The Lunga Collection’s Story
My grandmother was born and raised on a farm in Lunga, Romania; a very small town located on the Western border. She was born in the 1920’s and when she was about 20 years old, she was taken to a Russian Gulag camp in Siberia. She was there for about 2-3 years when one day they just let everyone go. Having no idea where she was, she found her way to a friend’s home. She was able to get in contact with her family in Romania. Her younger brother came to get her soon afterward, and she said he put her right on a boat to America. They did this to keep her safe and get her out of Europe. So at the young age of 22, she immigrated to Chicago, IL. She lived with family until she got her feet on the ground. She met my grandfather at a German dance! Chicago was and still is an amazing melting pot of immigrants.
She was a symbol of extraordinary strength, love and perseverance to my sister and me. She influenced my inner-creative self as well as my love for food and travel, which I am so grateful for to this day. This collection is in honor of her.
My grandma brought many tasty and fun traditions to the U.S.A. when she immigrated here. For one, she was an extraordinary baker. For Easter, she would make something called “Lamb Cake” which is a pound cake in a lamb mold. I grew up with this tradition and as I grew older, I realized how unique it was! She baked the most delicious apple and cheese strudels around the holidays. We would eat it for dinner at least once a year. She also made a very large variety of “Christmas” Cookies. Like- way too many cookies. Cookie tins and cookie tins filled with cookies. She would give them to her dentist, hair stylist, neighbors, family and who knows who else! It was not Christmas without 2 or 3 large serving platters of cookies! I believe that these traditions were the basis of my love for travel and experiencing other cultures comes from.
Me rolling some cheese strudel the way grams taught me!
A lamb cake for Easter!
Some apple strudel my husband and I ordered when in Germany.
Our traditional “Cookie Day” where we make cookies with friends and family all day then share the wealth! Some of my grandma’s traditional “pocket books” are pictured down the middle on the top image along with my favorite growing up (not really “German” but delicious!) Chocolate Kiss Peanut Butter Cookies in both images!
