My farmstay in Hotnitsa, Bulgaria: A chance to be vegan, getting back on a bike, plus a recipe from yours truly!

“Here,” he said, handing me a pair of latex gloves. “You might need these.”

It’s my first night on the organic farm in Hotnitsa, Bulgaria, and my host Rodo is warning me of the spiciness of the chili peppers he gave me. “Seriously, don’t touch your eyes or nose after you handle them. They’re dangerous.”

Part of the farm on a foggy morning

Earlier that day, Rodo gave me a tour of the farm, stopping ever so often to pile more veggies into my arms. Green beans, zucchini, tomatoes, cabbage, onions, and the aforementioned chilies, Rodo’s specialty. Rodo, originally from France, has been in Hotnitsa since about 2008. A former investment banker, he gave up consulting and bought a homestead in a small village outside of Veliko Tarnovo. He grows strictly organic, sells his produce in markets, and does his best to give back to the land.

Average day on the farm

I met Rodo online through Workaway, an organization that connections volunteers with hosts worldwide. In exchange for food and accommodation, volunteers help hosts with specific tasks, be it farming, childcare, teaching, construction, etc. Being a Workaway volunteer adds extra depth to your travel experience- you get a chance to settle down in one place for a bit and form connections with the people you work with. Plus, it’s virtually cost free. I would not be able to travel this long if it weren’t for options like Workaway and WWOOF. I think I’ve found a good system: travel for a month or so, hunker down at a farm or the like, repeat.

Rodo picking up leaves in the center

I’ve been staying with Rodo for about two weeks. Since moving to Hotnitsa, he acquired two more farm properties- including a house next door, which he fixed up as a volunteer house. Sometimes he has as many as five volunteers staying with him. However, it’s the end of the season, so right now it’s just me. In the mornings, we work for about three and a half hours, and then he gives me the rest of the afternoon and weekends off. It’s been a more than fair schedule, and I’ve spent a lot of time relaxing, napping, and recovering from my last month of travel- or gearing up for the next month, however you’d like to look at it.

The volunteer house

We’ve been cleaning up fields from the last of the fall produce and are getting ready for winter. I’ve cut down tomato plants, shoveled manure, picked walnuts, squash, eggplant, spread compost, whatever needs to be done really. The work is meditative and the time goes by quickly. Soon I’m back in my little house, about to make lunch.

Getting busy in the kitchen 

Probably the most unique thing about this Workaway gig is the accompanying vegan lifestyle. Rodo became vegan after he was diagnosed with cancer (he’s currently in remission) and has promoted the lifestyle ever since. One stipulation for his volunteers is that they can cook and eat only vegan in the house. For me, this wasn’t a big issue. For one thing, I have my own kitchen, something I’ve been sorely missing for four months. As long as I get to cook, I’m happy. Rodo supplies all the ingredients, mostly produce from the farm but also provisions from the two tiny food markets in town. Pasta, polenta, and beans were on hand, as well as a small array of spices herbs, and dried mushrooms.

My first full day on the farm I set to work making a giant pot of polenta and a fresh tomato/dried mushroom sauce with onions and garlic. In the afternoon, I sent my mother a list of every ingredient I had in the kitchen, hoping for some ideas. It was almost like the pantry challenges I used to make for myself when trying to whittle down my stores before leaving the states. Except this time, no eggs, cheese or yogurt, no alternative milks or tofu. I didn’t cook a ton of meat at home, mostly chicken and the monthly treat of Fischer Farms bacon, so this endeavor is less difficult for me than it would be for some others, I think.

My one oily exception

In the last 14 days, I feel I’ve done fairly well. I only went through one box of pasta, instead opting to make soups and stews with plenty of beans for added protein. Rodo also doesn’t put any oils in his cooking, and I tried to follow suit, with one exception: fried green tomatoes. As soon as I saw the bright green fruit still on the vine, I knew I’d have to whip up a batch. There is an immersion blender in the kitchen, which was a lifesaver when I was making leek and potato soup or squash puree. I was thankful for the curry powder Rodo gave me, and used it liberally in to spice up vegetable dishes. Perhaps my most successful dish was made last Friday. It started out as a typical vegetable curry dish, but I was aching to add something creamy to bind it all together. At home, the answer would have been coconut milk, but instead I pureed some cooked white beans and mixed it in. The resulting dish was flavorful, creamy, and delicious. I’ll do my best to give you a recipe at the end of this post.

Furthermore, I've been very inspired by the idea of vegan/vegetarian living. I've had a lot of time to think about it, and I've resolved to go without meat and minimum dairy during the rest of my trip. It may be difficult, but I'm encouraged by the health benefits of reducing my consumption of meat/animal products, and curious of how challenging it will be as I travel. Will keep you updated on that new endeavor as I make my way through the western Balkans!

One of the bars in the village

Other than farming and cooking, I’ve made fast friends among the other expats in Hotnitsa. There are about twenty total, all English-speaking, mostly from the UK. They meet every Friday night at one of the local bars, so I’ve joined them in an effort of offset my antisocialness during the week. They’re people mostly in their forties and fifties who have moved to Bulgaria for a number of reasons: they were tired of the typical daily grind and looking for peace and/or adventure, among others. Bulgaria is a relatively easy and cheap place to resettle, so many do, and make a living through farming, construction/renovation work, hospitality and tourism, etc. It was really cool to be able to meet people who were able to make such a big leap into new lives.

The first Friday I was invited along on a weekly bike ride some of the men do on Sunday mornings, which I gladly accepted, despite the fact that I haven’t properly ridden a bike since I left Minneapolis. However, there I was on Sunday morning, cycling through the Bulgarian countryside with seven other guys. We did about 60km (40 miles), and it was killer, but I’m glad I was able to get out and see more of the country.

A brief stop on the ride

Last Monday I went with Sam, a young Brit staying in Hotnitsa over the winter, to the Hotnitsa waterfall, a popular destination for visitors. We scrambled up makeshift ladders, down rough paths, and climbed to the top of the ravine. It was quite beautiful:

And Sunday, I went out for a bike ride again, except this time with Sylvi, a woman who with her husband owns a small bed and breakfast and pottery studio. Instead of the grueling 70km of hilly terrain the guys were taking this week, we opted for a short, 30-something km ride using their tandem. It was my first time on a tandem bike, and I loved it. It was easy to talk to Sylvi while cycling, and much more fun to undertake the journey together.

So overall, this farmstay has been a very relaxing experience, with the opportunity to learn more about organic farming and vegan cooking. I’ve also appreciated the expat community here, as it’s given me a sustainable social component that is hard to find while traveling from one city to the next. Next up is another week through Bulgaria before crossing into Macedonia for the start of the next leg of my trip through the Western Balkans!

Also, quick update on rest-of-life things: I emailed Colin earlier this week to accept the house-sitting job in Romania. So ideas of how to pass my time for two months are welcome! Also, tomorrow I have a Skype interview with Trip101, which I referred to in an earlier post. I'm hoping to become a freelance travel writer with their organization. Wish me luck!

VEGAN VEGGIE CURRY

Serves 2, or one very hungry person

1 clove garlic, chopped

½ yellow onion, sliced
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder (optional)
dashes of salt and pepper
½ teaspoon chili pepper (or more!) if you like things spicy

1 cup chopped eggplant

1 cup chopped butternut squash

½ cup frozen green peas

Two handfuls of chopped spinach, kale, or chard

Any other veggies you want to throw in- mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes, etc

½ cup pureed white cannellini beans, canned or cooked ahead of time

In a large saute pan, heat a small bit of water or oil until hot. Add the chopped onions and garlic and stir until fragrance. Add the spices.

Add the harder vegetables, like carrots, squash, and eggplant. Pour in some water, mix, and cover the pan. Let cook until the veggies are soft. Add the rest of the veggies, stir, and cover for a few more minutes, until the greens have wilted.

If the vegetables are cooked and the pan still has a lot of water, uncover and cook off some of the liquid.

Mix in the white bean puree, adding more as needed, until the vegetables are coated in the sauce.

Serve with rice or chapati! I didn't have either, so I settled for rice noodles.

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