I live in a small, marginal country. A country on the edge of the European Union, fortunately on the edge from the inside. If you're small, you don't have much and then you import as much as you can. Including brands.
I had a big surprise when I found out that a Romanian brand, a franchise, was bought in France and other Western European countries. The brand is called "5 to go" and is a kind of café where, besides coffee, sweets, soft drinks, and sandwiches are sold. You will probably say that you have seen many such cafes, what can be so special? Well, special is the price. Everything costs 5, in our case 5 lei, that's $1.25.
So we had coffee at 5 to go!
Being loyal customers, we have made friends with the girls who brew the coffee and enjoy exchanging a few words with them every time we meet.
I am glad to see that an idea started in my country has a chance to succeed abroad. So much for the joy, because today is Friday, my cooking day, and even though I love to cook, it's not exactly a joy.
I made a boyish dish, in my opinion, even though my grandmother and mother cooked this for me as a child.
Meatballs! Why do I say it's boy food? Because meatballs are fried and at least men are good at it. If frying is relatively easy, preparing meatballs is quite laborious and takes some time.
What I'm going to make now are some more special meatballs. Bigger meatballs, which in Romanian are called "Parjoale"!
Ingredients and actions
Minced meat
Vegetables: carrot, potato, onion, dill, parsley, garlic
I chopped the vegetables finely and then mixed them with the minced meat. I mixed three more eggs into the mixture and added salt and pepper.
Then fry in oil. With a spoon, I made the meatballs and flattened them in the palm of my hand. Then I fried them.
They're not very showy but I guarantee they're very tasty. Unfortunately, frying in hot oil gives off a very strong smell. I remember as a child, playing away from my grandmother's house but when she made meatballs I could smell the smell from far away and would quickly run home to eat them when they were hot.
We knew our son would come and eat with us. I made a side of potatoes and a salad.
I boiled the potatoes cleaned and cut them into small pieces. After boiling, I drained the water and added butter, sour cream, and salt. I stirred...
Salad made of tomatoes, onion, chili, dill, paprika, salt, and olive oil.
I mixed the ingredients.
Mai aveam niste snitele facute cu o zi inainte. Mie nu-mi plac reci si atunci le-am incalzit in cuptor.
Totul a fost gata in aproximativ doua ore. Dupa munca si rasplata, se spune. Urmeaza partea cea mai placuta.
This was not a cooking blog. This is a Friday story as we prepare for the weekend. It can also be an idea. As you noticed, I didn't tell the quantities or the recipe in detail. This was just an example of some people from far away and how they eat sometimes.
If someone would like to cook these products they can find hundreds of very precise and detailed recipes on the internet.
My intention was only to stir up the desire to do so and I am primarily addressing men. Because for men, most men, cooking is not an everyday activity and because of this, it can still be enjoyable and exciting. It's satisfying to see that what you've cooked is really tasty, beyond the small mistakes that can be made. It's a joy to see that those you've cooked for appreciate your work!
After so much food and frying, burning oil, and strong smells, it is mandatory to have something to clear the eyes, to relax the brain. Something very nice. A flower, as @dswigle promotes and tries to get us used to.
Before I got to the little "5 to go" cafe I took a walk (obligatory - because I'm obliged to pass by, fortunately) through the park. I saw the increasingly obvious signs of autumn. One of my favorite alleys is a chestnut alley. That's what I called it because guess what?
This is where I should have said, just the way Denise likes it:
STOP!! BRAIN TEASER AHEAD!!
I don't want to be so harsh and I'll give the answer right away... because there are a lot of chestnuts.
We passed through the park in the morning before we got to 5 to go. I didn't know I'd be cooking today. Just walking into a little shop and seeing some meat made me want to cook what I cooked.
Oh, but what have I done? I said the flower was next and went back to the meat. I'm sorry! Now the flower really is next.
For #marketfriday and #alwaysaflower, both proposed by @dswigle!
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