haluski

I made haluski for lunch today. And actually, it's not the first time that I've made it here. I am pretty sure it's the third time or so. And I'm definitely sure it won't be the last time. For such a delicious, homey dish, it's really quite simple. And each time I make it, I can feel the Polish ancestry growing stronger in my blood.

Which brings me to my next point. Here, I don't really consider myself to be anything but American. I think about ethnicity in a different way now that I'm surrounded by such a homogeneous group of people. (Most Spaniards are, in fact, Spanish.) In the US, we differentiate between our nationalities, I think mostly to distinguish ourselves from one another - to make ourselves more individual and unique. But here, I'm unique enough. I'm just American. I get funny looks when I tell  people that I'm Irish or Polish. So I don't tell them that. Instead I say, "my ancestors were Irish." or "my family came from Poland." And really, being American is all I know. (Aside from having a grandma that makes mean pierogies and haluski.)

But either way, I'm loving the haluski. And when I share it with somebody who has never had it before, I get warm feelings of family pride. Heck yes, we can make cabbage taste that good.