A little art and a little language

Romanian Pottery

I couldn't make our only craft for Romania be a vampire, after all that isn't even based on reality, so we did another fun craft this week - Romanian pottery.  Pottery is a traditional art form in Romania.  The most famous pottery comes from the village of Horezu.  In this town you can stroll down Olari St. (Potters' Street) and see the different styles and variations of the many families who have been making this pottery for generations.  The pottery is still shaped on old-fashioned kick wheels and are decorated with geometric, floral and animal patterns using 100% natural colors and tools such as goose feathers and cow horns.  One of the most popular motifs on the pottery is known as the Horezu Rooster and it is one that we tried to emulate on our pottery - to varying success :)

Horezu Rooster Plate

For the project you will need:

• plate (we got a glass one from the dollar store)
• regular acrylic paints if painting on back side of glass plate only.  If you have a regular paint - make sure your paints are food safe.  Or maybe use sharpies?
• a drawing of the Horezu rooster or any other drawing for that matter.  It's your plate - go nuts!

1. Clean plate and get any sticker residue off.
2. Tape picture on front of plate, face down so that when you turn it over you see the design.

3. Paint away.  I helped my son with the rooster but he did a nice swirly design around the outside.  My daughter did the whole thing- including drawing the rooster.

Above and right is the plate done by my daughter.

<<This one was done by my son and I :) 

Both plates are pictured sitting on top of our normal white dinner plates.  I think they would make really cute additions to any china cabinet.

 

Now to learn a little Romanian.

Romanian is what they consider a "Romance Language", I'm not quite sure what that means and, frankly, I don't have time right now to find out because I'm super-behind in getting this post out. :)  Anyway, some of the other "romance languages" are French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.  When you see some of the phrases in Romanian you will see some similarities to these languages.  Originally descended from Latin, the language came to the area with the Romans, but over time was influenced by the Slavic languages.  There are about 4 different dialects but the one spoken most often in Romania is "Daco-Romanian".  Here are a few phrases to get you going-

 

Hello - salut       How are you? - Ce mai faci?   Thank you - mersi

You're welcome- su placere   I love you - te iubesc

 

and because I love YOU I am giving you a bonus phrase!!

 

Vehicolul meu pe perna de aer e plin cu tipari. 

 

Which means My Hovercraft is full of eels.  You never know when that might come in handy huh?  Have a great weekend and may your hovercraft never be full of eels :) 

 

On the Menu: Romanian Food

A little of this, a little of that...

When I looked at the Romanian recipes I noticed something.  Most of the recipes sounded vaguely like other recipes I'd seen before.  The more I read about Romanian food the more I understood why.  Over the course of history Romania has been occupied by many other countries.  Turkey, Hungary, Austria, Poland, and Russia have all influenced the food of the country - not to mention immigrants from other countries who have settled in the area.  They like to say that it gives their food a uniqueness because they took a little of this cuisine and a little of that and blended it into their own.

Many of the dishes are prepared using the age old cooking techniques and family recipes that have been passed down for generations.  Do they eat like this everyday?  Probably not, I'm sure in the big towns they have pizza and burgers when they've had a long day.  But when there's a big occasion or a guest comes to town they have some great traditional recipes to break out!

A "traditional" Romanian meal would usually include some or all of these courses. 

• An appetizer-usually fresh cheeses, cold cuts or vegetable spreads
• soup
• fish - maybe grilled Black Sea sturgeon or herring
• meat entree - stuffed cabbage leaves (sarmale), stew or handmade sausages they call "wee ones"
• desserts like stuffed crepes or sweet breads

Feeling full? I found some good resources for recipes online at Home Cooking in Montana and JoCooks.com. We made the sarmale (stuffed cabbage rolls) and I know after my plateful of pork and sour cabbage cooked in a tomato sauce I sure was full! I couldn't even imagine eating all that other food!

Sarmale (Stuffed cabbage rolls)

This recipe is a compilation of many I found on the internet
For the recipe you will need:

• 2-3 lbs ground pork
• 1/2 cup long grain rice
• 1 onion chopped
• fresh parsley
• fresh dill
• 2 cans condensed tomato soup
• 1 12oz can tomato juice
• 2 med. heads of cabbage (cut out core)
• 1 large jar of sauerkraut
• bacon

1. Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil and plop a cabbage into it.  As the leaves begin to come separate take them out of water and place in large bowl. Repeat with other cabbage until you have a whole bunch of leaves.  Pour sauerkraut and juice over the leaves and let sit for awhile.  The traditional recipe calls for "sour cabbage" which is like sauerkraut but a whole head instead of shredded.  This was the closest thing I could think of.
2. In large bowl add pork, onion, rice, a little sauerkraut, some chopped dill (1/2 cup maybe?) and chopped parsley(same amount as dill).  Mix well.
3. Shake off the sauerkraut from the cabbage leaves and place in the bottom of a high-sided roasting pan.
4.  Take a cabbage leaf (cut in half if very large) and put 2 T of meat mixture in center and roll up to form little package. Place on top of sauerkraut.  Repeat, repeat, repeat.
5.  Put strips of bacon on top of first layer and finish the next layer.
6.  Pour tomato juice and soup over top of rolls.  They should be covered.  Add another few strips of bacon on top (.I didn't but wish I did)

7.  Cover with foil or lid and bake covered for 2 hours and then uncovered for 2 more hours.




This was something I've never made before so I'm not sure if I did it right, I know I made them bigger than they should be because I was in a rush to get them in the oven for 4 hours!  
These would probably be really good in a crockpot.  The adults liked them - the dill and sauerkraut gave them an interesting taste- different but good. The kids wanted nothing to do with them.  I think their cultural curiosity doesn't go as far as cabbage rolls.

Vlad the Impaler : the man behind the myth.

The Real Dracula

The region of Transylvania is beautiful.  The Carpathian mountains, rivers, forests, etc., but that's not why it's world famous.  It is famous, or infamous, for being the home of the legendary Dracula.  And it was, but not the Dracula you are thinking about.  The real Dracula was a Wallachian prince, named Vlad III, who ruled from 1456 - 1462.  He and his father, Vlad II, were members of the Order of the Dragon, which was a group with the mission to protect Christianity in Eastern Europe against the Ottoman Empire's Islamic rule.  The Romanian word for Dragom is "dracul" and the elder Vlad was known as Vlad Dracul.  The younger Vlad was Dracula.  When his father was given the throne of Wallachia, young Vlad and his brother Radu were taken as hostages by the Ottomans to assure the father's loyalty.  Vlad became very angry (rightfully so) with the Ottomans and would fight them the rest of his life but his brother joined the Ottomans and became one of his brother's own enemies!  I'm surprised THIS stuff isn't a movie!  Vlad III eventually took the throne of Wallachia, and while he was fair to his own people, he was a cruel executioner and torturer of his enemies.  He became known as Vlad the Impaler because impaling people was his favorite form of punishment.  Sweet guy, huh?  Anyway, there is no record of his turning into a bat, or sleeping in a coffin.  I'm sure he could stand in the sun or eat garlic.  All that was made up by an Irish author, Bram Stoker, who wrote the novel Dracula.  His novel forever changed the meaning of the word Dracula and the tourist industry in Transylvania.  Today, Bran Castle, the supposed home of Dracula in the book, is one of the most visited places in Transylvania.  Do the people of Romania mind? They might a little, but if it brings some tourists to the area they can deal with it :)  So in honor of Vlad III, aka Vlad the Impaler, aka Dracula we made a vampire craft.  It's also Halloween in 2 weeks so it works out!

Vampire Candy Holder craft

For this spooky project you will need:

• empty gallon milk jug
• scissors
• sharpie
• acrylic paints and brushes
• spray paint (optional)
• candy

1. Clean out jug and dry it.
2. Draw mouth and eyes .
3.  Using scissors, cut out mouth.Don't forget to make some fangs!!
4. Paint whole things white with acrylic or spray paint. Let dry.
5. Leave white or tape off eyes and fangs and spray purple or green.
 








6. Use the acrylics and small brushes to add the details.  Spooky eyes, red lips, black hair, maybe a little blood - let the kids have fun alone or help them with the ideas.

 Add candy and make up a little sign that says

"Take one -  IF YOU DARE!"

HOORAY FOR ROMANIA!!

 

Week 13: Romania

Romania :  Land of Beauty or Vampires?

Well, when I picked Romania it was because that is where Transylvania is, and everyone knows Dracula is from Transylvania, right?  Well, actually not really.  Turns out that the mythical beasts that roam the Transylvanian countryside aren't really to be found in Romania, but a lot of rich history and an interesting culture is easy to find. 

 Located in southeastern/central Europe, Romania is an area that has been inhabited since before 500 BC (the numbers varied), the capital city of Bucharest was begun in the 15th century, so there is a long, complicated history to be told.  The oldest recorded people living in present-day Romania were the Dacians, fierce warriors who ruled the area until about 100 AD.  They were conquered by the Romans, who acquired the area because of its plentiful gold and other minerals.  Their rule brought many colonists from other countries and when the Roman Empire left the area many other groups tried to take over, with the Ottoman Empire finally winning and ruling until 1877.  The 3 major areas of Romania, Moldavia, Wallachia and Transylvania, were principalities until the end of World War I, when they united to become the country of Romania.  After World War II, in which many Romanians died, the country was taken control of by the Soviet Union and became a socialist republic.  In 1989, as the Soviet Empire was being broken up, a revolution took place in Romania and the country broke free of communism and started towards the democratic country it is today.

It is a country that still hold on to its traditions while embracing the future and the people are very proud of their culture and folk art.  Different regions are famous for different aspects of the folk art, such as embroidery or wood carvings, but the biggest draw to Romania and its most visited tourist attractions is still Bran Castle in Transylvania - home to Bram Stoker's Dracula!!  Tomorrow we will learn about the man behind the myth......