Polish Lullaby

Lullabies busia sang to us with English translations. Of course thay sound better in Polish.

A-a, kotki dwa (Ah-Ah, Two Little Kittens) Lullaby

A-a,
byly sobie kotki dwa.
A-a, kotki dwa,
szarobure, szarobure obydwa.

Ach, śpij, kochanie,
jesli gwiazdke z nieba chcesz - dostaniesz.
Wszystkie dzieci, nawet źle,
pogrążone są we śnie,
a ty jedna tylko nie.

A-a,
byly sobie kotki dwa.
A-a-a, kotki dwa,
szarobure, szarobure obydwa

Ach, śpij, bo wlaśnieksiężyc
ziewa i za chwilę zaśnie.
A gdy rano przyjdzie świtksięzycowi
będzie wstyd,
ze on zasnąl, a nie ty.


(English)
Ah-ah-ah,
There were once two little kittens.
Ah-ah-ah, two little kittens,
They were both grayish-brown.

Oh, sleep, my darling,
If you'd like a star from the sky
I'll give you one.
All children, even the bad ones,
Are already asleep,
Only you are not.

Ah-ah-ah,
There were once two little kittens.
Ah-ah-ah, two little kittens,
They were both grayish-brown.

Oh, sleep, becauseThe moon is yawning
and he will soon fall asleep.
And when the morning comes
He will be really ashamed,
That he fell asleep and you did not.

Kotek (Little Kitten)

Miauczy kotek "miau",
"Coś ty kotku miał?"
"Miałem ja miseczkę mleczka,
Teraz pusta jest miseczka,
A jeszcze bym chciał,
A jeszcze bym chciał".

Wzdycha kotek: "O",
"Co ci kotku, co?"
"Śniła mi się wielka rzeka,
Wielka rzeka pełna mleka,
Aż po samo dno".

Pisnął kotek "pii",
"Spij koteczku, spij",
Stulił ogon żmrozył żlipie,
Spi i we snie mleczko chlipie,
Bo znów mu się śni,
Bo znów mu się śni ".

Little Kitten
(English)

Little kitten says "miau."
"What did you want, little kitten?"
"I had a bowl of milk,
Now the bowl is empty,
And I would like some more,
And I would like some more.

"Sighs little kitten: "O".
"What's the matter little kitten?"
"I dreamt of a huge river,
Huge river full of milk,
All the way to the bottom.

"Little kitten says: "Pii".
"Sleep little kitten sleep.
"He tucked in his tail
Closed his eyes and sleeps.
And in his sleep he drinks the milk.
In his sleep he drinks the milk.


Uczekaj myszka do dzury

Uczekaj myszka do dzury,
bo ci tam zlapie kot bury.
A, jak ci zlapie kot bury
on ci zadrapie ze skury!

Wlas kotek na plotek i mruga
Ladna ta piosenka, nie dluga.
Nie dluga, nie krutka
a w sam raz.
I (Julia, or Dania) zaszpiewam jescie raz;

Uczekaj myszka do dzury,
bo ci tam zlapie kot bury.
A, jak ci zlapie kot bury
on ci zadrapie ze skury!

Run away, little mouse, to a hole.
Because a brown cat will catch you.
And when the brown cat catches you
He'll scratch you out of your skin.

The cat climbed onto the fence and meows;
a pretty song, not a long one.
Not a long one, not a short one,
but just right.
And I'll sing it for (Julia, or Dania) one more time....

Run away, little mouse, to a hole.
Because a brown cat will catch you.
And when the brown cat catches you
He'll scratch you out of your skin.

And again and again, because babies love that. And they hear their name sung in a song by their grandmother. So sweet! (Kind of morbid, but nice.)

From Janet Gawle Hostess of Melodies of Poland

Polish Lasagna

Ever hear about a dish sometimes called Polish Lasagna? While most Polish-Americans can easily come up with the three mainstays kielbasa, pierogi and gołąbki, literally hundreds of other dishes reside in the Polska Kuchina repertoire.

Just about every family has at least one person who is handy in the kitchen. So, why not purchase a Polish cookbook this Christmas for somebody who loves you and will keep you well fed?

Back to Polish Lasagna:

From Wikipedia: Łazanki arrived in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in mid-16th century when Bona Sforza, Italian wife of King Sigismund the Old, brought high Italian cuisine to the country. Unlike most Italian dishes in these parts of Europe, lazanki has survived until the 21st century and is still eaten today, although the long and cultural history of the dish has been largely forgotten. Stiff wheat, rye or buckwheat dough, rolled thin and cut into triangles or rectangles, is boiled, drained, and eaten with melted pork fat, vegetable oil, or sour cream. In Poland, they are often mixed with cabbage or sauerkraut and small bits of sausage and meat.

Components

Home made noodles

300 g flour
2 small eggs
about 30-50 ml water
half of the spoon of salt

Preparation:
Sieve the flour. Mix flour with eggs, salt and water in the bowl. Made a dough with hands until firm. Make sure it is not too sticky and not too dry. Divide into 2-4 parts and roll each piece into a thin sheet on a floured board. Leave on the clean towel sprinkled with flour until the dough would dry out a bit. After the thin pieces are dried roll it and cut with the knife into the pieces the size of lasagna noodles. Pour into the boiled salted water and cook until soft.

Instead of preparing the home-made noodles you can buy lasagna noodles or homemade style wide noodles. But - the noodles made at home are the best!

Lasagna cabbage

bacon - 100g
onion - 70 g
one medium or small cabbage
cumin, salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Cut the bacon into slices and pour into the hot pan. Add onion sliced into small cubes. Wash and cut fresh green cabbage into the slices of the width a bit wider than lasagna noodles. Add cabbage into the pan with melted bacon and onion, add some water. Steam in the open pot, add cumin, pepper and salt. Finally add the cooked pasta, mix it well - now lazanki are ready to eat

SMACZNEGO Similar recipes are published in a book written by Marja Ochorowicz-Monatowa, entitled Polish Cookery.

Now, here’s my version of Polish Lasagna Cleveland style:

Kluski noodles the size of regular lasagna noodles layered between layers of pierogi cheese mixed with chopped kielbasa & dry kapusta in a tomato sauce base containing mushrooms. Maybe you'll throw in ground pork which was browned in a fry pan with onion bits. I would crust the top with rye bread crumbs and cheese before baking in the oven. This dish I would call it LazanPolska.

Soft Dollar - Hard Złoty

During three months, Poland lost over 10bn zloty out of 67.7bn euro of EU subsidies that it will receive in 2007-2013. The strengthening zloty is to blame – in August, 1 euro cost about 3.8 zloty; now – 3.63 zloty.

If the new government does not decide to reform the economy, experts predict a further rise of the value of zloty against the euro. Until the end of 2008, Poles may only pay 3.4 zloty for 1 euro, which means that with the same money from the EU, the country will be able to finance fewer projects.

On the other hand, a strong zloty is a sign of investors' trust and of a good economic situation. What is more, Poland has to pay a smaller contribution into the EU budget.

Economists say that the solution to the problem could be entering into the Eurozone, which, according to prognoses, could happen as soon as 2012.

Source: Polskie Radio

Day Care

There is such a strong need to fill jobs in Poland every private company in Poland will be able to claim public money if they open a small day care center for its employees' children, in a government initiative to get mothers back into the workplace.

Civic Platform Party now controlling the government intends to encourage employers to open daycare nurseries receiving a sum of money appropriate to the number of places in the day care center from the local government.

Secular creep?

The strong position of the Catholic Church in Poland is not under threat, writes Miroslaw Czech, adding that the election victory of the liberal-conservativ e Civic Platform (PO) won't change this. "For the Church, the PO government and its wide support among the country's younger generation holds out the prospect that Poland won't share the fate of other Catholic countries like Spain or Ireland, where the
process of secularisation has been particularly rapid.

Under the PO government, Poland will remain 'forever loyal' to Christ and the Vatican for a long time to come. Poland is not joining the European trend of secularisation and the renunciation of the fundamentals of Catholic ethics. Over the coming years, there will be no major shake-ups. Life will continue at a comfortable pace with baptisms, first communions, weddings and funerals."

Source: Gazeta Wyborcza

Half are driving

Only 1 in 2 Poles uses a automobile.

The better educated a person is, the more likely it is for them to own a car. Drivers with primary school education amount to only 21% of the driver population, whereas the percentage for higher education drivers is 65%.

One in four Polish cars still belong to their first owner who purchased the brand new car from a dealer. The rest have had at least two owners.

Males out number female drivers -- 57 to 42%.

My favorite Polish Rock Diva Ewa Sonnet can take me for a ride, anytime. Her BMW comes with air bags as well as strong belts.

End of Draft coming

Polish Radio reported the Polish military should end its obligatory military service for young men and set up fully professional armed forces by 2013.

Poland's will launch a campaign to lure young people to the army that would be made up entirely of professional soldiers. The outgoing Defense Minister Aleksander Szczyglo said soldiers specially trained for recruiting will be sent across Poland to promote the military profession and attract young men and women with passion for the army.

To support its campaign monthly salaries will be elevated in January to be followed by another raise later in 2008.

Tusk to PM chair

President Lech Kaczynski will designate the Civic Platform leader Donald Tusk prime minister before the end of this week. Kaminski said that the President wants to meet with the leaders of all parliamentary groupings on Tuesday. Tusk will be the first with whom the president intends to consult. Lech Kaczynski will present his comments on the most important, strategic issues for the state, on Polish foreign policy. The President and the Prime Minister are constitutionally obliged to cooperate on foreign policy issues. In line with his earlier suggestions, the President will inform Donald Tusk about his doubts as to the candidacy of former defense minister Radoslaw Sikorski for the post of foreign minister.