I just got this Letter from my sister in law, who taught in Lithuania:

Ed,

can you do me a favour??and stop perpetuating crimes committed by my family! after having lived in Lithuania and studying the language and food, i learned some grave errors my family was making … one is that there is no such thing as KUGALA.. doesn’t exist.. it’s called KUGELIS you can check this site to confirm spelling www.lfcc.lt/publ/kita/recipes.html and there is also no word as METAKOLOTCHKI, meta comes from the word meat in russian, and klotchky comes from a type of cookie in polish (well american-polish because i asked my polish friend and she’s never heard the word either) the real name of the dumplings is Ausytes (pronounced OWSHITAS) and then you add the word for mushroom, meat or potatoes whatever the ingredients.. Austyes-Grubys are mushroom dumplings..Ausytes-Mesa are meat dumplings..

And the worst crime ever is to refer to a lithuanian as a LUGAN, it’s the same as calling a pole, a polack, a jewish person a jew, an Italian, an Itie, a german a kraut.. etc. I think you get the point.. they used the term on the southside of Chicago as a derogeratory term..

i will be eternally grateful if you help me to correct these oh-so-common errors..and you showed that recipe of the KUGALA from that book, mind you the woman admitted she was the American wife of a Lithuanian decendent..

Labai Aciu,

Teri

heheh

Sorry.. I apologise.

However, allow me to be the apologist for the way that we HAVE been doing it.. 🙂

Yes, Your father told me that there is no such thing as “metakolatchki” (click here for unedited section where Ann says “Well that’s just the Sideikas bastardized version of it”)

A kolatchki is just a polish cookie, and I like differentiating from it. But thanks for confirming the etymology for me! (Click here for me saying “meat cookie”) I like the sound of it.

And, I looked up “Lugan” before I used it, and saw that it was an insult… But I like the sound of it too!! Actually, there is a web site called ““Lugan-Girl.com” that is a like a bride finding service… Sort of shlocky, I know. But when people are able to refer to themselves as a derogaory name, it is no longer derogitory, no? At least coming from themselves. Poles, Jews, Germans call themselves by those names all the time. Feel free to call me a “Kraut” any time you get the urge. (Besides, my whole comment was a bit of a slam, doncha think? As if a “Proper Lugan Girl”‘s place is in the kitchen..)

And finally, as far as kugalis goes… Did you know I have paperwork that shows your family spelled your own name SEVEN, count ’em, 7 different ways? 7 different spellings of “Sideikas”. Surely its not that large of a sin to call it kugala.

🙂

Please, how about a deal. Can we keep Metakolatchki and Lugan? And I will make every effort to make sure everyone calls it Kugelis from now on, and that they know metakolatchki is sideikasese for “meat cookie”! “Ausytes-Mesa” just doesnt have the ring… but I will try to remember it all the same.

Deal?

Posted on 27 November '04 by , under Uncategorized.