Mizeria

April 11:  Feast Day of St. Stanislaus of Szczepanów

When we visited Bandera, Texas, during one of our weekend road trips, we stopped by the second oldest Polish parish in the United States, St. Stanislaus Catholic Church. Immigrants from Poland founded this town, which is now known as the “Cowboy Capital of the World,” in 1855. The church was built in 1876 and is recorded as a Texas Historical Landmark. The featured blog recipe for the Feast Day of St. Stanislaus, the martyred patron and first saint of Poland, is mizeria z ogórków, a simply refreshing Polish cucumber salad with a sour cream dressing.

Recipe

(Adapted from Polish Forums)

Ingredients

• 1 large cucumber
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Peel and thinly slice the cucumber. Place the slices in a colander and sprinkle with a little salt. Let stand for 30 minutes to drain the liquid. Pat the slices dry with a paper towel. In a large mixing bowl, make the dressing by combining the sour cream, dill, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper. Add the cucumber slices to the bowl and mix well. Chill the salad in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Garnish with extra dill before serving.

Notes

• Panna Maria, Texas, is the oldest Polish settlement in the United States since 1852. Panna Maria means Virgin Mary in Polish, and the immigrants built the first Polish parish in America in 1856.