Polish and Greek Festivals!

Cześć and kalo apoyevma! That is, "hey" and "good afternoon" in Polish and Greek (I'm continuing on with Sarah's foreign language greetings :) For the past two weekends, Andrew and I have been busy with food festivals. Last weekend it was the Polish festival and this weekend, the Greek! I absolutely love attending these things. Tons of good food, dancing, arts and crafts, opportunities to learn about other cultures, and, did I mention, GOOD FOOD?!

This is the 2nd year we've been to the Polish festival, and although its quite a bit smaller than the other festivals, it really is a lot of fun. Plus, I love getting to spend some time celebrating some of my own heritage. When we arrived this year, seconds after walking into the entrance, a woman heading out gave Andrew and I 11 free tokens--which translated into 11 buckaroos that were enough to buy both of us dinner! Needless to say, we were stoked and headed immediately to the food lines for delicious Polish grub.


This was the pierogi ruskie plate, which had pierogis filled with onions, potatoes, and cheese. My favorite! I seriously wish I could figure out how to make these at home--Andrew and I have tried once before--even making our own dough, but unfortunately they still turned out a little bland. Anyone have a good homemade pierogi recipe?


This was the Golabki which were cabbage leaves stuffed with rice, beef, and pork. Sooo good.

We didn't order any this year, but they were also selling some delicious kielbasa sausages. Doesn't it look yummy? That stuff next to it something called Hunter's stew.


We also grabbed a beer and then ate our dinner watching a Polka dancing contest! They first had one for little kids, and then later had one for adults. I have to say I was mighty impressed by the kids' dancing ability. They really knew what they were doing, complete with twirls and lifts!




Once we finished dinner, we moved on to dessert. I was initially a little bummed because they were out of the fruit and sweet cheese filled pierogis (which we had the pleasure of eating the year before); however, my bummed-outedness quickly disappeared after seeing the huge pastry table with tons of different things to pick from. We got some sort of berry cobbler thing, a donut-like thing filled with jam, and some little pieces of fried dough. All were super tasty!


After all that eating, we walked around for a bit admiring all of the Polish arts and crafts booths and listened to live Polish music. Some of that music can just be so funny sounding. It always reminds me of this funny tape my grandfather brought home for us after one of his trips to Poland. It was a tape full of Polish music, our favorite of which was this Polish "rap". We used to sing that song around the house and just crack up at how funny it was!

Anyway, after a long and busy week full of school and work, Andrew and I treated ourselves to the Greek festival on Saturday with some old college friends. This festival is my absolute favorite festival in Portland and I literally get excited about it months in advance. The food is just amazing! It was pretty crowded when we arrived, but it was totally worth pushing through the mobs. We, of course, ate before we did anything else. Andrew and I started by eating a delicious spanakopita (phyllo dough filled with spinach and feta) and a lamb gyro. And I don't know if its just being amidst all of the festivities and fun, but I have to say I think these gyros are the best I've ever eaten.



We also had some bites of a tasty greek salad and of a tyropita, which is almost exactly like the spanakopita except without the spinach. My cheese-loving self might have even liked it better :)


Although we didn't order any this year, one of my favorite things about this festival is how you can order lamb off the spit. They roast all day and the air is just full of that delicious roasted lamb smell. Last year we waited hours to get some (seriously, the wait is insane to actually get any of the meat)--and we just couldn't get ourselves to do it this year. Maybe we just need to get there earlier?


Although we were already stuffed, we had to get "dessert". There were tons of different choices, but my favorite (and apparently everyone elses's by how long the line was) were the loukoumades. These are almost like little donut holes topped with cinnamon, sugar, and honey. They are crazy delicious!


After stuffing our happy faces, we watched some Greek dancing and toured the church and the Hellenic-American cultural center (which was located next to the church). Andrew and I also entered a raffle to win a trip to Greece...fingers crossed!



Anyway, I am now sad to say that most of the food festivals are over for the year. The next big event is the Winter Brew Fest sometime in December. For now, I'll just have to try and replicate these delicious recipes in my own kitchen! Love you guys :)