Pada śnieg! It’s snowing…

It’s been snowing in the North East of England; schools are closed, there’s traffic chaos and the children want to play!

Here’s a few ideas of where to buy wellington boots and a sledge because I really struggled to find these essential snow weather items.

Wellington boots (kalosze)

Where to buy? gdzie kupić...?

Costcos
Fenwicks
Halfords
Sports Soccer
Outdoor Superstore


Sledge (sanki)

Where to buy? gdzie kupić...?

John Lewis
Asda
Mothercare

Gołąbki: Made in Newcastle

This week we’ve been cooking up some Polish treats at home, making ‘gołąbki’- Polish cabbage parcels. British cooking generally places cabbage as a lowly side dish boiled up or steamed and left to go cold on the side of the plate, but something I really like about Polish cooking is that cabbage gets the status of main feature.
So when a cabbage came in our vegbox delivery this week, my partner (the resident cook) turned to ‘The Polish Kitchen’ by Mary Pinińska, for some trusty ideas. Here’s our variation on her recipe for gołąbki and some photos of the resulting ‘little pigeons’ made by us here in Newcastle.

Ingredients:
1 large Savoy cabbage
175 grams of long-grain rice
2 large brown onions (chopped)
450 grams of flat mushrooms (diced)
85 grams of butter
1 litre of tomato juice
25 grams of flour
½ litre of vegetable stock
And we added: a pinch of cinnamon and two handfuls of sultanas.

Method:
Select some nice juicy cabbage leaves, boil for a minute, set aside. Meanwhile boil the rice until tender and set aside. Fry the onions in butter, add the diced mushrooms and fry, then mix with the rice. Season to taste and add a pinch of cinnamon. Add two handfuls of sultanas (removing any stalks).
Place a spoonful of the rice mixture in each cabbage leaf and wrap. Fold the ends of the leaf under like a parcel.
Grease a roasting tin and preheat the oven to 200oc. Place the parcels neatly in the tin and pour over the tomato juice and stock.
Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 10 minutes. Cabbage parcels should go slightly brown (ours were a little too over-baked!) Add the flour and remaining butter to the juices to make a tasty accompanying sauce.


We served with extra vegatables - here's a photo of the outcome:

Smacznego!

Polish Shops in the North East of England

Here are names, addresses and opening hours of Polish shops in the North East of England:

Groszek: Polskie Delikatesy
85 Clayton Street,
Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE1 5PY

Opening Hours: 7 days a week, Mon - Sat 9.30am - 6.30pm, and Sun 11am- 4pm

Małgosia’s Shop: Polish, Czech and Lithuanian Food
Unit 23,
Newgate Shopping Centre,
Newcastle,
NE15RE

Opening Hours: Open 5 days a week, Mon - Wed 10am - 4pm, and Fri - Sat 10am - 5.30pm

Polskie Smakołyki: Polish Delicious
199 High Street,
Town Centre
Sunderland,
SR1 1UB

Opening Hours: Open 7 days a week, Mon - Sat 10am - 8pm, and Sun 12noon - 8pm

European Foods: Polski Mini Supermarket
7 Borough Road,
Middlesborough,
TS1 4AA

Opening Hours: Open 7 days a week, Mon - Fri 10am - 6.30pm, Sat 9am - 5pm, and Sun 11am - 4pm
(No picture available as yet)

**** Newly added material with thanks to Irena, Tadek and Olga! ****

European Foods
67 Middle Street,
Consett,
County Durham

Opening Hours: Open 7 days a week, Mon, Tues, Thurs 10am - 7pm, Wed 10am - 6pm, Fri 9am -7pm, Sat 9am - 6pm, Sun 12noon - 4pm
(No picture available as yet)

And, not forgetting our neighbouring Poles in the North East of England, here's details of a shop I came across in Cumbria:

Krakow Polish Shop
4A,
Corney Square,
Penrith,
CA11 7PX

Opening Hours: Open 6 days a week, Mon - Thurs 12noon - 7pm, Fri 12noon - 8pm, and Sat 11am - 6pm

For a more comprehensive list of Polish Shops in the UK follow this link:

http://www.uksimple.info/UKInfo/Links/PolishShopsintheUK/tabid/414/language/cs-CZ/Default.aspx?udt_1311_param_page=9&udt_1311_param_search

To find out more about Cumbria's thriving Polish community visit: http://www.cumbria.pl

Polish Resettlement Camp, Morpeth

With remembrance day approaching, here's an extract from my article about the Polish Resettlement Camp in Morpeth, published in 2B Magazine this October.

The Common Camp in Morpeth was one of about 50 resettlement camps which provided accommodation for exiled Polish families following World War II. These camps were designated to members of the Polish Resettlement Corps (PRC), which was established in 1946 as a direct response to debate about how to organise the 160,000 Polish soldiers who wished to remain temporarily in Britain while their homeland was under Soviet control. These men and women had fought valiantly alongside their British counterparts during wartime, and the British government eventually (and rightfully) agreed responsibility for their welfare. A shortage of housing in post-war Britain meant that members of the PRC, together with their spouses and dependents (around 200,000 Polish exiles in total) were accommodated in former military camps in the UK.

Obóz Common Camp w Morpeth był jednym z 50 obozów przesiedleńczych, które zapewniały dach nad głową polskim rodzinom po drugiej wojnie światowej. Przeznaczone one były dla członków Polskiego Korpusu Przysposobienia i Rozmieszczenia, który został założony w 1946 roku jako bezpośrednia odpowiedź na debatę, co zrobić z 160 tysiącami polskich żołnierzy, którzy chcieli tymczasowo pozostać w Wielkiej Brytanii, w czasie gdy ich ojczyzna była pod sowiecką kontrolą. Ci ludzie walczyli mężnie u boku brytyjskich sił podczas wojny i brytyjski rząd ostatecznie (i słusznie) wziął na siebie odpowiedzialność za opiekę nad nimi. Ze względu na niedobór budynków mieszkalnych w powojennej Wielkiej Brytanii członkowie PKPR razem ze swoimi małżonkami i dziećmi (razem około 200 tysięcy polskich uchodźców) zostali umieszczeni w byłych obozach wojskowych na terenie Zjednoczonego Królestwa.
(Polish translation by the 2B team)

To read this article in full please visit: http://www.2b.nepco.org.uk/assets/issues/47_kolor.pdf

**Please note that there will be a short remembrance service at the War Graves Section of St Mary's Churchyard, Morpeth this Saturday 6th November at 2.00pm, performed by Newcastle's Polish Chaplain, Father Waclaw.**