My Story
Who am I, what is my philosophy and what is trahana?
About me
I am Temenuga Mateva.. I am one of the weird-thinking people, I do things that are incomprehensible to most people. I don't buy anything that I can't grow or produce, I grow plants and I love them like my children, I prepare organic food for my family and I have a crazy mindset. I don't like shopping and it's not relaxation for me in quotes... I am definitely crazy-thinking, because I listen to the opinions of old people, and steal experience from them, and do as they did. Yes, that's me. Temenuga Mateva... Crazy-thinking, so that she can do trahana, because she knows it from her grandmother and she, that is, I "am already a grandmother" I put that in quotes, it doesn't make me normal, but even more crazy. But I am happily crazy, because I remember everything, this from my grandparents and I will pass it on to my grandson consistently... crazy thinking, is the definition maybe, but that's me!...
We seem to be disappearing from all the crazy people..
My philosophy
I think life can be much simpler, the earth can give us everything. And what we can cook is much cleaner and with a much richer taste. That's why we need to restore the connection with the elderly, with the earth!
About Trahana
In response to " what is Trahana ".....Trahana originates from Persia and is found in Southeast Europe and the Middle East. Generally speaking, it is a dough food mixed with kvass. As a result of its lactic acid fermentation, it has a specific aroma and slightly sour taste. Two main types are known - white and red. In the white one, yogurt is added, and in the red one - a mixture of vegetables and fruits (peppers, tomatoes, quinces, etc.). Trahana is an ingenious way to preserve useful nutrients from fruits, vegetables, yogurt through fermentation. Since its preparation does not include heat treatment, trahana can be called a "living food", rich in lactic acid bacteria. Traditionally, it is prepared in the summer, when the harvest has passed, when there is good fresh wheat and strong sun to dry it well.
Today, trahana is little known, although only a few decades ago it was prepared in many places in Strandzha, Sakar, and the Rhodope Mountains. Various trahana dishes were also made daily in the southern village of Plevun, where as a child Temenuzhka Mateva often hung around her grandmother's apron. Years later, at first timidly, for sentimental reasons, Temenuzhka decided to resume the tradition and became its keeper.
"Trakhana was breakfast in the morning for the whole winter, but grandma would also add it to every already-prepared dish, and when it cooled down, she would sprinkle it on top. Now I understand that she did it to "strengthen" the food, but also to preserve the probiotic properties of the trahana. For example, she would put a little on yogurt, we would chop it up and eat it. She would sprinkle it on ready-made beans, already cooled down! People once knew and could do so much!".
Temenuzhka's trahana is specific - she does not add yogurt, fruits, or vegetables to it.
To make yeast, she soaks hops, bebredzhe, corn, chickpeas, lentils, and after the water "boils" and the ingredients float to the surface, she strains it and adds spelt and rye flour until the mixture becomes thick like boza. The yeast made in this way is left to ferment. "I prefer rye flour because rye is a crop that does not tolerate weeds... and it is clean when sprayed," says Temenuzhka, for whom the most important thing is not to use chemicals in food production.
The other ingredient of the trahana is spelt bulgur, ground on a chromel. After the dough is kneaded (from the ground bulgur, yeast and spelt flour) it is left to rise for another 2-3 days in a warm place. “How it smells while it rises… of yeast, of deliciousness!” , smiles Temenuzhka.
Finally, the leavened dough is rubbed through a darmon (something like a large sieve with large holes) and the resulting grains are dried well in the sun.
According to Temenuzhka, once upon a time, the devil was a protection against hunger. Today, it is a protection against memory loss.
"I started making trahana when I had a grandchild. I thought that now that I'm a grandmother, it's time to pass on to my children what I remember from mine. For two or three years, I tried to recreate trahana the way I remember it. Using my memories and intuition, I managed to make it exactly like my grandmother's! The trahana I make can be used to ferment milk and also to "catch" bread yeast."
Once upon a time, trahana was made in every village in the region, but it had a different composition depending on what was produced in the specific place. In the village of Svirachi, for example, there are more vegetables, and that is why they put vegetables in the trahana there. In the village of Kobilino, where the soil is rocky and the main livelihood was sheep farming, it was made with yogurt. In the village of Plevun, where the soil is acidic and is most suitable for cereals and sesame, bulgur was put in the trahana, and it was often then consumed with tahini. In Plevun, it is often cooked with bulgur. For example, zelnik with wild cabbage (a mixture of young field herbs) is also made with bulgur. Everything is connected!
Temenuzhka is trying to promote the product, but she still faces a number of difficulties related to Bulgarian regulations related to food consumption and preparation. However, she is not giving up.
Because of her activity in the revival and preservation of old foods inherited from our ancestors, she received support from Slow Food in Bulgaria to create a local community in the Ivaylovgrad region, through which she could promote the traditions of her native land. Her trahana received the “Sunflower” sign. To arouse interest in her product, Temenuzhka developed the Facebook page “Traditions preserved over time - clean food for us and our children!”. Recently, many people who have tried her trahana have expressed a desire to learn how to make it. For them, Temenuzhka organized a Noshtvi school together with Slow Food on site, in the village of Zhelezari. Gradually, this could also become a specific tourist product of the Slow Food Travel network.
