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Polacky potatoes from Poland By Jeff Cheek America has been blest by geography. We won our freedom in 1781, then stumbled toward nationhood for eight years as 13 weak states before adopting a national constitution with a strong central government. We were protected by the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, on our west and east. To the north and south, we bordered powerless British and Spanish colonies in Canada and Mexico. Geography protected us. Poland is a victim of geography. The name Poland reinforces this, coming from the Slavic Polanian tribes who settled there. Their name means "dwellers of the plains;" an apt description of the topography of their homeland. Poland has few natural barriers on eastern and western frontiers. Two aggressive, expansionist neighbors, Prussia (Germany) and Russia sat on their western and eastern borders, respectively. Each nipped off Polish territory in 1772 and 1793. The last partitioning was in 1795. The Polish nation ceased to exist. It was not reborn until 1918, at the end of World War I. For 123 years, Polish nationalism was ruthlessly suppressed by their Russian and German masters. This time, the Polish state lasted only 21 years. History repeated itself in 1939. Hitler and Stalin made a secret treaty to again partition Poland. Russia was awarded 68,000 square miles of eastern Poland in return for its pledge of neutrality. Germany invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939. The Poles fought bravely, but valiant Polish cavalry was no match for Nazi tanks. It was over in a month. The Polish nation again disappeared, to be reborn in 1945. They ceded the 68,000 square miles to Russia, but this time the Germans had to pay. Poland was compensated with 40,000 square miles of German territory. Ethnically the new state is 98 percent Polish with a land area of 120,728 square miles or about the same size as New Mexico. Even when their nation was eclipsed Polish genius flowered in other countries. Composer Frederic Chopin was Polish but lived in France. So did Madam Marie Curie, who won the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of radium. And Poland is proud of another native son, Pope John Paul II. When he was selected as the leader of the Catholic Church, he became the first non-Italian Pope in 456 years. The Poles adopted Christianity in the 10th Century and the country is more than 95 percent Catholic. Father Konarski was a Jesuit priest who pastored a small church outside Warsaw in 1770, before the first partition. It was a poor parish with only farmers and herdsmen in his flock. Father Konarski served their spiritual needs and educated their children, but he wanted to do more. Meat was forbidden during Lent, so he set out to create a festive dish for the Lenten Season that utilized material they could grow themselves. I was skeptical until I tested it but his Polacky Potatoes are delicious. The cloves give the dish an exotic, festive taste especially when I served it with a slice of another Polish delicacy, Polish ham. I think you will like it. INGREDIENTS: 3 cups mashed potatoes 1 cup chopped canned beets 1 large onion, peeled 5 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon ground cloves PREPARATION: Wash and boil enough potatoes to make three cups. Peel outer leaves off onion, boil with potatoes. When potatoes are done, peel off skins and mash with butter. Add salt and pepper if desired. Chop and mash the boiled onion with the canned beets, add a little beet juice if you need more moisture. Stir in ground cloves then mix with potatoes. The mixture will be dark red with flecks of white from the onion. Serve warm. Jeff Cheek lives in Medford LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -