Where is Moldova, anyway?

The saying, “the best thing since sliced bread,” is not heard here in conversations for one principal reason– the bread here, is not sliced. Yes, you heard correctly, I am CURRENTLY living in a part of the world that is still in the mid-to-late pre-sliced bread era.

Bread, in Moldova, is sold fresh. Which means, unpackaged, from the factory – or unpackaged from a store that got a delivery from the factory. They must make it at least twice a week – as bread is relatively fresh, and sits out all day long. All the loaves are connected into one big long brick. Kind of like a hersheys bar looks. You can see the individual pieces of chocolate, but they are connected. You go to the store, ask for bread, they rip off a “piece” and you are on you’re way.

And ps, all the bread here is white…

Although it’s yet to become a trend, and it is hardly popular, I have seen small loaves of brownish SLICED bread in the capital, and the other big city (Balti). But on the two times that I bought such bread – my host mom criticized it as dry and tasteless (which it was).

Sandwiches, as you can imagine, are not a popular thing here. No heros, no subs, no pb&j. When Moldovan’s eat bread, (which is almost with every meal – eating a meal without a bread could be construed as a cardinal sin), they dip it. Into potatoes, into soup, into sour crème. And dipping, is okay to do with chunks. Maybe the sandwich vs sit-down-and-eat-hot-soup-and-a-large-meal-homecooked battle is more of a cultural thing... And maybe America loses this battle -- as people in Moldova still have time for lunch, for meals, and don't always have to eat-on-the go. PLUS, their bread is fresher...

Me, I do miss good, dark bread. I know fresh bread is supposed to be “better” – but yuck white bread, in my personal opinion. I do enjoy walking home and smelling the fresh bread at the factory near our house. On the day after Christmas (I will post more about Christmas once the holiday season in Moldova is over – we still have 2 more weeks), I had a turkey sandwich with some dark yummy bread (we sliced it ourselves) that we bought in my friend’s city. (oh the advantages of living in a real city in peace corps). We also had real, spicy mustard from America. It was YUMMY…. Whoever knew a sandwich could make me so happy?

Anyway, for your winter enjoyment, here is my favorite WINTER recipe from my pre-sliced bread Moldovan town. In my humble opinion, I consider this the best thing BEFORE sliced bread...

Hot Cocoa:

2 tbs cocoa (unsweetened)
2 tbs sugar (sweet!)

Add hot water. Mix. Enjoy!

Simple yes, delicious yes, and kicks-the-pants-off Swiss Mix, yes.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 30, 2007 at 9:16 AM.