Even though this weekend might be the March 17 celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, my focus and attention is a Polish theme.
This month author Agata Izabela Brewer has made the trek from north to south, including stops in Niles, Illinois March 6 and Valparaiso on March 7 to promote her memoir, “The Hunger Book: A Memoir from Communist Poland” (2023 Ohio State University Press $24.95).
Now a resident of Crawfordsville, Indiana, Agata is the winner of the 2022 Gournay Prize. Friend Ann Scamerhorn, who coordinates the publicity for The Polish-American Cultural Society of Northwest Indiana, arranged for Agata’s local book reading and signing March 7 event at the Barnes and Noble in Valparaiso.
The 240-page memoir shares the author’s experiences growing up behind the Iron Curtain, exploring topics such as intergenerational trauma and the complexities of maternal love, including details of her mother’s battle with alcoholism.
Given the extreme experiences and circumstances of the author’s personal journey, the book contains mature language and adult situations not appropriate for young or sensitive readers.
Agata was born and raised in Poland. Now, at 47, she is a teacher, mother, immigrant rights activist, Court Appointed Special Advocate and English professor at Wabash College.
Though she has written and published academic books, “The Hunger Book” is her first creative nonfiction book.
Her Niles book event was presented in partnership with the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago. The presentation was accompanied by the English-language exhibition “No Bread Without Freedom,” which consisted of 12 panels prepared for the Polish Embassy in Washington regarding aid transferred from the USA to communist Poland in cooperation with the American Trade Unions with Solidarity.
Agata and Ann appeared as afternoon guests on my March 7 WJOB 1230 AM radio show broadcast from our studio in Hammond to alert listeners and viewers to attend her book event.
Agata described her desperate days of youth in Poland and the shortage of food and supplies, recounting how her mother would stand in line to purchase toothpaste and how it wasn’t uncommon for households to eat sparrows.
“Sparrows like to nest in the eaves of barns, and the way to catch them is at dusk,” Agata said.
“By adults making noise by banging a pot or pan and then quickly lighting the flame of a torch, the brightness of the flame momentarily blinds them, and the loud sound of the clanging causes confusion and disorientation for the small birds and they fly downwards to hit the ground, and children with bags can quickly gather them and toss them in cloth bags to be boiled and eaten.”
The cover of Agata’s book displays a large spotted, poisonous mushroom depicted as being plucked from under the soil by a sinister claw-like hand. She said it is a symbolic illustration and in contrast to the many wonderful passages inside the book about her love of mushrooms and hunting and drying the fungi.
Each of Agata’s book chapters ends with a recipe. One of my favorites is a delicious “Old Country” recipe for solidified bacon drippings, termed “smalec,” which is thick, flavorful and sumptuous when slathered on a piece of hearty rye bread. While my dad Chester, 94, grew up eating it, I first encountered it while out to eat along Archer Avenue on Chicago’s southeast side, near my Auntie Judy and Uncle Joey’s home on Kedvale Street.
A dining destination for 11 years, Szalas, 5214 South Archer Ave, closed in 2005. Over the years, I shared meals with my parents, family, friends and colleagues like fellow food columnist Eloise Marie Valadez of The Daily Southtown and The Times of Northwest Indiana. Designed with an exterior and interior resembling a mountain chalet, there were working waterwheels both inside and out. The dining room was filled with taxidermy animals and faux forest trees, and guests could sit in full-size sleighs converted to cozy dining tables. A bell on a rope had to be rung before being admitted for entrance behind the massive wooden front doors.
Each meal began with a wooden bowl of the shiny cold lard spread I described earlier.
When I think of this popular Polish lard spread, it reminds me of a former newsroom colleague from 20 years ago, Laura Diamond, who introduced me to the Jewish equivalent called “schmaltz.” It is rendered chicken fat, solidified and spread on bread in place of butter and is particularly favored during Passover because of tradition and the desire to keep Kosher.
“Schmaltz” has also become an adjective to describe “art or entertainment that is overly sentimental,” a term that originated from Jewish actors from the Lower East Side of New York in the 1930s who traveled to Hollywood and shared the expression with the west coast.
More recipes and information about Agata’s book are found at www.agatabrewer.com.
Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa @comhs.org or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, Ind. 46374.
Agatas’s “Smalec” Bacon Drippings Spread
Makes 4 servings
3 cups pork fat, rendered
10 slices of bacon, diced
1 large onion
1/2 sour apple, shredded
Salt and pepper to taste
Marjoram to taste
Allspice to taste
Directions:
1. Heat two tablespoons of rendered pork fat and all of the bacon pieces in a cast-iron skillet.
2. Add diced onion and spices and sauté to make the onion soft and golden.
3. Add the remaining pork fat and wait until heated through and well mixed. Turn off the heat. Add the apple.
4. When the spread cools off a little, pour into a jar, close and store in the fridge for up to a month. Especially delicious spread on freshly baked sourdough or dark rye bread.
