Strange writing over door in house.PA custom? Meaning? (Scranton: wedding, to buy)

[johnqpublic]

Originally Posted by thecoalman

Yep, Slovak here too and did the mushroom soup. My Grandmother made it with potatoes.

My Grandparents used the wafer, and had boiled potatoes and buttermilk on Christmas Eve

[sheena12]

So is this wafer like a communion wafer? Is it a meal or a treat - or more of a ritual?

Any good deserts? What is Boylyo?(sp?) Is it a type of desert? Heard a neighbor say I need to try it at Christmas.
Also I like this thing with a Poppy seed paste - like a roll. I had it last summer, but I think mygrandmother made it for a holiday? Any clue?

[Jungle George]

Originally Posted by sheena12

So is this wafer like a communion wafer? Is it a meal or a treat - or more of a ritual?

Any good deserts? What is Boylyo?(sp?) Is it a type of desert? Heard a neighbor say I need to try it at Christmas.
Also I like this thing with a Poppy seed paste - like a roll. I had it last summer, but I think mygrandmother made it for a holiday? Any clue?

Boilo recipe #1: Crock pot style
2 oranges (med-large size)
2 lemons
1 small box raisins (about 1 1/2 ounces)
8 oz honey
12 oz whiskey (or more, to taste). Use Four Roses, or Seagrams 7, or something similar. At least 80 proof (40% alcohol).
1/2 to 1 teaspoon each of any or all of these spices: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves, Caraway seed, Anise seed


Make this in a crock pot. It's easier than cooking on the stove and much less likely to overcook or scorch. For the quantities shown here, a small (1.5 quart) crock pot will do.

Peel the oranges and lemons. Cut up the fruit and squeeze them into the crock pot. A garlic press works, or you can use some kind of juicer or fruit squeezer if you have one. Put the remaining fruit pulp into the crock pot as well.

Add the raisins, honey, and spices. Stir.

NOTE: do not add whiskey yet!

Start the crock pot and let the mixture cook for about 2-4 hours. Stir occasionally. It's done when the fruit pulp gets "cooked-down".

Strain into a pitcher. Mash down the fruit in the strainer to get all the liquid. NOW add the whiskey to the pitcher and stir. If you cook the whiskey, even for a short time, the alcohol will start to evaporate (and who wants that to happen??). Taste, and add more whiskey to your liking.

Serve hot in shot glasses, espresso cups, or coffee mugs. After the first round, each individual serving can be heated in the microwave.

This recipe makes about 12 ounces of "virgin" boilo. Add 12 ounces of whiskey to this and you get 24 ounces of coal region nectar, enough for 12-18 servings.

Boilo recipe #2: Stovetop style
1 bottle whiskey (any relatively cheap, blended whiskey will do)
Several oranges. Quantity depends on how much you wish to make. Use at least 4.
Same number of lemons
1/4 cup raisins
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups of honey
2 cinnamon sticks


Boilo is traditionally made during the Christmas and New Year's holiday. It's great on those cold winter nights. Beware, this can knock you for a loop! Cheers!

Peel the oranges and lemons and cut into quarters. Squeeze the fruit into a pot, then throw in the remaining fruit pulp. Add some water (some people use ginger ale). Add the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the whiskey. Cook everything at a slow simmer, stirring constantly. This will take about 15-20 minutes. If necessary, add orange juice and a bit more water. The color should be a yellow-orange. Don't overcook; the name is misleading. You don't want to boil this. Then slowly stir in the whiskey. Be careful - this can catch fire if splashed on the stove. Keep adding whiskey to taste. It's not uncommon to use the whole bottle. Simmer for just a few more minutes once the whiskey is added.

Strain and serve hot in shot glasses (a regular glass may crack). Drink in sips. Individual servings can warmed later in a microwave.

[KatWag]

Those recipes sound great, George. Can't wait to try them.

Sheena, the wafers were unblessed communion wafers. They were rectangular in shape and had Christmas scenes on them. We ordered them from Church. We would pass them Christmas Eve and eat them drizzled with honey.

Funny how this is a real trip down memory lane for me and probably a lot of other posters.

The rolls you mention were done in several flavors. Most common was a nut roll. Sweet dough with ground walnuts, sugar and spices. My grandmother used to make that often. Other flavors were more special occasion for her. She would do poppy seed, apricot and sometimes prune.

We just bought a place outside Jim Thorpe and I was really interested to find out that Carbon County is 8% Slovak. Don't know if you plan to get to Jim Thorpe for their October Weekend event. But we were there last weekend and there was a stand serving the traditional nut rolls.

[theatergypsy]

Poppy seed roll can be purchased at just about every local bakery close to holiday time, or you can find a recipe to make your own on line.

Type Christmas wafer in your Google search box and you'll get over 230,000 sites. You can learn about the tradition and if your church doesn't sell them, you can order them online.

[Jungle George]

Originally Posted by theatergypsy

Poppy seed roll can be purchased at just about every local bakery close to holiday time, or you can find a recipe to make your own on line.

Type Christmas wafer in your Google search box and you'll get over 230,000 sites. You can learn about the tradition and if your church doesn't sell them, you can order them online.

Religious Goods, Carpathian Mountain Crafts items in oplatki store on eBay!

[sheena12]

Well thanks George! I guess boilio is not a desert! The recipe's sound excellent!

[johnqpublic]

With the wafer it was customary for the family at dinner to have the others break off a piece of their wafer, thus everyone sharing with everyone else, we did not eat our own wafers.....

[ChosenReject]

Originally Posted by johnqpublic

With the wafer it was customary for the family at dinner to have the others break off a piece of their wafer, thus everyone sharing with everyone else, we did not eat our own wafers.....

yes, everyone in my family gets one then you have to go around to each person and break it and say a blessing or just "merry xmas happy new year". People that know polish usually say their blessing in polish and the rest of us are like "wut?" lol

[bloominscranton]

I really enjoyed reading this thread, thank you all!