By Olivia Polumbo – Contributing writer
Stritesky was born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States shortly before she turned 3 years old. Her family fled communist Cuba in search of a better life in a free country. Her family relocated to Miami, Fla., where she spent most of her childhood.
Growing up, Stritesky’s family was very poor and ate most meals at home. Her grandma prepared meals for her family and they followed a traditional Cuban diet. In a typical meal, Stritesky ate beans and rice along with chicken, beef, or pork. Her family commonly ate a Cuban dish known arroz con pollo.
When Stritesky was in college, she spent a semester abroad in Spain. While traveling along the coast of Spain, the Lord Botetourt High School Spanish teacher had her first taste of an authentic Spanish dish.
Paella Valenciana is a Spanish dish that is cooked over an open fire in a circular pan.
Along the coast of Spain, this dish is made with rice and several different kinds of seafood.
Stritesky was not familiar with this kind of cuisine but decided to try the dish anyway.
“Honestly, I really didn’t care for it a whole lot,” said Stritesky. Surprisingly, this dish is now one of her favorite things to serve.
After Stritesky’s husband, Jeff, brought home a small fire pit, they discussed different foods that could be prepared over a fire. Stritesky loves to cook and knew that this pit would be perfect for foods such as s’mores and hot dogs. After brainstorming, it occurred to Stritesky that this would be a great time to try her own rendition of the Spanish dish she tried many years ago.
“I remember saying to him, ‘Well, you know the Spanish have this dish called paella and they cook it over an open fire,’” said Stritesky.
After Stritesky came to this realization, she began researching different recipes that could be used to make the dish. When she began experimenting with paella, she had a small pan that could only feed eight to nine people. With only a small dish at hand, Stritesky’s paella recipe was crafted.
“I always give a disclaimer that my paella is a Spanish dish, made by a Cuban, with American ingredients,” said Stritesky.
Stritesky’s recipe is somewhat of a hybrid because it does not follow the traditional Spanish recipe. Instead, her paella uses shrimp, chorizo, and chicken.
When Stritesky’s dad found out that she had begun making paella, he bought her a 28- inch pan that could feed up to 40 people.
Shortly after she was given a new pan, Stritesky’s husband realized that the small fire pit he once purchased was no longer proficient. He worked with local students at Botetourt Technical Education Center to have a fire pit made that was very specific to her.
“It’s a really pretty iron pit that Jeff had the BTEC students make for me,” said
Stritesky. “It has ‘Irma’ on the side and the island of Cuba, as well as a ship.”
Stritesky teaches several Spanish classes and once students have reached Spanish III, they are given an opportunity to cook a Spanish dish. Students work hard to prepare a meal that aligns with the Spanish culture but sometimes fall short in doing so. After coming to this realization, Stritesky wanted to give her students a taste of something that was more in line with her culture.
She spoke with administration at the high school and was permitted to prepare paella for her students at the end of every semester. On the days that she prepares paella for her students, her husband comes to man the fire as she cooks the large dish over an open flame. The dish is large enough to feed everyone in her class and typically provides other faculty with any leftovers.
“In high school, a ‘food day’ meant that kids would bring a small snack such as chips and queso or soda and a dessert,” said Adam Eller, 20, a graduate of Lord Botetourt High School. “In Stritesky’s class, our ‘food day’ looked a lot different.”
Eller has great memories of his time in Stritesky’s class and remembers the day she made paella as a great day.
“Getting to try Mrs. Stritesky’s paella was very exciting. She brought an entirely different meaning to what I thought of as Spanish food,” said Eller. “It allowed us to taste a dish that most students had never tried before and it was a great way to conclude our semester.”
After receiving great feedback from students, Stritesky began thinking of other places she could cook this dish and was presented with an opportunity through her church. Stritesky attends Orchard Hills Church, located in Botetourt County, where she is very involved as a member.
Amid the national pandemic, Stritesky’s pastor offered a service project for members of the church to participate in that would benefit a church in Rwanda. If you raised your hand during the Sunday morning service, you were given an envelope that could have any amount of money in it.
The idea behind this mission was to multiply the money that they were given, with only 30 days to do so. When Stritesky opened her envelope, she was presented with $30 to multiply for the church. She was unsure of how to use the money but luckily, her daughter had a great plan in mind.
“My daughter said, ‘Mom, we’ve got to make paella!’” said Stritesky. Given the status of COVID-19, Stritesky had some reservations about her daughter’s idea but decided to carry on. Stritesky advertised her fundraiser on Facebook and sold containers of paella, along with a roll and a brownie for $10. Stritesky and her daughter prepared the dish with masks on and served community members from their home’s driveway. Stritesky’s event was a success and she was able to raise over $800 for her church.
After successfully completing a fundraiser with her paella, Stritesky had several ideas on how she would like to serve this dish in the future. Her church is partnered with a church in the Dominican Republic and they contribute to this church through an organization known as “Pathways Dominicana.”
Stritesky plans to raise money for this organization in the future but has dreamed of making paella on an even larger scale. “I’ve always thought it would be cute to start a little food truck and do it at festivals,” said Stritesky.
“I could show up and make three paellas to serve but I always have all of these ideas and never follow through.” Hopefully, Stritesky will follow through with one of her many ideas and her famous paella will be available to the public soon.
Polumbo, a Botetourt County native, is a sophomore at Virginia Tech studying Public Relations.
