What didn’t I eat in Romania is more to the point.
Boletus mushrooms, fresh from the forest.
Romanians love nothing more than to feed you. And because they are really, truly hurt if you refuse to partake (and will serve you a robust helping anyhow)…
Homemade polenta… really low-cal!
I stepped up to the plate and ended up eating my weight in potatoes, sheep cheese, goat cheese, salt cheese…
Sheep cheese — very salty & yummy!
onions, cucumbers… 
tomatoes, salad…
Greek(ish) salad, served at every meal.
bread, toast, bruschetta…
Almost every restaurant has homemade delicious bread.
…cake, dumplings, strudel…
Chifle – a beautiful little walnut pastry I got to know well.
croissants, donuts…
honey, more cheese, more potatoes, sour cherry jam…
..and lots of plum brandy in various strengths and portions.
Weak or wake-up-the-dead strong, homemade plum brandy (Palinca) was ubiquitously delish!
Oink!
Sarmale (cabbage rolls) with pork…. (mine were with fresh mushrooms)
The only thing I didn’t eat much of was meat because I’m a pretend vegetarian…
Beef (I think) and homemade sausages
..but that was kind of stupid because Romanian meat is exceptionally fresh and free-range as all get out.
Cliftele (meat balls of beef, pork, onion, garlic and rice)
I’m also lactose intolerant (for real) so you would think that would have put a slight damper in my epic caloric intake.
Au contraire –the only thing that meant was no ice cream (to which Romanians are addicted) and no gigantic wollops (the dollop’s overweight cousin) of sour cream, to which Romanians are also exceptionally partial.
Somlói galuska – yes, it’s Hungarian but the Romanians love it anyhow.
With all this glorious food, you would think that Romanians would be huge but they’re not (although milk-fed babies in the rural villages were kind of scary large). The women have the classic Slavic beauty, the men do a lot of physical exercise, and the people love to be outside—walking, picnicking, farming, gardening, and strolling around village squares.
Weekend evening in beautiful Brasov square.
It was a delicious experience eating Romanian and being treated to mad generous hospitality in every household…
My pal and fellow traveler Laura Voisinet & Maria who made us a beautiful lunch in Aschileu.
(and the Ursus beer wasn’t too shabby, either!)
Noroc!! (And I am so hungry now, I can’t even tell you… this post should have come with a warning!)
Heifer 12 x 12 