New Business...New Friends...New Year

Officially, it's been two months since The Polish Farmers Polish Food & Pierogi business was born. Just like any other birth, it all began a little over nine months ago when we began experimenting with various pierogi flavors.

Since the very beginning, we have learned a lot. We have learned some of the best ways to make pierogies, and how not to make pierogies. We also learned, at least so far, that we are not in it for the money. We are in it because we enjoy Polish Food, and we hope others will too!

Naturally, there are the traditionalists, who will not eat, or even try, anything but the original... potato, cheese, sauerkraut, etc. But, we came up with 40 flavors (and even more almost every day), because some people wouldn't even think of trying a pierogi unless it were something different, like a cheese steak or Buffalo Chicken, or there are others who would like to try something different.

Of course, the Christmas season is a big time for pierogies, and Polish Foods, but we have built many fine relationships with folks who enjoy them week in and week out!

Speaking of those relationships, we are forging new ones every week, and that may be the best reason of all for starting such a business.

Our friends at the Doorstep Dairy are spreading the news about our pierogies to their customers in the Morgantown, Elverson and Honey Brook areas, and for that we're grateful.

Another customer, Greg, stopped by to pick up an order of seven dozen pierogies for his family's Christmas feast. He noted, "My grandmother always made the pierogies in our family, and she passed away this summer. This will make my family's Christmas!"

Our hearts go out to Greg's family, but I hope we can somehow keep her tradition going for you. They may not be grandma's pierogies, but she surely knows that you remembered her enough to keep it going. If you ever feel the need to learn how to make them yourself, stop by, and we'll put you to work!

We bumped into Tom S. at the gas pumps at Turkey Hill, and he has been dropping by regularly for his supply of pierogies and other goodies.

Slowly, the word is getting around. We have had people from Ohio stop by for an order on their way to a birthday party in Fleetwood. We've shipped an order for Christmas Wigilia to Sanford, Florida, and another friend sent us a pair of glass blown pierogi ornaments for our Christmas tree. They are proudly hanging in a prominent spot.

Another family from Douglasville ordered a batch after the son in Michigan told them he found us on the web.

Overall, it's been a great Christmas, and we are looking forward to the new year. Thanks to all who have supported us thus far. Dziekuje! Na Zdrowie! Do Widzenia!

The Polish Farmers & Our Holiday Traditions

The holidays are quickly approaching, and it is time to think about our annual holiday traditions.

Many Poles still carry on the traditions of the Christmas Eve meal, which is generally served when the first star appears in the sky. There are many others, such a as placing straw beneath the table cloth to remind us of the Baby Jesus birth in the stable, etc.

Some set an extra plate at the table for an unexpected guest, or a light in the window to invite Jesus in their home. You may have a similar tradition or one your own.

Whatever your tradition, do you best to carry it on, and encourage your children etc. to do the same. It is a great thing to preserve your ethnic heritage.

Pierogies, of course, are must! And the age-old tradition of breaking Oplatek (the Christmas wafer) with friends and family is also important.

When my daughters were born, I began my own tradition of serving a Christmas goose, in the spirit of Charles Dickens, and now, 33 years later, the bird is still a focal point of our holiday table.

There are many such traditions to be found with a little research, or like I did, you can start your own. It is not a bad idea to mix in a little of both.

Whatever you decide, keep the holiday well, and best wishes to you and your family for a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy new year. Wesolych Swiat - Bozego Narodzenia Szczesiwego Nowego Roku!

Remember the milkman?

When I was just a young boy things were a lot different than they are today. Naturally, we didn't have cell phones, video games, cd's, dvd's, and all that stuff.

There was one thing we did have, though... the milkman!

My parents had a milkman, and it may have been Meadowbrook Dairies, just outside Pottstown. I am not sure.

My grandparents, not only had a milkman, "Peachy," but a butcher, who delivered meat to the house, and a grocery truck, that stopped regularly. My grandmother's butcher was named, "Peanuts." All I remember about the grocery truck is the fact that it was a big green truck that we would climb up into, and pick-out what we wanted. The truck carried literally everything from soup to nuts.

I am sure we had bread delivered to the home, as well. It may have been Bond Bread or Sunbeam.

When my two daughters were small, we had a milkman, also. They are now around 30-some years old.

Recently, that old-time tradition has returned... at least to the area around Morgantown, Elverson, Honey Brook, etc.

Doorstep Dairy recently brought back the quality and convenience of milk delivery, and a whole lot more.

Daryl Mast, and his family, has picked up the milk and grocery delivery business where his grandfather left off about 40 or 50 years ago.

While milk. and other dairy products, are the core of products offered by Doorstep Dairy, the Mast's offer their customers a whole lot more!

If you check out their website ( www.doorstepdairy.com ) you will find a long list of delicious items, such as baked goods (pies, bread, sticky buns, donuts & more), milk (white milk, chocolate milk, whole milk, skim milk, plastic bottles, glass bottles, etc.), cheese and other dairy ( a variety of cheese, yogurt, eggs, cream, and half & half, are just a few). Add to that list coffee, ice tea, orange juice, lemonade and some seasonal products such as apple cider, egg nog and even flowers!

The great thing about this service, is the fact that the products are local. Local dairy products, local baked goods, local farms and producers.

The Polish Farmers are proud to announce we are partnering up with The Doorstep Dairy, in an effort of mutual promotion.

In the near future, customers of The Doorstep Dairy will be able to order our pierogies to be delivered to their door, and we would like to encourage local residents who visit our website, blog, etc. to check-out The Doorstep Dairy!

Visit their website for yourself, or go to www.thepolishfarmers.com and click on the special link on the link page. You'll be glad you did!

In the meantime..... got milk?

Polish Farmers making new strides

After seven months in the making, and adding another few month of development, The Polish Farmers LLC has officially arrived.

Our new website went live Oct. 25, and the feedback has been great. There are still a few bugs that need to be worked out, but that can be expected.

Forty flavors now grace our menu, and three different size pierogies are available (minis, mediums, and large).

The pumpkin pierogies, while a little tricky to produce, were a big hit in time for Halloween and, we hope, for Thanksgiving.

As always, we are trying to improve our current products, and look at introducing new products. Poppy seed roll may be on the horizon.

As we discovered at Easter, the holidays are big when it comes to Polish food, and we anticipate the Christmas season to be the same.

In the meantime we need to keep plugging. Thanks for visiting, and please try our products if you haven't already done so.

Pierogi Business Moving Right Along... Check out Our New Menu!

Since Donna and I experimented with our Easter Food Sale back in April, things have been progressing with our Polish Food business.

When we first asked friends and co-workers to try our homemade foods, especially some off-the-wall pierogi flavors, we had know idea where this was going. And while things have been progressing at a snail's pace, they are progressing never the less!

There is a certain comfort among many people to feast on the standard potato, cheese, and sauerkraut varieties of Polish tradition, but you would be surprised at how many people are willing to experiment with such flavors as Buffalo Chicken, BBQ Chicken, Cheese Steak and even the now famous "Hoagie Pierogi."

Believe it or not, Cheese Steak and Buffalo chicken are 2 of our most popular flavors. We are adding more flavors every day. Such as: Hot Pepper Poppers, Lil' Smokies, even Chocolate and Peanut Butter & Jelly!

We have now started offering three different sizes, mini, medium and large.

There is no telling where this adventure may lead us, but we are buckled in and going for the ride. Stay tuned, and check out our new menu. Thanks!

Starting a new Polish Venture

After a trip to Poland, in 2007, my wife and I had a renewed interest in Polish food, Polish Customs and Polish traditions.

One of those traditions involves the making of pierogies.

In her family, the tradition of making pierogies at Christmas is one that goes back generations. This is a practice that I have been exposed to only for the last decade.

This annual ritual involves, mostly the women in the family, but a few of us males have participated over the last few years. The clan gathers, normally on the Sunday before Christmas, and they produce several dozen potato and sauerkraut pierogies.

A few years ago, my son-in-law and I added the Penna. Dutch variety of "Scrapple Pierogies" to the mix, just to put our own stamp on the process.

Earlier this year, we experimented with other flavors, such as cheese, mushroom, kielbasa, apple and blueberry.

What began as a whim and an experiment, has blossomed into a new business, albeit a fledgling one!

Now, as the Polish Farmers officially get off the ground, we are set to offer the Berks and Lancaster County areas of Pennsylvania more than 30 flavors of pierogies. Flavors our ancestors never would have dreamed about.

Local Polish food connoisseurs can not only enjoy the standard potato, cheese and sauerkraut varieties, but sink their teeth into such exotic and contemporary flavors such as: hoagie, cheese steak, Buffalo chicken, sweet potato, garlic potato, chili, taco and cheeseburger. Add to that dessert flavors like: peach, apple, cherry, apricot, blueberry and strawberries and cream.

The possibilities are endless, and the results are truly amazing! Check out our menu which changes monthly. Na zdrowie!

A Sad Day for Poland, but what about Russia?

This is just a short blog to remember Poland's president Lech Kaczynski.

An aging Russian airliner crashed in the fog, and, in addition to Kaczynski, many of Poland's leaders were killed Saturday.

The Polish president and dozens of other dignitaries were traveling to a ceremony commemorating a slaughter that has divided the two nations for seven decades.

It was reported that Poles wept before their televisions, lowered flags to half-staff and taped black ribbons in their windows after hearing that President Lech Kaczynski and the upper echelons of the establishment lay dead in woods a short drive from the site of the Katyn forest massacre, where 22,000 Polish officers were killed by Soviet secret police in one of Poland's greatest national traumas.

According to one source, chunks of the plane were scattered widely amid leafless trees and small fires in woods shrouded with fog. A tail fin with the red and white national colors of Poland stuck up from the smoking debris. Early indications pointed to pilot error in heavy fog as a factor in the crash, officials said.

On board were the national bank president, deputy foreign minister, army chaplain, head of the National Security Office, deputy parliament speaker, Olympic Committee head, civil rights commissioner and at least two presidential aides and three lawmakers, the Polish foreign ministry said. Kaczynski's wife, Maria, also died.

"This is unbelievable — this tragic, cursed Katyn," Kaczynski's predecessor, Aleksander Kwasniewski, said on TVN24 television.

It is "a cursed place, horrible symbolism," he said. "It's hard to believe. You get chills down your spine."

The deceased president also had a twin brother, former Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski. He was said to be headed to the area in a chartered plane along with party members.

Television showed Jaroslaw kneeling and praying at the crash site. Tusk, joined by Putin, placed a wreath at the site and knelt. When he stood up, Putin hugged him.

Some on board were relatives of the officers slain in the Katyn massacre. Also among the victims was Anna Walentynowicz, whose firing in August 1980 from the Lenin Shipyards in Gdansk sparked a workers' strike that spurred the eventual creation of the Solidarity freedom movement.

"This is a great tragedy, a great shock to us all," former president and Solidarity leader Lech Walesa said.

Polish Parliament Speaker Bronislaw Komorowski, who became acting president, addressed his country on television: "Poland is in mourning, we have suffered a dramatically painful loss."

He said he would announce early elections within 14 days of the president's death, in line with the constitution. The vote must be held within another 60 days.

While at this point, the only humane thing to do, is to mourn this tragic loss for the country, and pray for the victims and their loved ones.

However, don't be surprised to hear whispers that the Russian KGB is alive and well, and this plane crash was more than an accident. After all, it is no secret that Kaczynski favored the USA's plans to build a missile site in Poland. The project was greatly opposed by the Russians. Conspiracy theorists are free to draw their own conclusions.

In the meantime, we hope Poland can rebound from this tragedy, and move on.

Our trip to Poland- Day 3- Fri., Oct. 19, 2007

In the morning, once we got dressed, we went downstairs for our complimentary breakfast in the hotel dining room.
of ham, cheese, and tomatoes, as well as bread, rolls, jam and tangerines. We also had water, coffee, and tea.

We waited to meet our friend, Teresa Szalata, from Lublin, Poland. It would be our first meeting face to face.

She, and Alexander, arrived shortly after 9 AM. The hotel afforded us an opportunity to adjourn to the dining room, and the four of us exchanged pleasantries, as well as gifts we had brought for each other.

Alex assisted us in getting back to the train station, as we had decided to venture to Gdansk with Teresa. He went on his way.


After arriving by train in Gdansk, we approached the street level from the station, to find a mix of snow, sleet, rain and hail. Quickly about two inches of slush mounted on the streets and sidewalks.

This made our trek over several city blocks to some of the city's major sights, a challenging one.

Before long, it was obvious that Teresa was in dire need of some dry socks and shoes. Her feet were soaked and freezing. We found a street vendor who sold both shoes and socks, and we fitted her with new ones.

We ducked into a cafe/bakery and dined on golumpki's (filled cabbages), coffee and hot chocolate.


During our time in Gdansk, we were able to visit the churches of St. Catherine and St. Mary, and the famous King Neptune Fountain, as well as Dulgy Targ, a famous street in the old city.

We also purchased some Polish pottery from a shop that was going out of business in the next day or so. Therefore, we took advantage of some excellent savings.

At the main railway station, Teresa purchased her tickets for her passage back to Lublin. She couldn't stay any longer because she needed to be back home in time to participate in a special election that was taking place in a few days.

Donna also found some polish donuts, called "paczki"s." She hadn't seen any for years.

We caught the train back to Sopot. Teresa, however, would remain on the train beyond Sopot, as she was staying at a friend's house in the nearby town of Rumia.

Donna and I accidentally got off at the wrong station. We also must have left our umbrella on the train, as Teresa tossed it to us on the platform as the train went by.

When we discovered our error, a Polish man assisted us in purchasing tickets to get back to the proper station.

All tickets for buses and trains must be validated in a machine on the platform. In our haste, we failed to get ours validated. A ticket inspector asked to see our tickets, and we held our breath over the thought of being in trouble, but he let us pass. We were very relieved.

Once we got off the train, we walked back to our room. Later, we spent some more time walking around the town.

Finally, back at the Hotel Irena, we dined once again in the hotel restaurant. I had breaded pork chops with potatoes and sauerkraut, while Donna had roast pork. It seems you can have anything you want to eat in Poland, so long as it's pork.It was delicious and tender.



Despite the rain, sleet, snow and hail, we had accomplished what we had set out to do during our first few days in Poland. The meeting of both Alexander and Teresa made our indoctrination into the Polish culture an easier one, and with our short trip to Gdansk we knew what to expect when we would spend the upcoming weekend there on our own.

Our Trip to Poland- Day 2: October 18, 2007

As we came off the plane at Lech Walesa Airport, Gdansk, Poland, it was a fairly long line through passport control, and my wife and I were the last ones through.

Three passport agents in special booths monitored those coming through the line. We noticed that whenever one of them left their post, they were carrying a weapon in their holsters.

When we finally cleared customs, and our suitcase was the last piece of luggage on the carousel. Thank goodness we tied that bright bandanna on the handle.

Police standing nearby were also armed.

As we left the gated area, a young man stood before us with a cardboard sign that read: "Tom & Donna Schalata."

We quickly learned that his name was Alexander, and he was sent there by our friend, Teresa Szalata. He would help us get to our hotel in Sopot.

Teresa is a personal friend, and perhaps a distant relative, that I became acquainted with during my family history research. She lives in Lublin, Poland, and it was our plan to meet her for the first time upon our arrival. She would be taking the train from Lublin to Sopot. This is a journey of several hours.

After a short debate over whether to take a taxi or a bus, then train, we opted for the latter, but soon learned that the next bus was about a 30-minute wait.

We took our luggage to the cafe in the airport terminal, and waited there for the bus. However, the bus unexpectedly arrived early, and we had to scramble to get on board.

If it wasn't for Alexander, I am not sure we would have made it. Despite months of practicing my Polish, my first experience was a shaky one. In addition, the task of toting all our luggage onto the bus was also quite a chore.

The bus ride gave us our first snap shot of Poland. It was strange to see stretches of some of the most beautiful architecture you can imagine, and still, in other places, there was much more graffiti than we expected.

From the bus terminal it was a fairly long walk to the train station. We purchased our tickets to Sopot, and shortly thereafter, I was able to experience my first ride on a Polish train. The 15 to 20 minute ride was indeed a memorable experience.

We knew it was only a few blocks from the train station to our destination, Hotel Irena, but we needed to ask for directions several times. The streets were a little confusing, and Alexander was not familiar with the town.

Once we arrived at the hotel, Alexander introduced us to the desk clerk, and he was on his way. We gave the 23-year-old college student an American baseball cap before he took off for his classes.

We checked in, and Teresa called to tell us that her train was late getting in from Warsaw, and we agreed to meet at the hotel at 9 AM the following day.

It was two flights of stairs up to our room, and it was quaint and modest, but comfortable. Since there was a restaurant on the first floor, we decided to partake of our first Polish meal.

My meal consisted of fried pork cutlets with apples and horseradish sauce, while Donna dined on mushroom and potato/sauerkraut pierogies. Both meals were delicious, and were superior to anything we had ever experienced back in the states.

Following our lunch, we decided to walk to the beach and have our first look at the Baltic Sea. The day was cold and blustery, but sunny in spots.

As we walked along the beach, in an attempt to reach Sopot's famous wooden pier, I slipped and fell at one point near a concrete abutment. Later, we would discover, that I more than likely lost my cell phone during the spill.

The pier is a landmark in Sopot, and is said to be the longest such structure in Europe. We passed a Catholic nun catching some sun on a bench, there, and the sight made a remarkable photograph.

By the time we reached the end of the pier, a light rain began to fall, and we experienced two other Kodak moments. The first involved a couple feeding a flock of swans and seagulls on the beach, and the second was a brilliant rainbow over the water.

Next, on our itinerary, was a stroll on Sopot's most famous street, Ulica Monte Casino. An avenue of shops was named in honor of the heroes of the famous battle of World War II.

As we reached the end of the street, I realized that my cell phone was missing. We re-traced our steps back to the pier and the beach with no success.

After cancelling our cell phone service back at the hotel, the desk clerk suggested we go to the local post office to purchase one of the many different pre-paid phone cards that were available there. The system is quite simple. Throughout the country there are pay phones painted different colors. The phone cards match the color of pay phones for each company. Blue card, blue phone, yellow card, yellow phone. Like a scene out of a Geico commercial, so easy a caveman can do it. Swipe your card, make your call. Easy as 1-2-3.

The remainder of our evening was spent in our room getting some much need rest from our trip, and snacking on a few items we picked up on our shopping spree. Our first full day in Poland was complete.

Our Trip to Poland in 2007

In 2007, with a little larger tax refund than we had expected, my wife and I decided to take a trip to Poland. I had recently discovered that my great-grandparents, on my father's side of the family, came from the area around Lubawa and Mroczno, Poland.

After nearly six months of planning, the time had finally arrived to make the trip. I was confident in the arrangements I had made, and if everything went according to plan, it would be a trip of a lifetime on a basically a shoestring budget.

Our journey would take us to the North-central city of Gdansk, near the Baltic Sea, and our stay would include a few nights in two different Medieval castles and a palace. This would be in addition to accommodations at a couple different hotel rooms and apartments.

I kept a journal everyday on our trip. This blog will re-tell that adventure on a daily basis. Here is our story.

October 17, 2007

Well, our trip got off to a flying start. After a lunch of chicken chili at our daughter and son-in-law's home,in Wyomissing, PA, our son-in-law, Brian, and brother-in-law, Bill, drove us to the Newark Airport, and the drive was pleasant, but uneventful, thankfully!

Checking in at the airport also went smoothly, and we passed time at the Samuel Adams Brew house. A snack of chicken quesadillas and drinks held us over.

Finally, it was time to board our plane, and our journey would begin in earnest.

We were nearly an hour late, when we finally taxied down the runway on our Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) plane, but we were on our way never-the-less.

It was a long flight, but we had our own personal movie screens attached to the seats in front of us. We had a choice of about a dozen movies, music channels, news channels, etc. The flight attendants brought us warm towels occasionally. This was in Economy Class!

Trips to the restroom served double-duty to stretch our legs periodically. After a short time, we were given a full meal, which surprised us. This was complete with wine, beer, etc. (We did a lot of eating and drinking on this trip, as you may have already guessed).

Between watching movies, reading and resting, we persevered. Amazingly, breakfast was served an hour, or so, before we landed. (Here we go eating again).

It seemed like an eternity, as we received constant updates on the flight channel, which showed our flight's progress, time changes, etc.

The crew apparently made up for lost time, and we arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark at approximately 8 AM (local time). Originally, we were set to land at 7:25 AM.

This still gave us plenty of time to make our connecting flight bound for Gdansk with a 9:25 AM take-off.

Donna grabbed a bottle of water at a 7-11 convenience store at the airport, and the appearance of predominately Swedish, Scandinavian and Danish people in the airport was clearly evident. The majority of travelers were blond-haired, blue-eyed, quite good-looking, and mostly dressed with a highly contemporary flare for fashion.

A Latvia Soccer team boarded a plane at the next gate while we were waiting for our departure. It was also a new experience for us being surrounded by such a mix of people. As you picked up bits and pieces of nearby conversations, it was evident that you were surrounded by a variety of nationalities, including Polish, German, and others.

With less than 30 minutes until take-off, we boarded a bus, which carried us out to the tarmac, where we walked to our plane and climbed the metal stairs to a much smaller jet than the Airbus 330 of our first flight. Instead of eight seats across, this plane had five.

After a 40 minute flight, we approached the Lech Walesa Airport in Gdansk, Poland. The pilot reported that a light rain was falling below. Brief glimpses through the clouds made the final minutes of this flight quite exciting. We were visually getting a chance to see that this grand adventure was indeed becoming a reality.

It was kind of a reverse situation of that of our ancestors, but similar to their feelings of seeing America for the first time.

We were getting our first taste of seeing the country where it all began, for the most part, for both our families.

When our wheels touched down, we knew the moment was real, and the many months of planning was now coming to fruition.

Next, we will cover our first full day in Poland. I hope you enjoy this journey as it unfolds, as there are many remarkable experiences ahead!

Polish Food good for you or just plain good?

I have always liked Polish food, but one thing I found out, when we went to Poland, is that you can have anything you want as long as it's pork.

That may not be totally true, but that is pretty much the case wherever you go. They do have pizza, but what we found that it was pretty bad. In a few instances we found some chicken or beef, but that wasn't very common. We were surprised, given the fact that almost everybody there has at least a few chickens in the yard. Maybe they are there mainly for the eggs.

We were also surprised when we discovered "bigos" for the first time. Maybe we lived a sheltered life, but my wife and I were not really familiar with bigos until we went to Poland.

I guess it can best be described as a hunters stew. It is like a Polish version of chili or beef stew. etc. It does contain sauerkraut, cabbage and a variety of meats including kielbasa, pork, beef, etc. , and it is quite good.

Naturally, there is nothing quite like the other Polish dishes such as pierogies, halushki, and kielbasa. While most people call Polish sausage, kielbasa, the word actually means sausage in Polish.

One of our most memorable experiences in Poland was while dining in a restaurant in Lubawa. The waitress brought us some long iron forks and a plate of kielbasa that we were able to roast over the flames of the fireplace located next to our table. It was very nice.

Don't forget to take my poll and let me know your favorite Polish food! See ya later. Do widzenia!

Dzien Dobry! Welcome To Polish Heritiage and More!

If you are Polish or just love the food, you will enjoy this blog! We will cover a little bit of everything from our travels to Poland to cooking some great cultural dishes. Feel free to contribute as well.

My wife, Donna and I are both of Polish heritage. Although, I must admit, I do have some German on my mother's side of the family.

It has only been in the last five to 10 years that I have come to appreciate what it means to be Polish. My father tried to instill that in me, but you know how that goes. When you are younger you don't always appreciate that sort of thing.

When my wife and I were married in 2000, I learned what it was like to be totally immersed in the traditions of a Polish family. Things like making pierogies at Christmas, making homemade kielbasa, and other holiday rituals.

Finally, I realized what my father was trying to tell me.

A few years earlier, I began researching my family history, but most of my research was focused on my mother's side of the family. When I finally made a few breakthroughs on my father's family, I changed my focus.

My research took me to Germany in 1997, and to Poland in 2007. This blog will offer me an opportunity to share those experiences with others, who, hopefully, have a similar interest.

It is my goal to make this blog, not only entertaining and informative, but an inspiration to those who appreciate their Polish heritage. It is also my hope that others discover an appreciation that, perhaps, they did not know they had.

This blog was not born out of ego. It was born out of the desire to share information and experiences to help others.

Please stop back regularly. You'll never know where this is going. I sure don't. Do widzenia!