Two Pounds of Nostalgia

A friend exclaimed that the Hungarian nut and poppy rolls made by a nearby Byzantine church are The Best.  I'll be the judge of that! My mom taught us how to make poticas (Slovenian nutrolls) and apple strudels, but occasionally she would pre-order some already made by local ethnic women whose reputations were known far and wide.  We could also buy homemade pierogis, specialty sausages, and so forth.  When I was young, everyone knew where different ethic neighborhoods were located, and small shops specializing in ethnic foods were very common.  Most have gone by the wayside as giant chain supermarkets moved in and generations spread out and moved away.  A list of the 120 ethnic groups is Cleveland can be found here.

On the way to the pool, I saw several trays of nutrolls cooling in a baker's rack in the church parking lot.  A big sign declared they were baking and selling today.  So in I went.  What a delightful smell! Everyone was bustling around.  I bought a poppy seed roll and was added to their e-mail list.  

Each 14" roll is one pound of dough and one pound of filling. No, this is not on my diet, and I don't care.  I'll slice mine up and refreeze it so I can enjoy it for months to come.  I can't wait to find out if they're The Best or not. 

A long entry for me.  I'm hungry and got lost in memories for a bit.  Thanks if you read it.