read more
This time last year I was pining for a little taste of home. Halloween was coming and I was looking forward to a steaming bowl of colcannon, just like my mammy used to make. Unfortunately, I could not find any kale or green cabbage, a key ingredient of the dish, here in Lithuania. I tried several supermarkets and farmers’ markets, but only white cabbage was available. Upset, I consoled myself with cake. Read more
![Lithuanian Cabbage Rolls | Balandėliai [Recipe] | www.myfoododyssey.com](https://myfoododyssey.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/balandeliai_cabbage_rolls_dsc_0313_1.jpg?w=94&h=94&crop=1)
My Food Odyssey 