Just like at home
On Thursday I had another of the lovely evenings here. It wasn’t an encounter with Scottish culture this time, but a very nice reminder of my Bridge evenings with friends back in Poland.
Okay, let’s say it aloud, I quite fancy the new guy, Martin. Definitely I like him as a person, he seems very intelligent, plus he is quite sexy, although not exactly beautiful. Of course anything between me and him doesn’t make sense, because I am leaving in a few days, and he just came (precilsely a month ago). Still, I thought, what the hell, I want to spend some quality time with him, not a date, but why refuse myself some pleasant evening together.
Regardless of that, I was struck by a cooking inspiration last days. I wanted to cook the classical spaghetti bolognese, without a help of any instant sauses or even a recipe, just from my head. And since I had too much meat for even two dinners of bolognese, I also came up with another dish: meatballs in a parsley sauce with mashrooms and carrot. Again, own recipe, although based on a dish I know from home.
To add those two things together, I thought: why not invite the guys for dinner. By guys I mean Martin and Adrian, who are sharing a room in a bungalow next door to our caravan. And so I did it.
This afternoon I cooked, which gave me lots of fun. Especially the meatballs were a challenge, as I’ve never cooked anything like that in Poland. They are quite classical for Polish quisine (or my mum’s cuisine): mince meat, bread soaked in water, egg, chopped onion, all that mixed well, rolled in flour and first fried then cooked. I was a little bit afraid that I will not get the right proportions and ruin the dish, but they turned out just fine. In effect I cooked a whole pan of bolognese, and an even bigger pan of meatballs, each of them at least for three dinners if I ate alone. And I must say, both of them came out well.
Then the guys came and we ate spaghetti and then, oh yeah!!, played cards. ;-) It wasn’t perhaps Bridge, unfortunately they don’t play it, but something quite similar, also involving thinking and strategy. The game is called Wrist and it was Camelia, who showed it to us (she of course joined the little party as well). She even found in the internet that Bridge originated from it. It can be played by various numbers of people. Once you are given your cards, and before the play, each person must declare aloud how much they will take, which is a little bit like a bidding. The thing is that not all the cards are dealt, some are still in the deck, so you have to judge your chances. Also, you have to say *exactly* the number of tricks you will take, not like in Bridge the minimal. There is also a trump - the color uncovered from the remaining cards before the bidding.
People who judged correctly (there can be a few of them in every deal) win and get points for: a) being right; b) the amount of tricks they took; people who didn’t, get minus points. So it is important to both judge correctly and take as much as possible. There are ten deals in every game, with the increasing amount of dealt cards every time, and after that the points are summed up to determine the winner. I must say, the game was really fantastic and I am going to show it to my Bridge pack once I have gotten back (are you reading that?). Btw, I won. ;-)
An evening with a good meal and a good card play is exactly what we practiced in Poland, and of course I had a little déjà vu, but without getting sentimental or anything like that. More like: it’s so nice to do the same thing in the other place with other people, it’s so nice to find other people who enjoy it as well. The next morning I woke up, and when I recalled the evening I felt so completely relaxed and happy that I didn’t even mind that in a few minutes I would have to get up and go to work.
Okay, let’s say it aloud, I quite fancy the new guy, Martin. Definitely I like him as a person, he seems very intelligent, plus he is quite sexy, although not exactly beautiful. Of course anything between me and him doesn’t make sense, because I am leaving in a few days, and he just came (precilsely a month ago). Still, I thought, what the hell, I want to spend some quality time with him, not a date, but why refuse myself some pleasant evening together.
Regardless of that, I was struck by a cooking inspiration last days. I wanted to cook the classical spaghetti bolognese, without a help of any instant sauses or even a recipe, just from my head. And since I had too much meat for even two dinners of bolognese, I also came up with another dish: meatballs in a parsley sauce with mashrooms and carrot. Again, own recipe, although based on a dish I know from home.
To add those two things together, I thought: why not invite the guys for dinner. By guys I mean Martin and Adrian, who are sharing a room in a bungalow next door to our caravan. And so I did it.
This afternoon I cooked, which gave me lots of fun. Especially the meatballs were a challenge, as I’ve never cooked anything like that in Poland. They are quite classical for Polish quisine (or my mum’s cuisine): mince meat, bread soaked in water, egg, chopped onion, all that mixed well, rolled in flour and first fried then cooked. I was a little bit afraid that I will not get the right proportions and ruin the dish, but they turned out just fine. In effect I cooked a whole pan of bolognese, and an even bigger pan of meatballs, each of them at least for three dinners if I ate alone. And I must say, both of them came out well.
Then the guys came and we ate spaghetti and then, oh yeah!!, played cards. ;-) It wasn’t perhaps Bridge, unfortunately they don’t play it, but something quite similar, also involving thinking and strategy. The game is called Wrist and it was Camelia, who showed it to us (she of course joined the little party as well). She even found in the internet that Bridge originated from it. It can be played by various numbers of people. Once you are given your cards, and before the play, each person must declare aloud how much they will take, which is a little bit like a bidding. The thing is that not all the cards are dealt, some are still in the deck, so you have to judge your chances. Also, you have to say *exactly* the number of tricks you will take, not like in Bridge the minimal. There is also a trump - the color uncovered from the remaining cards before the bidding.
People who judged correctly (there can be a few of them in every deal) win and get points for: a) being right; b) the amount of tricks they took; people who didn’t, get minus points. So it is important to both judge correctly and take as much as possible. There are ten deals in every game, with the increasing amount of dealt cards every time, and after that the points are summed up to determine the winner. I must say, the game was really fantastic and I am going to show it to my Bridge pack once I have gotten back (are you reading that?). Btw, I won. ;-)
An evening with a good meal and a good card play is exactly what we practiced in Poland, and of course I had a little déjà vu, but without getting sentimental or anything like that. More like: it’s so nice to do the same thing in the other place with other people, it’s so nice to find other people who enjoy it as well. The next morning I woke up, and when I recalled the evening I felt so completely relaxed and happy that I didn’t even mind that in a few minutes I would have to get up and go to work.