Renew Romania

#7: We typically had dinner (and usually lunch) at the ministry center. Mama Maria whipped this up one day: sarmale. This traditional Romanian dish is a cabbage roll stuffed with ground pork. It was served with polenta, a corn based side dish that typically complements the cabbage rolls. The saltiness of the sarmale mixes nicely with the soft texture of the polenta, creating a culinary experience like NO OTHER. We quickly found that Romanians are also very fond of bread (served with almost every dish) and sour cream (used to top soups/stews; to accent the flavor of the sarmale)! We have many fond memories of our meals in the CTL ministry center: laughing, talking, trying (in vain) to help Mama Maria with the dishes (she would NOT let the guests do the cleaning up), and, of course putting such great food in our bellies!