Slovenia

Give yourself five hours of prep time if you want to make the Slovenian food that I made with Vonnett and Kevin in October. I started the bread rising at home and took it with me on the drive to San Diego. Once I arrived, I shaped the loaves with the swirls of sweet walnuts and cinnamon. Two hours in advance, we boiled the eggs to put in the meatloaf. We substituted turkey for the pork and it was truly delicious. The potatoes can be started next. The last thing we made, and the first thing we ate, was the charcuterie board. Kevin substituted a really lovely roast beef for the prosciutto, and it still went well with the thinly sliced cantaloupe, sheep's cheese, and green olives. Everything was so good and we had a fun evening, even if (or maybe because) we spent more time cooking than usual: https://www.internationalcuisine.com/about-food-and-culture-of-slovenia/

To see more Slovenian food, Netflix has both the Slovenian episode of Restaurants on the Edge (Season 2, episode 1), and a feature on Ana Roš in the second season of Chef's Table. For more on Ana Roš, see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoQq48RMlRQ

Having eaten well, I went looking for literature and found The Tree With No Name by Drago Jancar at the Los Angeles County Library. It was a challenge to read as the protagonist circles through stories repeatedly, with less and less coherency. The Afterword by the translator Michael Biggins was helpful, and I found the book interesting.

There are several works that have been translated from Slovenian on Words Without Borders. My favorite one is a poem about how a poet is like a cat: https://wordswithoutborders.org/read/article/2006-10/cons-cat/

This country of Slavic, Germanic, and Latin fusion has so many unusual things to look at. For example:

· They are famous for beekeeping: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_djM5fUMys&t=63s

· Lipizzaner horses are from here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djRWxll1UVs

· They have developed their economic system by pulling the best of what Edward Stuart calls “Both Sides Now” in a Great Courses series on Kanopy.

· They like Styrian accordion music and even use it in their homage to calypso: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jM2z01dCGE&list=PLKJvonj9yMhTQJr6wRbYjU7M2r5O-WPFz&index=62

· They take their cello playing to a new place (yes, I know 2Cellos is branded as Croatian, but there is some Slovenian heritage there): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT3SBzmDxGk

Most importantly this week, they have so much to do for Christmas! This webpage not only summarizes the Slovenian history that led to the development of three entirely different Santas, but also provides a recording and several videos adding interesting detail: https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-three-santas-of-slovenia/

Perpetuum Jazzile’s music is wonderful any time, but this Slovenian group has plenty to enjoy right now:

· White Christmas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZzK0xFgxM0&t=45s

· All I Want for Christmas is You: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-diVtCuxqDE

· Christmas Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tXiDlHtBK8

· Let It Snow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByA2HWn_X-Y

Rick Steves does a great job showing off Slovenia: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show/slovenia and I also checked The Crazy Tourist for a list of places to visit: https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-slovenia/. I would love to go! I look forward to that time when we can travel broadly again. In the meantime, I’m hoping we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace, health, and safety to flourish in Slovenia and throughout the world.

Photo credit: Neven Krcmarek https://unsplash.com/photos/pOWBHdgy1Lo