Snapshots. Latvija 2015
by
Liva
·
September 10, 2015
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A field of wheat in Zemgale, Latvia
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Bakery Rigensis in Vecrīga. This place was hard to leave; fresh pastries and huge pots of tea, just the thing you need after hours of sightseeing
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Typical Latvian school/bistro lunch. Potatoes with chicken a la French (chicken breast with mayo, tomato and cheese), white sauce, cucumber and radish salad and kefirs. All this would set you back around 3 euro.
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Mini pirāgi are sold in almost every coner shop, supermarket and petrol station
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A glass of kvass (bread based drink). More than 25 years ago tank trailers full with this refreshing drink would be parked up near the apartment blocks in every suburb and people would line up with their 3 litre jars to get them filled. It may be the lack of any other soft drinks around in those days, but, personally, kvass tasted much better, richer and smoother when I was five. You still can get your containers filled at markets or an odd tank trailer.
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Sauerkraut juice. I came across this in Cash and Carry type place and found it rather funny. Turns out there is also a Latvian made version of this “drink” that can be found in most supermarkets. It is a common knowledge in Latvia that sauerkraut juice helps to cure hangover. Bottoms up!
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Latvians will understand… (“Latvian genes will make you look for mushrooms”; it rhymes nicely in Latvian)
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Chanterelles (gailenes), hand picked or picked up at the markets, either way they are delicious
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Chanterelle sauce, made with bits of bacon, chopped onion and cream, served with soft boiled potatoes, or just eaten straight from the pan (guilty on that one). Not many meals can be as simple and satisfying as this dish
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Gauja near Turaida
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Grobiņa, on the way to Liepāja
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Anthill
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Into the woods
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Wild strawberries (meža zemenes)
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Bilberries (mellenes), not to be mixed with blueberries :)
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More bilberries. Simplest desert in the world is bowl of bilberries, couple spoons of sugar, topped with milk.
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Wild strawberries
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My grandparents backyard veggie patch. They grow lettuce, strawberries, peas, beans, cucumbers, carrots, beats, onions, garlic, tomatoes, marrow and many other things.
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Tomatoes in a greenhouse
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Gooseberries (ērkšķogas)
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More gooseberries, very common in gardens
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Blackcurrants (upenes)
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Dill and calendula
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Lettuce, onions and carrots
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White clover (baltais āboliņš). Latvian veggie patch would usually include flowers and herbs, just for their beauty
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Garlic (ķiploki)
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White currants (baltās jāņogas). They are less common than red currants, that usually are preserved as jelly or compote
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Sweet cherries (saldie ķirši), this variety is known as čerešņa, meaty, sweet and juicy
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Rasberries (avenes). Words cannot express how much I miss them
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Poppy field in Dobele
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Daisies (margrietiņas)
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Yarrow (pelašķis), one of the most common herbal remedies. It is believed that yarrow cures any illness due to its blood cleansing properties. Yarrow tea is recommended to relieve colds and cough or to settle upset stomach.
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Hazelnuts (lazdu rieksti)
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Grobiņa, on the way to Liepāja
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Latvian bee, hard at work
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Young oak tree (ozols)
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Nārbuļi, very common ground cover in forests
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Country house and its trusted guardian
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Every country house and many houses in the city would have a basement to store all the homegrown goodies. This basement is in the process of restoration as it is more than 100 years old.
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Stork (stārķis) in a meadow
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Rye (rudzi)
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Wheat (kvieši)
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Barley (mieži)
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Riga Central markets (Centrāltirgus), view from the St. Peter’s church
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Central market pavilions used to be zeppelin hangars in 1930. They are part of UNESCO heritage listed Vecrīga and attract a lot of visitors
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Catfish (sams)
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Smoked fish in fish pavilion
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Dried fish
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Fresh salmon and trout
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Quark, cheese and butter (biespiens, siers un sviests) in the dairy pavilion
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Biezpiens
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Half of a smoked chicken. When I was growing up, smoked chicken was reserved for special occasions; it still has an aura of greatness in my eyes. And Latvians love all things smoked
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Grey peas (pelēkie zirņi) and bacon, usually named as the “most traditional” Latvian dish
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Latvian pickled cucumber (mazsālīti gurķi) with dill and garlic
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Best ice cream shakes in the world; just plum juice and vanilla ice cream
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Latvian pastries, my favourites always have been poppy seed buns with chocolate (recipe will be up here soon!)
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A special piece of my family history. My great great grandfather, Kristaps Freimanis, owned a pasta and coffee factory in Riga. This is the original packaging that was used for his egg pasta.
Your Latvian holiday pics are lovely
Great photos – thanks for sharing
Fantastiskas bildes… Garshigi!!!
Paldies.
Great shots…I was there on 5-12 September!