A visit to a friend’s house is always a special treat no matter where you are or what day of the week it is. It is always a time to share good food and good conversation.

Our dear friends, Viorica and Mihaela live in Sebis, a town on the road to Moneasa, near the Codru-Moma Mountains. It is a pleasant town, well-known for its leather processing and products. The people are friendly and welcoming. The town is dotted with houses and many gardens (gradini), and giggling, mischievous little boys playing in the streets.

Our special table treats were two Romanian specialties: sarmale and placinta intinsa or placinta intoarsa (peasant roll). Sarmale are cabbage rolls stuffed with pork, rice, onions and spices cooked in a broth on the stovetop—a real delight. Peasant roll can be stuffed with either salty cabbage or sweet cheese, apples or nuts. We enjoyed cheese (branza), nut (nuca), apple (mere) and cabbage (varza) fillings.

The process of making peasant rolls takes a good part of a day from the kneading of the dough to stretching it very thin on a large table to filling it to shaping it and preparing it for baking. Our host had made 25 of these rolls over a seven-hour period. Traditionally, these tasty rolls are enjoyed as a meal in and of itself in the countryside – and take my word, the apple and nut ones are out of this world!

After such a wonderful meal, we took a hike into the foothills and enjoyed the spectacular views. We picked a bouquet of daisies (margarete) and smelled the fresh forest air!

Another beautiful day in Romania...
- HSR & BGR