Bulgarian Slivatree - An Expatriate's Eye in Bulgaria

Bulgarian Well Water - We Are So Lucky

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:51:00 +0000

Water for free from well in Bulgaria is one of the great pleasures of living here. I have been drinking my own well water for years now from source and it has always been reliable and I have never suffered from any ill effects. The well water is sought from deep plates of underground reservoirs that come from mountain springs. It is always, cold, fresh, crystal clear and sweet tasting it seems a shame to water my crops with the quality of the water that comes out.

It amazes me why so many people bother to buy spring water in 1, 2, 5 or 10 litres plastic bottles. It cost a few leva in the first instance the water usually comes from the other end of the country from the mountain ranges south of Sofia so there is transportation involved. The plastic containers are recycled most of the time, but still a resource that we could do without.

I wish I could have had another say on the renovation of my farmhouse and had the well water connected direct into the house. The mains water is full of calcium and clogs all metal heating elements up. It is not really safe to drink over the long term and may well contribute to the many cases of kidney stones to those who persist in drinking it. I bring well water into the farmhouse kitchen to drink and cook with and take 20 litres back to the town house each weekend for Galia and her family for the same reason. How fortunate are we to have such a luxury in this world of pollution and expensive water costs.

The only overhead I have is for the electric pump that brings the water up from 23 metres underground. The cost is nominal. I had to register the well a couple of years ago. I am sure this is for a reason beyond just accountability. I'm sure this will soon be looked at as a tap to be opened for tax in the future. It is quite unfair that natural water on your own land will soon have to be paid for. It will be like paying for the air you breathe. This of course is another idea from the EU and not a Bulgarian ideal.

No Outside Toilet - Doesn't Feel Right

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:00:00 +0000

One of my favourite places in the village farmhouse is my outside toilet. I’ve done a few articles on the use of this facility and the advantages of outside toilets over using the inside toilet. I have a major soft spot for my outdoor roofed hole in the ground.

Last month there were a few earthquakes and disaster for my outside toilet. A massive crack opened up on one of the walls. This was looked at and presented no problem at the time, but as each week went by it got worse, no time or money to repair this it was left thinking it would be okay.

A couple of weeks ago I got a call from my neighbour. He told me that my outside toilet wall had collapsed and it was only the doorframe keeping the roof intact. This was a worry and when I got there at the weekend the worry was just reasoning. The whole wall has crumbled and the small building was structurally unsafe, it had to be demolished for safety reasons. I was quite devastated and had a slight uneasiness knowing that there wouldn’t be an outside toilet at the farmhouse. It’s a bit like having part of the your soul going missing. And thoughts about how it could be rebuilt without cost were ringing in my head.

It was a painful operation last weekend dismantling the outhouse brick by brick. All the bricks that where whole were saved and the rubble was physically transported by wheelbarrow to the dumping ground at the top of the hill. This took over half a day to complete and all that was left was a few broken fragments of brick and mortar dust where many used to squat.

It was a sad day, but I know if ever a spare bit of time and cash for cement I will have another built, it just doesn’t feel right not having one there, I can honestly say this is on the top of my want list. Simple pleasures!

Home Grown Crops On The Dinner Table

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:19:00 +0000

The produce is rolling off the land now both in town and country. The food we eat at lunchtime and evenings nearly always has home grown produce in it. It is exciting have the end product on you plate and tasting as good as it does. There is something very special about doing something like this.

Let’s start and see what on the dinner table on a day-to-day basis right now. We have had a continuous supply of onions and garlic and these will last us right through the winter. The lettuce now has finished its season and the space that was left has been filled with more peppers. After May it becomes too hot for lettuce here and you can’t freeze or preserve it.

The strawberries were the next; we had two crops and are still in the middle of the second. Not enough o make jam with but this is the first year they have been laid down. Always enough for a family dessert at the weekend as they are grown in the village. I am not too sure whether I will keep these here next year. The reason is they need watering regularly for a good harvest and that isn’t happening, hence the relatively small fruits we are getting from them. Also, they need to be harvested every day and that isn’t happening either so a lot of waste form over-ripe fruit each weekend.

The beans I though was going to be a complete failure. I planted 12 rows of beans and only two survived. I didn’t know why. Locals tell me that the seeds were old, but I felt that the two rows that did survive would indicate another reason, perhaps over-watering. Anyway the crops that come from the ones that survived where great. We got at least 8 kg of superb white beans from just that little crop.

The potatoes looked fantastic with the foliage and flowering more pertaining to a flowerbed than a potato crop. All the Colorado beetle and other gorging vegetarian insects were contained with no damage throughout the crop. There was however a massive disappointment on pulling up the first crop. Only a couple of potatoes were found and they were the size of golf ball. It was later realised that this was the shallow end of the troughs made for the watering and apart from the first couple of plants that stood there the rest were a fine crop. It is such a joy to see some potatoes of different shapes rather than the uniformed specimens in imported potatoes in supermarkets.

The beans and potatoes made into a soup by Baba and we just couldn’t get enough of it eaten hot or cold or in a secret raid of the fridge between meals.

Other crops aren’t quite ready yet and we can’t wait. This will be the most successful season growing here because for the first time I have been listening and watching and copying the Bulgarians. Still never as good and it never will, they just seem to have the magic touch with growing here, but I will improve each time I’m sure.

Amazing Cures From The Skalitsa Healing Stones Again

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:31:00 +0000

Another couple of special events happened last weekend as I took more guests to the healing stones of Skalitsa. I had one guest staying in my farmhouse and another, a friend from England who had come over just to relax based in a Yambol hotel for a couple of weeks. I decided to show them the powers of the Skalitsa healing stones the first time as I was going the farmhouse to check up and water the crops.

The guest in the farmhouse tagged along as she was very curious and had heard lots of reports both on the Internet when researching about Bulgaria and from local people in the village who she was mixing with staying there. Unfortunately she wasn’t doused with any pain and her trip there was purely for the fantastic views and wide-open space it gave of the surrounding Thracian countryside with the Balkan mountain range in the distance.

My friend had constant back pain and was quite dubious about anything changing that with a visit. He was certainly a big doubter regarding any cure that might come about and was even more sceptical after my accounts of previous cures that had transcended not just to me and previous guests I had taken there and cured, but to many Bulgarians that frequent the place with astounding results. Not only that, but he had just read my book, which had a chapter about the healing stones. He was of the opinion that my book was more fictional based than factual with my account.

I was quite glad I was going as well as I also was quite stiff and sore from all the manual work bending over tending to crops over the last few months. My last trip there cured my back pain after recovering from a slipping disc on recommendation from a Yambol doctor who always is open to alternative medicine. I knew my pains would subside with a spell on a Skalitsa healing stone as it had done so many times before.

We all lay for a while taking in the beautiful surround in the process and the talk led to telling the stories of aliens had been seen in Skalitsa in recent years and UFOs commonly seen in the area. Whether that may have had a bearing on the healing that affects was perhaps another angle on what causes the healing that happens here. In case you don’t know, this particular spot in Skalitsa has a phenomenon of being only one of two places in the world where two magnetic fields are crossed. The other one is in Mexico somewhere. It has been scientifically studied by scientists from Sofia and was confirmed as having positive affects for high blood pressure, headaches, rheumatism, arthritic joints and many other ailments and pains. It is not just hear say.

We spent around 30 minutes in the hot sun on the hot healing stones and as I expected as I sat into the Lada seat to drive back, all my aches had disappeared, I usually give a little moan as I bend to get seated to drive, that just didn’t happen. My friend was shocked, not from my cure of the aches and pains, but from his own experience now of his pains that were no longer there. He just couldn’t believe this had happened although the scepticism was still there from him as he said that the pain would probably return the next day.

The guest who had not ailments to cure said that she felt so much calmer by the experience and that she felt it gave ‘good vibes’ and a calming affect on her. She was a firm believer in alternative medicine in the first instance before the two old blokes had recovered from their pains.

The whole trip was a complete success – Again!

The conversion was now turned to talking business with the experience under the belts. The possibility of organising trips to the healing stones for tourists was the first one. Another other idea was to sell small samples of the healing stones online via eBay. Mmmm! All this talk about turning this village into a tourist spot and ridding it of its peace, quiet and natural unspoilt and untouched landscape was beginning to upset me a bit.

Now I put my hands up and own up to the fact that I do have some stones that I keep in our house in Skalitsa and Yambol from the spot. That’s one thing, but to make it into a big commercial enterprise is quite something else.

However there is the case where people should know about the Skalitsa healing stones and the cures it makes time and time again. It would benefit lots of people using this form of alternative medicine. If it does become more popular perhaps more might rent my farmhouse, which is only a ten-minute walk away.

Very Busy But Bulgarian Food Still Rules!

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:56:00 +0000

What a busy couple of weeks! What a great couple of weeks, mainly getting stuck into growing crops and telling people about what it is like in Bulgaria rather than writing about it. My book has been selling really well recently as well and add funds from renting my farmhouse for a week to a decent respectful guest, it all adds up to being able to afford to change the oil in the Lada after three years! That’s how things work here for us living on a day-to-day basis. This busy time looks like continuing for sometime as the growing season moves up a couple of gears. I have said it before and will say it again, the food here grows faster than the pace of life.

Both farms are really doing well and we have had crops of potatoes and beans, which again were cooked by Baba direct from delivery. The bean and potato meal with whole onions cooked to a tee was tremendous – We ate it for breakfast the following morning it was that good! We also are eating this year’s garlic every day, raw with bread as an appetiser, what a great start to a meal and of course so healthy. Everything seems to be coming together now and we will soon not be buying any food for many months on end and probably well into winter – a massive saving on the cost of living.

We have a big problem though, the Yambol home has never has so much food being delivered from this keen Englishman and we only have a small top freezer compartment, we haven’t anywhere to store all the fresh food that we can freeze, i.e. beans. So what we have to do it pick it the day we go to the village farmhouse and freeze it there. In a few weeks that will be full and we will have to use our neighbours’ freezers as we did last year. Sharing all the time is what goes on here. We can’t afford a big freezer our Bulgarian neighbours know that so they help us out. I used to feel so guilty about receiving help form neighbours that were also in a state of poverty, but they insist that it is good to keep their freezer full as it runs more efficiently. They flatly refuse any form of payment including a percentage of the food we store. They just like to help, as that is how it has always been.

Last Friday we visited out local fish store where some friends of the family own it. We always get a handshake and a kiss from the husband and wife partnership respectively before they decide what is the best fish to have this for the evening meal. Today it was recommended we eat carp or Sharon as it is called here. There were two big plastic boxes with fresh water being pumped and circulated with live carp swimming around inside. We singled one out and our friend pounced on it and fished it out. It was weighed and priced and we went off home round the corner with a flapping fish in a plastic bag.

Like most things here, it is a DIY meal without packaging as it was de-scaled. I had to knock it out with a sharp blow to the head to kill it initially it wasn’t the way it is usually done this way here. The normal Bulgarian way is to de-scale with it still alive. This to me wasn’t necessary from two points, suffering and from the practical point of flipping about making it harder to do the job.

After further preparing the fish and giving the dog next door the inners, tail and head which he really enjoyed, it was cut into steaks and Galia took over. There was a special Bulgarian fish herb mix and salt sprinkled over the steaks in a tray and left in the cool place for 6 hours.

The evening arrived and the plate of flour and frying pan of sunflower oil was set out for the final process before tucking in. Twenty minutes later the fish was on the table next to a bowl of homemade shopska salad and of course the starter of bread and raw garlic. The fish was finally enjoyed and washed down with cold beer after a ‘Nastravay!’ and a look in the eye of each other from a small glass of rakia we all shared to go with the shopska salad.

This was a special meal and cost more than we would normally spend on food in the home. The fish cost just over 8 Bulgarian leva, around £3.50 and it was only because we had paying guests staying at the farmhouse this weekend that we indulged in such luxury food. It makes it even more special when these rare occasions happen. Having said that, every day here is special when it comes to home-cooked food.

Well, this post started out quite confused on what to tell, but another Bulgarian food story just appeared as I am drawn time and time again to the process of eating here.

Finally, I have to apologise to many of my blogging friends for not doing the rounds, there just isn’t enough time in the day for this and neglecting things that need to be done here can’t be done. There is much socialising going on here as well in the evenings so the previous non-stop blogging just has to take a back seat for a while. It is very difficult to decide what to write about as far too much happens here. Life is treating us well right now. We are very, very tired at the end of each day, but very happy and thank those bloggers who continue to care about how we are.

Food In Bulgaria - World Blog Surf Day

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:01:00 +0000

Well World Blog Surf Day has arrived and the theme is food. This is something that is a passion for many bloggers and I’m sure we’ll get some tasty post surfing around the word today.

I have written many post on food and would have found myself rewriting what I have already covered. With this in mind I have decided to take and extract out of my book that was published recently and use that at the material that basically covers my finding of food in Bulgaria.

(A big thank you to Sher @ http://sheroffthebeatenpath.blogspot.com/ for all her work organising this world blog surf day)

- Living Off the Bulgarian Land -

Food here in Bulgaria is something else — every day a new experience is to be had in Bulgarian cuisine. I must say that it helps tremendously that my partner is Bulgarian and cooks like an angel, but that aside, the Bulgarian friends and neighbours still tickle my taste buds at every opportunity with their own cooking. Since coming here there hasn’t really been any moment where a pang for supermarket branded food has called out. No Twiglets, Mars Bars, baked beans or even sherbet fountains with the liquorice sticking out felt needed or wanted. In fact nowadays the only thing I can remember about these foods is the horrible aftertaste! Those who have been here eating natural Bulgarian food for long enough will know exactly what I mean.

Every few weeks someone asks, ‘I’m coming over, what would you like me to bring for you?’ It is very difficult to think of anything, even after really thinking hard. So these kind people usually bring over some English teabags, Cadbury’s creme eggs or a bottle of whisky; many thanks guys, and I mean this most sincerely, but these are then actually used for English guests that come round, so very useful anyway. This is not being ungracious, but just speaking truthfully about how things are now.

Here in Bulgaria, most produce comes straight out of the village homes, most of which are not just homes but smallholdings. Food comes from a variety of sources, mainly grown from the rich, dark, fertile land. This produce also feeds chickens, cows and calves, goats and sheep, ducks and geese, rabbits and peafowl, to name a few. Back in the village of Skalitsa where I live, there is no need for supermarket shopping. Occasionally food is bought from the supermarket, more out of habit if I happen to be in town, but usually from my local village shop that provides everything I need: bread and flour (both made and milled in my village), sunflower oil (locally produced), salt and sugar. Local honey is more often used for sweetening than sugar. Filo pastry is also sometimes bought for the homemade banitsas — the recipe for the unique Skalitsa banitsa is further on in the book, but there are other pastry variations of the banitsa throughout Bulgaria. Last but not least, beer: making your own beer is not entertained, as it would never touch the quality that the Belgian brewery owners achieve here. You just can’t improve on perfect beer.

I can’t say there is much else needed. As much wine, rakia and liqueur as I could ever wish for is all locally produced in the village or on my own farm. Sunflower seeds are gathered from the field adjoining my land, and as long as it is for personal consumption there is no problem with this; in fact, the mice in the field eat more than any villager. They are dried (some salted) and stored in airtight, recycled plastic food boxes. Chickpeas are grown and stored in the same way; sweetcorn is grown or again taken in from fields and dried (but not used for animal feed — that wouldn’t be right if taken from the co-operative fields) and fried in oil to make popcorn: another treat from the garden, flavoured either with honey or salt before popping. So there’s your little variety of snacks to accompany your drinks.

All the cheeses and yoghurts are homemade. All from natural ingredients. Walnuts are gathered and keep for up to a year for use in cooking. Walnuts baked in honey are another Bulgarian food legend, and also used as another accompaniment to drinks. Almonds are harvested, with shells you can remove without nutcrackers; ever tried that with a supermarket almond? Fresh figs are preserved in syrup. There are melons galore, both the honeydew and water type; the latter makes a marvellous jam to be eaten all year round. Strawberry jam used for cakes and for milkshakes is a summer taste second to none. Apples, pears and sliva can all be stored in boxes or bottled in syrup and kept for up to six months. My last apple, eaten in April this year, was almost as good as it would have been picked in October the year before. And it was sweet and tasted like an apple!

On occasion non-Bulgarian guests visit and sometimes turn their nose up at some of the food offered because it’s not like the food they’re used to buying in shops. You may well be surprised at how many say that! This is the only other reason that supermarkets are frequented, to cater for the need of these occasions. No offence is taken at this point; it’s not their fault, it’s the system they have grown to rely on. All the produce that is not in season has been either frozen or bottled, and supplies take us through the winter and spring. This is not a chore — the garlic and onions are plaited and the tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and pumpkins boiled for bottling on the outside wood-burning contraption. Everything is done slowly and very systematically. When it comes to doing anything like this in village life there is never any panic or rush with the long day ahead. Why do we, on the other hand, still try and hurry things to get them done as quickly as possible all the time?

With all this food to hand, including most meats and a range of poultry and dairy products, you can make anything you want from the ingredients. Even beef can be grown, bought or bartered for in the village. Everything and more is grown here compared to the UK. So what’s the problem there? Nothing, it would seem — the problem in the UK for many is the culture of buying convenience food rather than growing your own. How many have a garden where produce can be grown? Most people. The climate here helps a lot, but what makes it work here is the way of life and the homegrown food culture, which left the UK some 40-50 years ago. You come to Bulgaria and take a big step back in time. I’m always amazed at how the simplest ingredients can turn out to be another memorable meal. Just a sliced young marrow fresh from the garden, dipped in flour and fried until brown, then served hot topped with homemade yoghurt. It was that simple, but the result was something very special. Everyday another taste or recipe is laid out and enjoyed; it really is going back to basic ingredients and enjoying them for what they are. How often is this forgotten, bowing to commercially processed foods made for you from a point of ease and laziness? For convenience, the process squeezes out the taste of natural foods with chemically enhanced products as the replacement, and this becomes the ‘taste of the norm’ for the weekly consumers. Food regulations introduced is understandable to protect health, but it has gone to extremes and the very chemicals that are meant to protect such as preservatives, flavour enhancements and added colouring, etc. is just as bad if not worse for our long term health.

It is quite strange that most village folk don’t have a choice of shopping for food over growing their own food; they simply can’t afford it. If they could afford to and had a choice the convenience foods are there, waiting in the wings, ready to pounce for profits, which is the name of the game. The new generation of Bulgarians is making its way to becoming part of the American and Euro fast food brigade. The traditional horticultural activities carried out in villages throughout Bulgaria may end up being restricted to commercial dimensions, as they were in the UK so many years ago. I am grateful and privileged to have the opportunity to experience Bulgaria as it is now.

There’s one old wives tale that I continually hear, concerning eggs. The chickens I keep are totally free range, with access to all-natural food in the big yard and greenery from the waste organic vegetation, and a supplement of natural wheat to call them home in the evening. Nothing could be more free range than these chickens. So when someone says, ‘Oh, I tried some free range eggs and the colour of the yolk was so deep in colour, it was orange,’ I’m a little dubious. Do you have a picture of this apparently fresh free-range egg now revealing its sensuous lush orange yolk, just waiting to melt in the mouth after being lightly fried in a little oil and laid on a bed of the softest white buttered bread you could imagine? Looks good? Tastes good? Doubt it! This is not true; the colour of free-range eggs is usually just plain yellow at best. Battery and commercial egg producers (other than the chickens themselves, of course) use colour additives in the feed to produce a more deeply-coloured yolk, which is what the consumer wants and gets — supply and demand. So the chicken may be described as free-range but what are they given to eat? Market research has found that the yellow yolk doesn’t sell as well as the darker orange-tinted colour. Next time you go to a town supermarket and buy eggs, even so-called free-range ones, see how orange the yolk is; you know why now.

I am still a lifetime away from getting my produce up to the standard of my Bulgarian neighbours: the learning goes on all the time. It is clear that the attitude to food in the UK is that convenience food rules. This is not from the point of choice, many just don’t get the choice with their hectic work related lifestyle and a bygone age of daily family table meals. Even if home cooking does happen, ingredients that are used are sourced from supermarkets and also grown in a rush, furthermore hardly ever locally produced and only remains fresh from preservative processes. The difference here in Bulgaria is the food is local, fresh. Along with the culture, the climate, the slow pace of life that been inbred over many generations, you will find that the food grows faster than the pace of life.

Sourced from "Simple Treasures In Bulgaria"
Copyright © Martin Miller-Yianni
ISBN 978-0-9559849-0-7
www.amazon.co.uk

Your next port of call is now at http://vedatc.blogspot.com/ Vedat has been living in Turkey from birth (1988). Now, he is living in Poland studying at Lazarski University as an exchange student. In his own words he, "Loves writing in blogs!" It should be an eye opener to many who read it.

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Anastasia Ashman is an American cultural producer based in Istanbul, and is a creator of Expat Harem, the anthology by foregin women about modern Turkey. Her Tweetstream focuses on women, travel and history and she shares resources for writers/travelers, expats, Turkophiles & culturati of all stripes. There is an open invite to follow her on twitter. Her account is: Thandelike

A Tired Man Sunday Evening

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:40:00 +0000

Firstly, another big apology for my lack of comments and visits to fellow bloggers, it really is quite difficult fitting it in at the moment. Another busy weekend as you may find out.

Friday arrived and it was off to the farmhouse in Skalitsa again on my own. Galia was working as an administrator in Yambol on Sunday for the European Elections and would be working on Sunday so she stayed behind. The elections by the way warrant a story on their own from the feedback I get here, but I not in the mood for political writing right now, there’s too much around right now.

On my own I can never sit down and relax, Galia isn’t there to tell me to. The weather was over 30 degrees all weekend and most of my time was spent outside digging, weeding, pruning, watering and pottering around. Every 20 minutes I had to take a break, clean the sweat off my glasses drink and splash cold well water over my body to cool down, again no one there to tell me to stop working. To me this was the main reason I came to Bulgaria to be out there in the field growing food that is completely organic and chemical free and that was exactly what I was doing.

This idyllic life without the reliance from a supermarket looking from the outside may look easy, but it isn’t. Working on the land is hard work especially trying to cram one week’s work into a weekend. I thought is would be easier growing crops that only needed watering once a week, but that is not the case. My neighbour has to pop in and do some watering midweek, even with a wad full of rain that come over here a few days ago. I do fell guilty though as my neighbour has too much on his plate on his own farm to get on with.

A few melon seedlings had died form last week and the rest seemed to have got through the worst. When the crops are more mature they can go longer without water it should be downhill from now on even though the real hot weather is still to come.

This Saturday was a special day where tend to the graves Nationally it is the day for the dead. I was asked to help my neighbour dig a grave for his mother and father on Saturday – of course I offered my help and we built a grave from scratch that Saturday morning. It was really hard work with the heavy stone bed that took four people to lift. My neighbour had been saving up for eight years to do this since his mother died in 2001. We stood over the grave after we have laboured hard and the cement still drying out as we admired the new home of his mother and father who lay there now finally resting in peaceful surround. Again another blog needed on this occasion with the ceromony ihvolved centering around food and rakia.

By the time Sunday afternoon arrived the farm was in tiptop condition. A patch of garlic had been harvested and the second round of crops was now in place ready for planting next week. I’m not too sure what to put in again it has to be something that doesn’t need watering every couple of days. I’ll fish for ideas from other Bulgarians before making my mind up.

Time on my own isn’t good for my health, like I said, no one to tell me to stop working and all the time locally every Bulgarian in the village was inside in the cool relaxing, not because it was Sunday but because it was too hot to be outside, but then they are here all week not playing catch up. Therefore it was a very tired Martin who drove back to the city counting the snakes, dogs, birds, polecats and even a badger that had been victims of cars on the road to Yambol. The wild life here is fantastic, Strange as fate would have it, I don’t suppose I’d get to see them unless they’d been hit by a car.

I hadn’t mentioned the swifts that had nested on the farmhouse veranda ceiling, no more than two metres from where I sit outside, another posting needed on this with their four hatchlings chirping ways for food.

I won’t mention the spring water, cherries, strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, broiler chicken, goat meat, grapes sweet corn, watermelons, bonfire and haymaking again that were involved this weekend. There is too much to tell and too little time to write at the moment.

Galia didn’t finish working until 8:30 in the evening with the election, she started at 5:00 in the morning she was more tired than me! 15 ½ hours work, without a break for around $20. The rest of the evening we sipped cold beer on the steps watching Baba peeling the 100 or so garlic through to dusk outside. Then the inevitable words “Haidi leglo lubimka,” (Let’s go to bed darling) No contest, that’s exactly what we did after massaging each other’s feet.

Great weekend, even without Galia there with me, again always different and always on a learning curve. And today (Monday) is was full steam ahead again working on the factory farm starting at 6:30 this morning. I will be nagged to sleep for an hour or so after lunch by Baba.

Bulgarian Marrows (Tikvichki) But Not As You Know Them

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:29:00 +0000

Marrows are a food that many people shy away from - It’s boring, or I don’t like the taste is the reaction from many. Of course many recognise the marrow a big green sausage shaped vegetable and the bigger the better. That’s what I thought until coming to Bulgaria.

Having cooked marrow in the UK many times before I came here, there wasn’t much incentive really. I was the only one in the family who ate it! It was marrow for me and KFC for everyone else, I ‘m so glad that doesn’t happen now. The Bulgarians love their marrow or tikvichki as it is called here, but it is completely different here for two reasons. The first is that the bigger is not better; I’ve never seen marrows eaten by Bulgarians more than 20 cm long. The other reason is they choose a very light green and shiny skinned variety of marrow very different from the dark green rough textured skin types you see in the UK.

I grew Bulgarian marrow in my first season here, but without hindsight left them to grow much bigger. It seemed a waste to eat them, as waiting another few days you’d get double the size and weight. Then I’d take the seeds out, stuff it with a mince/herb mixture and bake it – Very much an English dish that I enjoyed, but apart from mashed marrow with potatoes and butter or slicing it and boiling as a vegetable side dish that was the limit to marrow dishes in my recipe repertoire.

Then the Bulgarians came along and my view of the marrow was altered to such an extent that now the season is on us, we eat it at least two or three times a week -We just can’t get enough of it. It is often the main course and a pleasure to cook. Why is it a pleasure to cook? It is an easy answer, quite simply because we barbecue marrow here and every man on earth likes barbecuing.

Barbecued Tikvichki is a melt in your mouth moment and I will give the exact recipe we now use here. If you got UK marrow in your mind forget about it right now.

Bulgarian Tikvichki Barbecued

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 kg Tikvichki (Around 4-5)
Garlic
Dill
Sunflower Oil
Salt

Method:

Wash the tikvichki and slice lengthways to about ½ cm thick. Put them on a tray and sprinkle salt liberally rubbing it in to cover all the areas of the tikvichki. Leave in a cool place for at least 30 minutes. (This is done to remove the excess water that the vegetable hold and is the key to successful barbecuing tikvichki.)

Take each slice of tikvichki and brush of the excess salt and place another tray. Pour the oil over the tikvichki and rub it so it covers all the surfaces, it is now ready for barbecuing.

You need a hot heat, but not a flamed heat. You need to check that it is cooked thoroughly. You can tell this is done if the tikvichki is tender and begins to fall apart.

Whilst cooking chop the garlic and dill finely and add some oil mixing it all in a small bowl and put to one side. Each slice of tikvichki that is cooked should be put on a plate or serving tray and the herb mixture spread on. This should be done when the tikvichki s piping hot to get the flavours to merge. You will end up with a few layers of tikvichki, which should be criss-crossed as each layer goes on.

They can be served straight away to waiting family or guests.

When cool store in the fridge an they can be eaten cold or reheated the next day, but I guarantee there won’t be any left from the evening before!

---------------------------

This is another major discovery of exceptional food in Bulgaria where simple food rules again.

British marrow photograph from http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk

Sliced tikvichki photograph from http://fitnesinstruktor.com/

Free Food Well On Its Way Now

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:58:00 +0000

Can I firstly thank everyone who sent Yambol their condolences over the last week; they are appreciated and make a difference.

After the catastrophy we spent the weekend in the village farmhouse and just reflected on lots of things. How lucky we are to be here doing what we do and having people around who care. Family here is everything part of everyday life, never shut out and that is very new and reassuring to me, but that's normal to Galia.

Relaxing is something the farm doesn’t do as the work lay before me on the land. It was a full two days of watering, weeding and setting up another Bulgarian growing system that was taught to me before after the failure of the melons. We now have more crops that should survive with this new system. Also we have our good friend and neighbour who has offered to water the crops mid week now the hot weather is upon us. This certainly helps relieve some of the worry from our side. This same friend and neighbour had also gathered up all the hay that was cut over the last two weeks and stored it in the hay house. Mind you, this hay is winter feed for his horse, but he would have done it anyway!

The evening in Skalitsa are fantastic sitting out in the warm evening air as fresh as you can ever get and no noise whatsoever other than the night noises that used to scare me when I was first lived there. I know what every noise is now and can relax with that thought.

My first encounter with a snake in the field whilst cutting hay took place on Saturday, it was more scared than me. I saw a movement in the long grass and then as I approached the speed of this snake was amazing as it darted toward the outside toilet with me in pursuit. Within a few seconds it had covered 10 metres and was in the hut. I wouldn’t be going to the toilet for while with this 1½ metre snake occupying it. It wasn’t a poisonous snake and like I said was far more scared than I was. It must have been to dart into the toilet so quickly!

And so the weekend ended Sunday afternoon and back to Yambol where we were invited for an evening of eating and drinking with family, we refused as we were too tired. Monday it was the factory farm, which was doing pretty well right now. We have almost finished all the lettuce that we have grown; it is becoming too hot for them now. The potatoes had the first round of Colorado beetles that are hand picked and destroyed on sight, they don’t cause a problem if checked and destroyed regularly.

More advice was giving on the melons growing there as moats were made for more access to water. The branches that were pruned from the fruit trees in Skalitsa in the winter now support the tomatoes on the farm and work pretty well. The peppers need no support other than another pepper! What do I mean? Well you plant two peppers seedling in the same spot and their roots wrap around each other and this gives them a good base stability and no need to stake them up. Last year all my peppers fell over as they were planted singly.

The factory farm really does look like it will provide all the tomatoes and peppers that will be eaten from July onwards and many preserved for the winter ahead. There will be big savings from these crops and of course that was the whole purpose of growing them anyway. It is really strange me working on the field and Galia a stone’s throw away working it the factory office…

Yambol In Shock After Coach Tradegy At Bakardzhik

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Thu, 28 May 2009 10:00:00 +0000

I was going to write about something completely different, but this morning there was something that just hit home how vunerable we all are in this world.

Today in Bulgaria it is Ascension Day or Spasovden as it is called here. It is a religious public holiday and we had plans to go all go to the cemetery and pay our respects to family member on this day.

Our house is right next to Yambol’s hospital and this morning there were lots of cars parked on the road and pavement quite early on. We also heard lots of sirens from ambulances coming and going and at that point we put two and two together knowing that there must have been and accident. We went out o n the street and found out from neighbours and relatives that were visiting the hospital that at the location of ‘Bakardzhik’ a big hill a few kilometres away.

There had been a coach whose brakes had failed and crashed into a crowd of walker who were making their way to the peak on this special religious holiday. To date there are 16 dead and 20 plus injured and we are all in shock here. (The picture taken leading to the summit taken in January this year.)

We sometimes walked up to the Bakardzhik peak ourselves and feel for those who were spiritually at their own peak on this glorious warm and sunny day. It is too early to know the final outcome of the tragedy. It is not just for the dead and injured that will suffer, but the whole of Yambol, a close-knit community who also have to deal with this happening.

Quite often and at times like this I wonder what God is playing at!

ADD:

We have just found out that one of our friend's mother was one of the victims no longer with us. There is nothing you can do or say, but just be there for them.

Bulgarian Graduation Party - A Family Affair

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Tue, 26 May 2009 06:59:00 +0000

I have just caught my breath from this last weekend where another celebration took place. The 24th May each year is a National celebration of Bulgaria’s education, culture and Slav letters (Cyrillic).

During this day all graduates of high schools around the country have an ‘American type’ ball where they join up with a partner and parade through a funnel of onlookers in every town and city centre on the way to a restaurant or function room for the graduation ball. This tradition has been around for many years, Galia remembers her day quite a few years ago; I’ve seen the pictures.

It all started a few weeks ago where Galia’s cousin was one of the graduates to parade on the day and she needed a ball dress. Needless to say this was women’s work so I left them to get on with the purchase, alterations and adjustments needed to make it perfect. It was a bit like she was getting married and this was the wedding dress what with all the fuss and commotion.

There was a party planned the Friday before Sunday and the big day, so to cut the cost a small area was borrowed from friend who owns one of the Internet Cafes in Yambol. All the food and drink was homemade including much produce from the factory farm and brought in to the caterpillar style table that was made up of a number of round tables. A laptop and hi-fi was brought in from home and turned into a DIY DJ system. The area that we sat in was on a first floor balcony overlooking the Tundzha River and an ideal setting on this particular warm balmy evening as the homemade Rakia and beer that was brought in began to flow. By the way the Rakia was very special, it was made by Galia’s brother was 17 years old and saved especially for this occasion.

The whole evening was a family celebration for the graduate who now was to go to University for five years after working through the summer break. Flowers were given to her from all the family guests arriving along with little money or jewellery pieces to those who could afford it.
Then later that evening a speech and a composed peom recited from various family senior members complimenting the graduate giving a history of her excellent education and all wishing her good health, wealth happiness and luck for the future, oh and love of course!

Then to top the evening off, a big decorated cake was presented sliced and eaten, very much like a single storey wedding cake. The graduate and a couple of other contemporary members of the family then left the party here to go to another party to meet friends somewhere else in the town centre and left the older family members to carry on where they left off - Eating, drinking, dancing, singing and of course talking. The younger family members were put in the Internet café and play computer games unit the early hours of the morning. Everyone was happy and it didn’t cost much to set up!

My hangover was soon over the next day as an aspirin was taken and a drive to the village where there was two days of haymaking waiting for me. Then the trip back to Yambol for the 24th May celebrations and the city centre parade.

Surviving In Bulgaria With Little Money

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Sat, 23 May 2009 10:34:00 +0000

Many people have asked me how I survive in Bulgaria with so little money. It is no secret that I came over here with hardly any savings, no job and very much with an adventure on a shoestring in mind. Most of my money that I came over with vanished completely as I crashed someone's car and had to fork out thousands of pounds to replace it. Without that incident, I would not have had to go back to the UK for a few months to work for more funds to stay here.

Back to the question and maybe an answer. Living here, I can easily live on my own for next to nothing. I was living on less that 20 Bulgarian leva a week when living on my own in my first year here and I ate well, no restaurants or uneccessary spending. Right now I could quite easily return to that economical life although the cost of living here has risen substantially since joining the EU so to survive here solo it might have risen to around 30 Bulgarian leva a week, plus the fact that expatriates have extra cost as the running of their business have to be paid, (Your land can only be owned by a registered Bulgarian company of which you are the manager.)

Right now though we are finding it difficult to live on 100 Bulgarian lev a week, mainly because we are having to provide food for our family, fuel costs for the car, electric, gas and water bills for two homes. When we leave Galia's family home, which will happen one day, we are not sure when or where we will end up, we should be able to survive on around 70 Bulgarian leva a week or even less if we gave up the weekly trips to the Skalitsa farmhouse.

Whatever happens, both Galia and I remain quite sure that I will not have to return to the UK to work, we will try an make out here indefinitely no matter how hard it is. If Galia was to lose her job again then we would really struggle and make even more cuts on our simple lifestyle. This is how it used to be not so long ago in the 1990s with Galia. Like many others here., she had no job, no social security to fall back on and had to resort to selling her possessions to pay for food. She doesn't like to talk about it, but I know they were close to starving many a time, which happened in many town and city areas throughout Bulgaria. Those in the villages where luckier as had their own food from their farms to rely on of course.

I don't think it will ever get to the 'starving' level whatever happens as families support each other in times of need. In the village that would certainly be the case with our close friends there who would also 'help us out' food wise. We could survive financially if we moved out into a village where generations had lived on almost nothing other than their working on the land, wits and total practical way of life.

If there is one thing I have found out since living here in Bulgaria, it is that town and city living is far more expensive that village life. That is entirely due to the barrage of advertising in the totally business based cities and town environments. The seeds of materialism have been sown and the only escape is out of town, but then the invasion of the television is still very much a threat, even out of town.

The answer ot the original question can now be answered - How do I survive on so little money? Simple I live the lifestyle of a Bulgarian.

Image via Wikipedia

Snakes Galore In Bulgaria Right Now

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:06:00 +0000

Galia has now returned to work just over a week ago as the factory is just making ends after a major scare when orders dropping like a lead balloon. The order for electric/wood burning boilers is just ticking over as Galia was now asked back to work. This is great news after her recent medical problem and somewhat brings about a massive relief as we bring some much-needed cash into the home. We all hope that the orders stay on a level term until thinks pick up again.

This week we were reminded of the snake experience we had in the village last year, not pleasant one at all for Galia. Now that the warm weather is here and Galia returned to work in the office it came to pass that she leaves the office door open. As she wonders about the factory grounds to inspect the work on the boilers she returned to the office only to find a big snake that had made its way into the room.

A massive shriek was made and three workers came to here aid with a chair, a spade and a watering can! Dont' ask why! The snake just didn’t have a chance as it was batter to death and fed to the security dogs. Well that';s the Bulagrian way I suppose. The snake wasn't poison, b ut was over a metre in length. Needless to say the office door now is kept firmly shut and checks made by security in the morning before she arrives.

Galia is now a bag of nerves as this was the first encounter of snakes in the town. They are usually confined to the village areas, now she has to contend with the fear of knowing they are about in town. And on the television this evening on the news there was a public information service giving advice on which snakes were poison and which weren’t and also warning that the onset of hot weather this week will bring about a small invasion of snakes about right now. Not something many people here want.

Having known for some time that snakes in Bulgaria are a problem from stories told from folk in my village, it s a wary couple that go to Skalitsa this weekend. It is not only to see whether the recent earthquake has left the farmhouse in one piece, but to gingerly check each room for snakes before we settle in. And to think I was out and about haymaking in snakes territory in just flip-flops and shorts last weekend! Never a dull moment here in Bulgaria.

Failed Crops, But No Worries

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:55:00 +0000

It has been the busiest week so far this year trying to get everything planted out on the two plots of land in the village and town and trying to keep on top with blogging. Well the blogging has had the foot off the accelerator recently and I apologise to fellow blogging friends for not paying visits recently. There just aren’t enough hours in the day and the candle has been burnt at both ends recently.

It is a time where everyone here in Bulgaria is out tending to crops. Not only do they need planting right now they need watering, sometime two or three times a day with temperatures soaring to over 30 degrees and we are not in the hot season yet. When the seedling are put in the have to be treated like babies, tended to every moment until they are established. They are at their most sensitive and the slightest neglect at this stage can ruin a whole crop. This has happened to me already as I left the town farm for 6 days as it was a six-day weekend holiday and the factory had closed for that period. A crop of beans had failed when I got back from lack of water. In the village the strawberries newly planted in the autumn had hardly any fruits on as they needed watering every two days – I am not there for five days at a time. Strawberries were not a good idea with the time I spend there. The melons both the watermelon and the honey melon both failed to germinate because of the 5-day absence and neglect.

On another front the two patches of sweet corn that was sown were almost another complete failure. I have to transplant half the seedlings from one patch to the other as over half had died due to not being tended to on a daily basis. I have now put more melons in their place and a massive reservoir channel dug out with advise from locals. I won’t find out whether this has survived until this coming weekend and it will be 6 days without water as we are not due until Saturday this weekend.

It was my own fault. I knew these types of crops would not be a success, but I went ahead regardless with a little hope tucked away. Hope was all that was there as I had to rethink and be realistic about what can and can ‘t work without water for 5 days. The garlic, onions and potatoes are thriving, these were my original plan and they all worked. The grapes look after themselves so no worries there. The biggest job however is the field, some 6000 square metres of meadow that needed to be cut. This had to be done with a scythe; everyone uses this tool in Bulgaria and last weekend it was out with the sharpening stone and a weekend of haymaking.

It is really quite a sense of pointlessness as I started getting stuck in to this massive field when I was asked where my horse was from one of my neighbours who were doing exactly the same thing in a field adjacent to mine. He of course knew full well I didn’t have a horse and my donkey was long gone salami to gypsies a couple of years ago. I said that Galia son Ivo has a rabbit in Yambol and this was rabbit feed for next winter. We both laughed as the joking went on. In all seriousness, I was cutting hay for my neighbour’s horse although he didn’t know it yet. If the hay isn’t cut and left to seed next year’s crop would be poor so it was also for that reason as well.

It was a long haul, but I loved it, no Galia there as she was working her Saturday in lieu of the 6-day weekend so it was make your own dinner in the evening. I couldn’t wait with a couple of lettuce and radish for the town farm brought o the village and onion and green garlic with sirene, olives and sunflower oil, red vinegar and salt as dressing. A glass of my own homemade sliva (plum) rakia and ice cold Ayran alongside. All on a table under the grapevine trellises looking at the field that had just had its hay cut and now drying out in the warm evening air. It wasn’t the same without Galia though and as I sat down on my own I really couldn’t see the point of preparing all this without someone to share it with and a reminder of lonely times before I met Galia working on the farm – Another story altogether.

Things are looking great here, both in the town and village – Yes we have had crop failures, but that’ down to my bad planning and faint hope that I should have dispelled from the start. There is still plenty of time to replant and that’s what I have been doing over the last few days. Exciting times here.

A Tortoise Or Slow Coach On Bulgarian Roads

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:05:00 +0000

Every since setting foot in Bulgaria I hear from lots of Bulgarians that there are lots of tortoises roaming around the country. Up unit this week the only ones I have see are pets that are kept by one of Galia's family. I haven't seen any 'wild tortoises' anywhere despite living in perfect tortoise country with vegetation abound for those slow but constant lawnmowers. Even in the village farmhouse tortoises have never nibbled my vegetables, but then they might have a preference for my neighbour’s superior vegetables.

So it came to pass that we were on our way to the village farmhouse in the Lada, a slowcoach itself today as I was freewheeling wherever I could to save on gas. We got about 8 kilometres for the Skalitsa village and I saw my first 'wild' tortoise in the middle of the road taking its time to cross dead casual like! It wasn’t exactly a screech of the brakes, I wasn't going fast enough for that, but we stopped and it was out of the car to investigate this 'wild' Bulgarian tortoise.

As I got to the tortoise it shelled up and remained in its home throughout our encounter, I don't blame it I'm an ugly and mean, perhaps it thought I was a gypsy and it was lunchtime. Anyway, the investigation went on as I picked it up and had a close look at it. Funny but for a wild tortoise it wasn’t wild' at all, it did nothing. I could see its head tucked away and its eye peering out at me and I knew it wouldn't budge with me holding it. It was put in the verge with some greenery, but still wouldn't come out even after a five-minute wait. Time to go home was the call from Galia waiting patiently in the Lada looking at this Englishman with a fascination for this creature. She of course is well used to tortoises in Bulgaria and found them quite boring as they didn’t do anything.

So it was a reluctant Martin who got back into the car after saying goodbye to this temporarily hibernated tortoise for what is was worth, I didn't even have a chance to say hello!

Well I got a picture or two of my first encounter with a wild Bulgarian tortoise, but I was wilder with excitement than anything else.

Bulgarian Cat And Rat Saga

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Thu, 14 May 2009 08:22:00 +0000

The rats are still having it all their own way after the new trap system was installed. It just didn’t work. The rats just aren’t interested in circus acts before being drowned in the sunflower seed covered water so it was back with another plan and another trap.

There are many types of trap they use here including the conventional spring loaded baited plate, but a favourite is the sprung door which is snapped shut when the bait is tampered with inside the metal cage. We set up one each of these traps for a few nights to see if we could any success. The bait I feel it the secret so every day we change the food that lures them.

Chicken, salami, sirene, chocolate, sunflower seeds, cake where some of the food we tried and then success! Some Bulgarian salami on the bait the metal cage did the trick and got its first rat. We were at the farmhouse at the time so it was left for Baba to do the business of drowning it in a bucket of water.

When we arrived Baba had saved the drowned rat for us to see. Not a pretty sight and brought about more worries on assessment. This was not the rats we had seen scampering in and out of the garage, but a baby rat! Rats don’t just have a single ratlet but a litter, there must be many other and the parents still have the run of the place. This rat was so to speak a drop in the ocean!

We decided there and then that enough was enough we should use poison. Galia and Baba were against this as they argued that there would be the smell of rotting rats that they would have to put up with through the warm weather we are having right now. What was the alternative? Well there wasn’t a case to answer really for not putting down poison now. Me being the man of the house was asked to make the decision even though they weren’t that keen on the answer.

The poison laid that night and the following morning it had all disappeared. This was a good feeling as I topped up the little plastic trays for another night of toxic feasting in store.
That same day we met up with some family and were dragged into their home for some beer and salami. They live on the 4th floor of an apartment in Yambol centre, we also met their cat! Mmm, the idea of borrowing a cat seemed on so I asked. The next thing I knew was the cat had been packed away in a travel cage with some cat food in a plastic bag and we were off home with a cat that wasn’t too happy about being shoved around.

The cat spent the night in the yard in his confined space and the following morning we opened the cage ready for it to check the garage for vermin after we had cleared all the poison away. No poison had been eaten, probably because the cat was in the area. As the door opened the cat sprung out scaled an 8-foot wall and landed in next doors driveway where a big guard dog was waiting. All we could hear was continuous barking and hissing.

As we ventured next door there was the confrontation, the dog wanting to attack but every time he when near the cat hissed and the dog stopped. That was how it was for quite a while. We managed to get the dog away, but the cat was now wild and would not let us anywhere near it. I got clawed and bitten trying to get the cat back into the travel cage. The only answer now was to get the owner, who we rung. He was due to arrive lunchtime and did. The cat was now in the box after the owner did the business and he was to collect it after work later that day.

The evening ended up with a party as the family came to collect the cat. I was a good idea but just didn’t’ work with this particular cat. We all got together to tell the story and catch up with other news. An excuse to bring out the Rakia, home grown salad from the factory farm picked earlier in the day and another sirene dish that I will have to write up about it was that good.

So more poison put down in the garage before bedtime as we have now run out of ideas. It should do the job as it does in the farmhouse where it is laid down permanently in hidden areas. No problems at all there.

Free Marijuana (Cannabis) In Bulgaria

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Tue, 12 May 2009 06:21:00 +0000

I had heard many times that marijuana or cannabis grows wild in Bulgaria. This is true as have located lots growing wild near my farmhouse each year. Yesterday whilst working on the factory farm clearing some undergrowth I came across some more healthy specimens growing quite happily alongside vegetables and fruit trees. My mind was reminded about it again and got to thinking about the possibilities of business that could be made here out of a product that just needs no attention to cultivate. Surely some people here must do this, on a small scale as a private business, but my inquiries told me otherwise.

It was mentioned to workers in the factory that Marijuana is growing on the factory grounds. They all knew about it and couldn’t understand why I mentioned it. They knew it was a narcotic and every few weeks it is cut down along with the other weeds, dried out for a few days and feed to the chickens and rabbits, which are kept on the factory grounds. Bulgarians it seems accept marijuana as part of the food chain for animals and not for human consumption; this was hard to take in board for me who comes from a culture where this weed is abused and exchanges hands for lots of money. Surely the business must go on her in the bigger towns and cities.

Allegedly there is commercial marijuana farms further west in Bulgaria that are up and running and run by the mafia and largely ignored by politicians (and wisely so.) As long as it keeps the peace I suppose is the reason for this. Also, I’m sure other countries have their own productions of supplies run by mafia based businesses. This I feel might this may be a very good reason why no small entrepreneurs are trying to capture any business in the marijuana market – They might find themselves in a very compromising position if found out by the men in black. To me the fear of interfering with mafia business is a far greater deterrent than any government, but then one might argue that many government circles conspire with mafia anyway.

Now whether you are a fan of marijuana or not, you can’t eradicate the weed as it is a natural part of the ecology in Bulgaria. It is very good to know that in the main it is not abused, but then magic mushrooms (Psilocybin mushrooms) grow here as well and they are not abused. It looks like there is no need for narcotics here for the Bulgarian people. With their respectful family units and social etiquette, the use of drugs and such things are not needed. My opinion is that if you have a country that makes its own excellent Rakia and some of the world’s best beer all at an affordable price, who really needs it?

Bulgarian Slivatree - The Noblesse Oblige Award

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Sun, 10 May 2009 04:36:00 +0000

I make is a rule not to accept nominations form other bloggers and there have been a few, but recently there was one from Windmill at http://dfoolonthehill.com/.

I have decided to take this nomination up because I respect Windmill and look up to him as a blogger for his diverse and interesting daily accounts and observations on all matters that concern him and others. Windmill or Windy as some call him is always friendly, loyal and approachable in all communication.

I would like to nominate Martyn from Beyond The Mango Juice. Although not technically an expatriate, he might as well be with his cleverly constructed articles. I always look forward to his posts as I know I will not only be enlightening from tales of Thailand, but thoroughly entertained without fail as his humour and on the mark observations and knowledge hits on all the right buttons.

Beyond The Mango Juice

putting together life’s jigsaw in North East Thailand

A recent post about Thai Ladyboys - Pattaya, is a classic example and is the last in a series of account about Thailand and sex for sale. You might understand that this is quite a sensitive subject, but dealt with superbly without being course and of course always entertaining. Martyn is one of the friendliest bloggers you will ever meet and I feel this award is more than well deserved on this ocassion. I recommend you visit his blog and follow it you may be missing some classic posts otherwise.

The Blogger who receives this award will need to perform the following steps:

1. Create a Post with a mention and link to the person who presented the Noblesse Oblige Award.
2. The Award Conditions must be displayed at the Post.

The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervades amongst different cultures and beliefs.
The Blog contents inspire; strives to encourage and offers solutions.
There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Culture and Sciences and Beliefs.
The Blog is refreshing and creative.
The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.

3. Write a short article about what the Blog has thus far achieved, preferably citing one or more older posts to support it.

4. The Blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with the Award conditions.
5. The Blogger must display the Award at any location at the Blog.

Yambol Snail Gratin Recipe

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:56:00 +0000

I love cooking and snails and would rather have them on my plate than in my garden. For your information, most if not all snails are edible, they can be made into an excellent meal and of course all for free if you find your own. The meat is nutritious, virtually fat free and depending on where you pick your snails, chemical-free.

The recipe given here is my own and specifically for the European Garden Snail (Cornu aspersa) and has been made from ingredients that were available to me living in Bulgaria.

Yambol Snail Gratin

Serves 2

Ingredients:

30-40 live snails
3-4 green garlic thinly sliced
200 grams butter or margarine
50 grams sunflower oil
A large dash of Rakia (homemade if possible)
Vegetable stock cube
Salt
Water (enough to cover the snails)
Breadcrumbs

Note:

Ingredients not available in your country can be substituted
Rakia for brandy or dry white wine
Sirene for goat cheese or other white cheese
Green Garlic for Dried garlic

Preparation of the Snails:

The snails need to fast for at least two days before being cooked. It is best to use a plastic bowl and some chicken wire over the top. They need to be stored in a cool and well-ventilated place. Rinsing them out with plenty of running water every 12 hours is recommended.

Method
Prepare a pan of boiling water add the stock and salt and carefully add the live snails. Bring back to the boil and simmer for 12-15 minutes. Using a colander drain the water off. When cool enough to handle, use a pin or sharp skewer and extract the snail meat form the shells. Try to get the whole snail meat not just the first section you will be surprised how much snails there is in there. Once all extracted rinse and put to one side.

In a frying pan add the butter, garlic and bring to an agitated sizzle, then add the rakia and the snail meat immediately after. Continue frying on a high heat whilst stirring all the time for 2-3 minutes add a pinch of salt and stir then take away from the heat.

Place the snail mixture equally in ovenproof bowls and cover with breadcrumbs and sprinkle a little crumbled sirene over the top of this. Place under a grill until you see the breadcrumbs turn golden brown.

Serve hot with cold lager type beer.

This snail dish can be served the next day as a cold snack.

Tip:

The snails can be refrigerated for one or two days or frozen up to three months once boiled and picked out of their shells. Make sure they are defrosted thoroughly before frying if frozen and keep in air-tight containers.

Bulgarian Sunday Lunch In The Slow Lane

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Mon, 04 May 2009 18:33:00 +0000

Snails are free food, but the appeal certainly isn't a favourite with most people and that’s not just vegetarians either. The thought of the slow, slimy, slippery creatures as a meal just puts many if not most people off. Snails are land lubbers where whelks are seafaring with a more popular following as a snack, but essentially they are the same in both physical looks, texture although having a more distinctive taste. So why the big ‘Yuk!’ to garden snails on the dinner plate?

It was snails on the menu this weekend for Galia and I as we stopped just outside Yambol after a night of rain together snails that large and abundant. Free food, but not restricted to Bulgaria, in the UK garden snails are edible albeit more polluted. We knew the snails we were picking up were healthy and succulent on the fresh green spring growth that had dinner written all over it for these lucky snails and the snails in turn had dinner written all over them for us. Oh the food chain is wonderful thing isn't it?

We must have picked about 30 to 40 snails and took them the farmhouse where we put them in a bucket with an iron grill off the barbecue system and weighted it down with a Skalitsa healing stone we had picked up last year whilst being healed, so any ill snails would be cured, but they couldn't escape. They could poke their heads though the grate but their shell houses couldn't be dragged through with them. To eat snails you need their digestive system to be clear and that means starving them for two days. It was Friday so they would be ready to cook on Sunday; this was our plan for Sunday lunch.

Each morning and evening I washed them out with water and put them back in the bucket. Sunday morning after their last wash they were put into some boiling water then winkled out with a skewer. Then the snail meat was fried in butter and home grown green garlic with a little rakia and turned out in a couple of ramekin bowls. Each bowl of snails was covered with breadcrumbs and grilled until brown.

Outside, Galia had set the table outside in the sunshine that had come out after the rain we had had for two days. This had some cold Sofia beer called ‘Ariana,’ waiting on the table to greet us along with the snail dishes that were ready to serve. We spend the next 20 minutes enjoying out free feed in beautiful surroundings being washed down with cold beer. Yambol snails and Sofia beer - A great combination!

I recommend snails for Sunday lunch to anyone, it is a superb no cost chemical-free food with little if no fat and no animal rights campaigners in sight! Notice I haven't mentioned the French - Oops I just did!

My own step-by-step snail recipe is being prepared in next post.

Bulgarian Storm Is No Deterrent For Bonfires

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Sun, 03 May 2009 09:15:00 +0000

Back on the smallholding in Skalitsa I was looking forward to some outdoor work this weekend mainly weeding and general pottering around in my element as I tend to do. However, I found that Galia had a particular fascination on the farm that kept here boiling over with enthusiasm throughout the weekend.

We arrived early Friday and no time for even a cup of tea as I changed into my Bulgarian blue village clothing and got to work on those weeds. Within the space of three hour the whole area was basically weed free as the clouds gathered.

It hadn't rained here all week and the ground was like dust as I worked through the weeds leaving a dust cloud as I hit out of those unwanted green bits whose roots cling for dear live into the nutritious soil. Talking of clouds, above, they were now gathering in and looking menacing with thunder and lightning in the distance, but here doesn't mean it will rain. I've lost count of the number of times I have presumed it will rain and held off watering the crops only to find that it didn't rain. With this in mind it was full steam ahead with the water from the well giving the whole area a big soak. It was so much of a soak in fact that I had used all the reserves of water from the well and had to wait a couple of hours for it to fill up again. Of course wouldn't you know it, the heavens open up and a violent storm ensued with torrential rain on a well-water soaked ground whilst the waiting pursued!

And what was Galia doing leading up to this? Well she has a secret passion for bonfires. Last weekend I had the scythe out and cut down the long grasses on the chicken run and verges. Having no rain all week mean that the grasses had dried and was perfect for burning. I don't like burning hay but I have no livestock right now and the quality of hay isn't good enough to store anyway, which is what I'd normally do. Besides the stables are still half full of last year's hay. The grasses were bundled and stacked and the bonfire was lit and under way. Galia took the bull by the horns and became a self nominated and unanimous leader of the bonfire pack as she spent the next two days governing it and keeping it going even through thunderstorms and monsoon fashioned rain! She was on a high all weekend playing and twiddling with the bonfire looking for more stuff to burn and try and overcome the rain that kept damping it down. In fact all the plastic had now disappeared up in black smoke that had been stocked up in the stables to take to Yambol and put into the town bins. Bulgarian think nothing of burning anything that burns, besides no one is going to tell us off for bonfires in Bulgaria - Such a great joy here to be able to do so when and where we want!

There wasn't anything at all we could do on the land apart from those first few hours on the Friday as it rained continuously for two days thereon. This gave us a chance to relax for a change, apart from bonfire monitoring of course.

It is back to Yambol later today (Sunday evening) and more partying on as it is a public holiday until Thursday. Also there isn't much we can do on the City farm assuming that Yambol has had the same amount of rain.

By the way potatoes, sweetcorn, water and honey melons respectively have not truely sprouted and we are taking back with us lot os onions and garlic which Baba loves so much. The pumpkins not quite up yet, but they were only sown last weekend. The first crop of strawberries will be ready to eat in a couple of weeks along with the cherries on the tree that are intended for more rakia making. The grapes have ther first vine leave out now only a short while and we'll pick a few to use for sarmi (mince wrapped in vine leaves.) Wild spinach (Bulgarians call it laput) was also gathered from the grounds to take back to Yambol, Baba will make a meal that will last us three days with this. Free food we love it and to be quite honest couldn't manage without it!

A Classic Bulgarian Misunderstanding

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:30:00 +0000

Cases of classic misunderstandings Bulgarians has caused all sorts of problems over the years and it still happens. There was one prime classic misunderstanding that wasn't realised until this week and reminded me that these misunderstandings will probably never end here in Bulgaria.

Just to give some background here, the previous owners of Skalitsa farmhouse and smallholding off where an elderly couple called Marina and Mitko. They moved in with their son to the town of Stara Zagora. Marina couldn’t wait for town life, but Mitko didn’t want to move, he loved village life and was in tears when we signed the contract. This is the case for many couple here, women want the town and the men want the country life.

Last year we were at the Skalitsa Farmhouse sitting out in the garden. We heard the iron garden gate creak as it always does to warn us of visitors. We waited a moment for the visitors to walk a short distance and peer around the corner as we all watched. It turned out that the visitors was Marina, the woman who used to live here with here son. They were in Skalitsa and though they’d pay us a visit out of courtesy as they were here.

And so the talking started. I wondered where Mitko her husband was and naturally asked. The answer given was that, ‘He is above us’ with a finger pointing to the sky. I was quite shocked with the though that he had passed away and gave my condolences.

The message that Mitko had died so much was passed on to my nearest neighbour the next day with mention that it must have been the heartbreak of having to move away from the village life he loved. No more was thought about it at the time.

A year on and my neighbour Sacho told me that he was sure he had seen a ghost a couple of days before. It was evening and he was putting his goats in for the night and he saw Mitko wondering around his old home. There are many ghost stories in the village and this was another one that he though he saw. He told his wife Rosa what he had seen and again, they put it down to Mitko paying a ghostly visit to his old loved smallholding.

Sacho went on to say that Rosa went to work in the school the next day and told others of the story of Mitko’s ghostly figure wandering around the previous evening. She was duly informed that there was no ghost of Mitko around, but Mitko in real life who had come this year to see old friends in the village and went to see his old home!

Sacho said that he spoke to Mitko yesterday and he was very much alive. He then asked me who said that he had died. I explained that his son said that he was above us and pointed his finger to the sky. Sacho then burst out laughing saying that Mitko was up above us in the apartment block he was living in Stara Zagora. He didn’t come to Skalitsa last year but stayed at home – That’s where he was!

Well the misunderstanding lasted a year and I’m glad Mitko is still alive and kicking albeit still not very happy with town life. As for ghosts, well no recent additions recently, but lot so stories from neighbours of existing ones to be told on a cold and still winter night – That’s a long way off right now.

A New Idea For Catching Bulgarian Rats

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:47:00 +0000

Bulgarian rats are like all other rats around the world, a pest and unwanted guests in many homes. There are many alternative to getting rid of them, too man to mention in fact, but yesterday another method was learnt as we still has to contend with the elusive rat in the garage that continues to eat our hard earned potato stocks.

We were watching football with family guests with many beers to accompany when the subject of rats came about. I think it was the mention of Wayne Rooney that got the subject going. Rooney apart, catching rats was being discussed. Poison, caged contraptions, cats, dogs, and baited lures in other places to draw them away just didn’t work or were not practical in our situation and the rat has had the upper hand over the last six weeks and this continues right now.

The idea of getting a bucket, filling two thirds of it with water and placing some sunflower seeds that would float on the top seemed a strange ploy to take when I first heard this being discussed. Added to this a little path was placed leading up to the rim of the bucket where once at the top the sunflower seeds could be seen but not the water. This began to make good sense to me at this point. The rat would see the sunflower seeds and of course it is too low to eat, as it is a third of they distance down in the bucket. The rat would have to jump in thinking that the bucket was full of sunflower seeds and pass through the top layer of sunflowers seeds into the looming water beneath which was deep enough to drown it with the vertical walls of the bucket.

A master plan had been born and we all looked forward to drowned rats as we set the system up slightly drunk after the feast of Sunday football and beer.

Monday morning and it wasn’t an early visit to the garage to check for drowned rats. When we did it was as it was the night before, but then no more potatoes have been nibbled either, no ratty visitors last night other than the half ratted trappers. Time is the essence, not only for catching that rat but for getting rid of hangovers!

Rooney Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Expatriate Bloggers Are Decent People

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:26:00 +0000

It dawned on me the other day that one of the biggest reasons for coming to Bulgaria was getting away from British culture and British ways. As it happens my time here has been spent in total isolation from everything British and that included British expatriates.

The strange thing is with this in place is why on earth I blog and extensively communicate with other British expatriates or other non-British expatriates in the UK? I didn’t have to think too hard to find the answer it was quite simply to figure out.

There are a couple of factors to the reason for this. One is that most of us have the urge to tell the story we have to tell about our adventures abroad to all that want to hear about it. That also includes many eyes and ears from their abandoned countries. This might also have a little poke to those there who still endure things there.

The other reason is to share our thinking and common goals with others who are also telling a public the stories. To me the thing that we have in common is the comradeship of writing about our foreign adventures. Alongside support and pats on the back reaffirming that we have all done the right thing, not that many need it, but some do. This is what pulls expatriate bloggers together.

Many expat bloggers may well have a language barrier to overcome in their respective host country and the writing is a form of communication that relieves a lot of frustration and is a good way to let off informative and daily or weekly steam that comes from this.

Expatriate bloggers in the main are people who have got away from their homelands for many reasons. Most, if not all I communicate with have the same ideals as when it comes to setting up or joining regular expatriate communities in the land they are living in now.

There is one massive difference between me wanting to associate and communicate with expatriate bloggers and that is all down to what they get up to in their new homes. It is plainly obvious that bloggers have lots to say about the culture and the people they are living with as opposed to those who tend to just mix with their own expatiate communities and have nothing to say other than idol gossip, scandal and backstabbing other expatriates in their little vicious circles.

Well with this realisation, it is no surprise that there are so many decent expatriates blogging.

Image via Wikipedia

A Bulgarian Easter 2009 - A Joyful Family Occasion

slivatree@yahoo.co.uk (Martin in Bulgaria) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:33:00 +0000

There are so many things to write about this last weekend I am really quite confused as to which should preside. Perhaps just a run of events might just fit the bill this time round.

It was a sulky Lada that stood in the street last Friday as I mounted my bicycle to ride the 37 kilometres to the village farmhouse just to water the crops, get a rat trap and bring some gherkins seedlings back. The ride was fantastic, why I don’t ride more often it a complete mystery! Without Galia who was preparing for the Easter weekend it was a night on my own with howling wolves no longer scaring me as sat outside well beyond sunset before retiring to a rakia and well earned sleep.

The next morning, another bicycle ride, this time slightly faster than the day before back to Yambol. There is an increasing amount of traffic on the roads these days. Three years ago I could have travelled 20 kilometres and not passed any cars, maybe an occasional horse and cart. Now every few minutes a car zooms past, it is quite a depressing thought that this will get worse as each year goes by.

Many of these vehicles are 4x4 motors and of these many are expats or Brits on holiday here right now. The only problem I had with traffic today on the bike was the inconsideration of a Brit driver that came too close causing me to have to swerve into the grass verge. What I normally do in these cases is spit on their car window screen as they go past, it make me feel better that a message has been delivered. It may sound disgusting, but for me their total disregard and inconsideration for me is far more disgusting – A worse thought was that they must have thought it was only a Bulgarian cyclist.

That aside I got back to Yambol safely and the gherkins and rat trap intact. Oh yes, the rattrap is for a rat that ran across my feet as I entered the garage for my bike the day before. It had been eating our stock of winter potatoes. The trap is now set and we hope to drown it at some point in the future.

Saturday evening and barbeque mackerel was on the menu. The reason for fish was that today was meant to be the 50th and last day of fasting from meat (fish not included) as tomorrow spring lamb was planned to be eaten by most Bulgarians to celebrated the end of the fast and Easter.

Sunday, and a walk to the St Nikolai Church with Galia and Baba (pictured) to light candles, say a prayer and pay our religious respects to the occasion. You will find that most Bulgarian families attend church on these special religious days and a queue to get in is quite normal. As we purchase the candles and get blessed by the priest as we enter the grand church.

We went for a little stroll through Yambol after church and treated ourselves to a little ice cream from a stall. This is something we don’t normally do so it was a very special moment sitting in the flower borne park with an ice cream. There were many little stalls open today with bouncy castles, balloons and sweets as this was a weekend of Easter family celebration with many families out walking the city centre after church on this warm and sunny day.

We arrive back home to find that family guests were waiting outside out yard gate and we had the keys. From there on it was a further nine hours that elapsed with eating drinking and talking throughout. I am tempted to get on my Bulgarian food wagon again and detail the menu that was made up this evening, but will leave that for another time in another post. We had the egg knocking competition and one family member had brought his own decorated eggs that had been treated with varnish – He of course won with an unfair advantage. Within this time we also saw Everton knock Manchester United out of the English FA Cup as Ivo, Galia’s son (a Manchester United fan) and I commiserated together as Arsenal were knocked out by Chelsea yesterday.

A well-slept Sunday night led to today where this evening we are due to go to another house to spend the evening with friends instead of family. There will be another long session of eating drinking, berr and Skalitsa rakia and talking. In these instances you just can’t get enough of a good thing.

As I pause slightly between each celebration, I reflect on my past in the UK and the total lack of activities such as these. Family and friend gatherings, no expensive gifts expected, no commercial chocolate eggs, no need to entertain children who are well behaved and do as they are told. Food and drink that is all natural, homemade and produced locally. Simple things are the answer here, things that are not swayed by commercialism and high expectations. But the biggest joy here is the family unit where you can communicate on all levels, talk about anything and everything, there are no secrets in the family here. Nothing is held back and nothing taboo in conversation and this applies to all four generations that attended the celebration.

It really is a privilege to be here and be accepted as part of this family. It has opened my eyes to so many things I never knew existed in family life and I’d better stop writing now before I start breaking down with joyful emotion!