Bulgarian Food!

In a word, it is delicious! Early on I've discovered the joys of one of the national dishes – Shopska salad – tomatoes, cucumbers, a soft white cheese, and maybe some onions and some oil and vinegar. Sounds simple, but it is absolutely delicious. These are the winter vegetables, but it is amazing how rich and succulent they are. We are constantly told that this is nothing compared to how they will taste after harvest. The next common foods I've been eating a lot of are the meat snacks. Kebab-che, which is like a sausage of ground meat and Kufteh, which is like a flavorful little hamburger shape of meat. These are everywhere and amazing. Also it is easy to find the fried cheese (can't remember the name, as it is fried in bread, I never got one!), as well as chicken kebabs, and a variety of salads. Since Silistra is on the Danube, it's also easy to find a fair number of restaurants with good, fresh seafood. I went to one restaurant right on the water, overlooking a small fishing dock, where little old men came and went in their tiny little rowboats, hauling nets and bringing in the occasional fish. I did this place on my without any local assitance, and nobody at the restaurant spoke any English, so I pretty much let the waitress/owner decide for me. Just before bring the grilled fish out, she showed me pictures of what was coming- something looking like a huge catfish, as well as some kind of a Perch....

 A Shepard's Salad - like the famous Shopska, but with a few added delights....but still the basic white cheese, tomatoes, and cucumbers...

While I've loved all the restaurant food, nothing has topped the dinner at Vessy's house. Oh my goodness, this was something else....She started us off with a wide variety of salads – including the best Shopska i've had yet, and one of my favorite things I've tasted so far – the bean salad (need to get name from Vessy!). After three hearty helpings of salads, we then had the main dishes which included a cabbage stuffed with meat and sauce (to die for!) and …... Of course, one of the very important parts of any meal here is the Rekia. One of the first questions people (including students) asked me – have you tried the Rekia? Followed by, shame on you or shame on your hosts! Well, I finally got to try the Rekia- it's a very, very strong brandy type drink, made from distilled fruit. I think ours was grape – and it is very strong! I survived a few glasses of this without too much trouble. Deserts here tend to be pastries, and there are many little pastry shops all over the place.....