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Seaford u3a News
In December the usual and very popular coffee morning will be replaced by a special Christmas Tea. This will be on Wednesday 15th December from 3pm to 5pm at the Constitutional Club, Crouch Lane, Seaford. Christmas music will be played on handbells and by the u3a recorder group. As usual it will be open to both members and non-members. The afternoon will be free and some seasonal snacks will be served. There may have to be some limitation on numbers if the event is over-subscribed.
Not to be outdone at the Christmas table, one member with Polish ancestry led three Polish vegetarian/vegan cooking sessions for members to experience and enjoy in her small kitchen. Due to demand, the course was repeated several times. At the finish each time, participants sat down to a tasting lunch, consisting of food just demonstrated and cooked. Here are some examples of what was on offer: It started with Borsch, spelt Barszcz in Polish, a traditional soup eaten all year round, but especially at the table on Christmas Eve. There are many versions of this soup and three types were tasted. The Christmas Eve version is a clear Barszcz which can be drunk from a heatproof glass as a starter to the meal. A delicate stock of carrots, charred onion and prunes is the base. A spoonful of all spice is added, as well as salt and pepper (all spice is called the ‘English herb’ in Polish and is a popular addition to sweet and savoury dishes). Next sliced raw beetroot – the star of the dish – is added; lots of beetroot is necessary, three bunches for 4 litres of water. Twenty minutes before serving, apple slices are floated and simmered on the jewelled red soup to sweeten it. To serve, all the vegetables are taken out, (you have a ready-made beetroot salad with these). The soup is clear and it is accompanied by small pierogi dumplings at Christmas time.
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The Polish Christmas Eve meal consists of twelve dishes to represent the twelve Apostles. There is no meat, but lots of fish. A young carp with soft bones is favoured. Pierogi dumplings are served with the hot Barszcz described above and as a separate dish. There are lots of fillings for Pierogi. Members tried several
varieties, accompanied by a shot of vodka (optional!) to aid digestion.
The final session of the course was based on sweet bakes. A shortcake with milled blue poppy seed filling was baked and eaten, and ‘Chrusty’, sweet pastry shapes, were fried, dusted with icing sugar and sampled. Last of all on the sweet day members indulged in a slice of baked cheesecake made with Polish cheese.
In the New Year there will be sessions on East European cakes. All members of u3a are welcome to join. For more information about Seaford u3a see the website www.u3asites.org.uk/seaford.To find out about membership email seafordu3a@gmail.com sending your postal address for a welcome pack.
Photos from left clockwise: Beetroot soup with cream; pierogi dumplings with a sauerkraut and mushroom filling; baked cheesecake.
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