Merry Christmas
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
Posts tagged ‘homesteading’
Dec 24
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Baby, It’s Cold Outside
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
The Superser
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
Lithuanian Sauerkraut | Rauginti Kopūstai [Recipe]
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
![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)
Lithuanian Cabbage Rolls | Balandėliai [Recipe]
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
Trio
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
Deers & Goats & Backs & Things
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
My Food Odyssey Calendar 2016
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
Ornate
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
Halloween / Hunter’s Moon
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
Colcannon [Recipe]
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
(Extra)ordinary
When does the ordinary become extraordinary? When you see it up-close and personal for the very first time. I spent a lot of time in my garden over the summer and, apart from the hard work, I got to see some amazing sights. I began to see mundane things like dandelions and insects in a whole new light. I began a love affair with crickets when I first saw a nymph on my tomatoes way back in May. It was not love at first sight but later, as I was bemoaning the destruction of my beautiful cabbages by caterpillars, I was very happy to have those crickets on my side. I was lucky enough to capture a kamikaze caterpillar munching its way closer and closer to the waiting jaws of a hungry cricket. You might wonder how the caterpillar could miss the ominous presence of cricket until you see the reverse angle and are reminded how good their camouflage is. Extraordinary. Read more
Creamy Zucchini/Courgette Soup [Recipe]
On my recent trip home I got to catch up with some old friends, but I also got to meet new people. I love meeting new people, especially in rural Ireland where they seem so characterful, so full of laughter and stories. Meeting new people invariable results in being asked two questions – where do you come from and what do you do. These seemingly innocuous questions always fill me with dread – because I don’t have a straightforward answer to either of them. Read more
Change
A change is as good as a rest. Or so they say. As my limbs were weary and my bones heavy from a summer of growing, harvesting and preserving, I took myself home to the motherland for some much-needed rest and recuperation. Read more
Inspiration
Yesterday, as I sat in my conservatory quietly reading & wondering if I would ever feel energetic again, I spotted my elderly neighbours in a nearby field hauling their hay bales in for winter storage. He was using a small cart, but she was using just a sheet, dragging two bales behind her at a time. They repeated this exercise over & over until the whole field was clear. Inspiration comes in many guises & I thought if they can muster the strength to get out & do what needs to be done, then so can I. Read more
My Food Odyssey 