Month 4: Romania — living on $10 per day (food, utilities, lodging, transportation)
What will I remember about Romanian food? Bread, sausages, shaormas, sour cream, and cabbage! Let me tell you, Romanians know how to bake bread. They also love sausage, cooked cabbage in a variety of dishes, and sour cream in everything. A common Romanian fast food place sells shaormas and kebabs. Shaormas are similar to a loaded burrito; it is a large pita/tortilla with French fries, shaved chicken, cabbage, onions, pickles, garlic sauce, and ketchup. They are quite delicious, unhealthy, and only cost about 7-8 Lei ($2.50 USD). What more could you want?
The infamous shaorma
For this month, we did not have someone from the ministry cooking for us! Yes! I am so glad to make our own food! It is nice to eat balanced meals with fresh fruits and vegetables, depending on who cooked that day! Our two teams (13 Racers) formed pairs to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day. Two different people each day cooked our meals with the kitchen at the church.
Kate Kovach workin' hard in the kitchen
Drinks:
Coffee
Tea
Water
Breakfast:
Bread of some sort (chocolate-filled croissants, sweet bread, etc.)
Musli (a granola mixture)
Fruit (apples, kiwi, oranges, bananas)
Lunch:
Frozen pizza
Wheat bread, turkey sausage, and cascaval, edemer, or gouda cheese
Turkey, lettuce, and cheese sandwiches + yogurt
Grilled cheese sandwiches (with tomato and cheese)
Traditional Romanian food: rice and beef meatballs in a cabbage soup = ciorba (first course) and a cooked onion and cabbage mixture (second course)
Cabbage rolls with rice and beef inside
Traditional Romanian fast food: Shaormas!
Pasta with chopped chicken, beans, tomatoes, and onions
Pasta with veggies (broccoli, tomatoes, carrots) in a cream sauce
Artificial crab veggie wraps
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
A Nathan Hatton specialty from England – chip buttys: a sandwich roll with butter and French fries, and then of course a side of hotdog salad … Europeans can be odd sometimes
Ciorba – meatballs in a cabbage soup A sausage and cabbage dish
Veggie pasta Cabbage rolls with rice and beef
Dinner:
Spaghetti with a veggie sauce and a nut and veggie salad
Rice, green bean, carrot, pea, and sesame seed casserole
Chicken, cooked carrots, and homemade French fries
Spaghetti with a chicken alfredo and mushroom sauce
Beef chili with a loaf of Romanian bread
Chicken chili
A bean and tomato mixture in a creamy cheese sauce (similar to a chili)
Tuna, a loaf of bread, and French fries
Another Nathan Hatton specialty – jam sandwiches (sliced bread and jelly) … Nathan, this is our dinner???
Spaghetti and salad Tuna, French fries, and croissants
Lasagna and green beans Nathan Hatton. Not sure what else to say.
Rose and Kate's dinner
Dessert:
Homemade tiramisu from Vale's mother = amazing!
Ikea-brand gingersnap cookies
Brownies and ice cream … complements of Kate Kovach (we had a couple birthdays this month!)
Vale's 29th Birthday = tiramisu for all!
FYI: The chocolate here is great … we are in Europe, so of course it is! Just ask Rose Huber, our chocolate connoisseur! Also, if you are ever in Europe, look for Gullon-brand biscuits called Digestive. They are amazing, and I will miss them dearly. Only 5.18 Lei at the Kaufland grocery store, if you're interested.
Tublerone Chocolate
Yum. Digestives.
