<p>Very enlightened ones… My ethnic grocery store had a bound set of what looked like large shrub or tree branches with many dried leaves attached. The whole thing was about 2 feet tall, and the bundle of branch stems was a few inches around. It cost $14. When I asked what it was, I was told “special leaves” and when I pressed, the guy said they were for the sauna.</p>
<p>What the heck are they?</p>
<p>“Finnish early summer Birch leaves!
Infuse them, just like making tea, in your Sauna Bucket to enjoy the wonderful heady aroma of Finnish Birch - to the Finns it’s the very ‘Essence of Summer’” from:
[SaunaShop.com</a> : sauna accessory, sauna accessories, sauna Essence, sauna oil, aromatherapy, smells, scent, scents, aromas, duft, infusion, infusions](<a href=“SaunaShop.com”>SaunaShop.com)
Maybe you saw early birch leaves?</p>
<p>He, he, you smack your back with them :)</p>
<p>“Special leaves” - LOL! I thought it was another thread about pot :)</p>
<p>My Eastern European expert says the “bouquet” is called “venik” and it is used in Russian-style wet saunas:</p>
<p>[Downtown</a> Banya](<a href=“SBOBET88: Link Daftar SBOBET & Agen Judi Bola Terpercaya 2023”>SBOBET88: Link Daftar SBOBET & Agen Judi Bola Terpercaya 2023)</p>
<p>Did the bunch of “special leaves” look like the bunch in the middle picture?</p>
<p>thats fascinating- who knew we had so many Russians?</p>
<p>I thought maybe it was like a smudge stick</p>
<p>Bingo! It’s venik. We live in what has become a heavily Russian / Eastern European area, and also a heavily Mexican area. The grocery store nearest my house is staffed primarily by Mexicans but carries many Russian / Polish / etc. items (hence the fellow not knowing what the “special leaves” are).</p>
<p>Now I wonder where the spas are?</p>
<p>I dropped in to this grocer the other day for ravioli and they had none - but they had ‘Russian ravioli’, which were delicious but not ravioli. I bought a jar full of mushrooms that were somehow seasoned and made chicken and mushrooms with them (very good). I can’t even read the labels on many items. It is something of a treasure hunt to shop there.</p>
<p>It is truly getting to the point in my little neck of the burbs that when in public (library, walking around the retention pond nearby) I hear mostly foreign languages spoken. I often wonder if we’re unique that way.</p>
<p>The “Russian ravioli” may have been pierogi, a Russian/Polish variant. Usually stuffed with a potato & cheese mixture, sometimes with meat. (A Polish neighbor even made them with blueberries - fabulous dessert!) The savory ones are often fried with onions - just delicious.</p>
<p>Chevda, they are similar but not pierogi - they sell those too. I love potato pierogi in tomato sauce… An old coworker recommended the pyrohy sold as a fundraiser at a local Ukrainian church. I can still see a little old lady sitting beside a mountain of onion she had chopped!</p>
<p>These ‘Russian ravioli’ were little things shaped sort of like ravioli - I think they are pelmeni. They did not go well w/tomato sauce, but were very good on their own.</p>
<p>[Pelmeni</a> - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelmeni]Pelmeni”>Pelmeni - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Last paragraph in this article explains it - they can only be called pelmeni if they are >50% meat. Hence (apparently) the ‘russian raviolo’ label. I think I get it now!</p>
<p>Pelmeni are tasty with sour cream or a little vinegar. My daughter brought back a major taste for them from her exchange year in Russia and she has introduced us to their delights.</p>
<p>The leaves may be used in baths as well as saunas according to :
[Venik</a> in Russian baths and platza techniques](<a href=“http://www.russian-bath.com/venik/]Venik”>http://www.russian-bath.com/venik/)</p>
<p>Improving metabolism in a nice, warm bath! They make it sound almost like the fountain of youth.</p>
<p>treetopleaf, if you have a lot of Ukrainians in your neighborhood, you might find that they call them varenyky rather than pyrohy sometimes. Varenyky are ravioli without the meat requirement you expressed for pelmeni.</p>
<p>johnshade, thanks for the tip for eating pelmeni.</p>