Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Garage Sale Gals


Polish sample platter from Polonez

Chrusciki, Traditional Polish dessert

Mom and dad enjoying dessert

My new smoothie maker!

On Friday morning, my mom and I hit the road for one of our favorite mother-daughter activity, garage saleing. We came back with a car load of goodies, so I’d say we had decent luck. I found several new records (Tom Petty’s “Damn the Torpedoes”, Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger,” etc.), a framed vintage poster, and a Rival drink mixer, which I have already used every morning since to make fruit smoothies. Instead of using my food processor, which requires hand washing of many separate components, I can now simply whip up a smoothie with my trusty two-speed hand blender.

After a day of non-stop shopping, we drove downtown for Polish Fest, which prides itself as America’s largest Polish fest, held at the Henry W. Maier Festival Park on Milwaukee’s lakefront. There we enjoyed plenty of polka music and dancing, authentic Polish foods and crafts, and of course, excellent people watching.

Our favorite Polish dishes were from a booth sponsored by Milwaukee’s famed Polish restaurant, Polonez. We enjoyed a sample platter with polish sausage, potato pancakes, and meat and cheese pierogies, as well as a dessert called chrusciki, which is a delicious deep-fried, jelly-filled pastry.

The next morning, fueled by Polish grease, my dad and I ran our traditional lakefront course, from Brookfield to the downtown lakefront (~10 miles). My dad was tearing it up, and I think we were at record pace despite the heat. I always cherish having the opportunity to share my passion for running with my dad.

Later that day, we celebrated our victorious run with custard from Kopp’s (best in the world). I enjoyed two heaping scoops of Cookies and Cream in a waffle cone. The thing was bigger than my head, causing many stares and comments, and I’m happy to report I finished strong.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yum, Kopps i might have to make a pit stop on the way up to the lake. Poppy still has a bowl every night, I guess that is the joy of turning 90. If you are going to be in Milwaukee for the 4th we are going to be up at Crystal. It will be the Soupe family and the Smoge family (Aunt Lee, David, Derek, and Joy). It is only about 45 minutes north of Milwaukee so let me know if you are interested.