For decades, Sarah Starewicz's family has enjoyed recipes that originated in Poland and Lithuania. Now this fledgling entrepreneur is making those Eastern European dishes available through her new business, Buscia's.

Based on the Polish word for "grandmother," Buscia's is a small catering company offering three ethnic dishes based on recipes from Starewicz's Polish great-grandmother and Lithuanian grandmother.

Bacon Buns are buttery yeast rolls rolled out by hand and filled with bacon and sautéed onion. The Lithuanian specialty is brushed with butter and then baked.

A hearty, moist dough similar to that used to make Pierogies produces the other two dishes available through Buscia's.

"For Koldunia, we boil the dough, not saute it as with Pierogies. The Koldunia is served with melted butter," she says.

Noodles are created from the same Koldunia dough, which is cut into small circular noodles, boiled and then topped with melted butter.

Samples of Buscia's signature dishes will be available at Festival of the Lakes at Hammond's Wolf Lake July 14 to 19 and at Whiting's Pierogi Fest on July 24 and 25.

Starewicz also takes large orders for parties and other special occasions. The dishes can be ordered fresh or frozen to prepare at home.

A former high school foods teacher, the 27-year-old started Buscia's because of her own unemployment. When her teaching position was eliminated at an area high school, Starewicz relocated to Florida seeking employment in that state's education system.

"Schools are closing home ec departments all across the country," she says. "I came back to this area two months ago and started my business with my savings and by cashing in some stocks my parents bought me when I was young." That money has been used to buy ingredients. Starewicz says she's also been fortunate because the owner of The Copper Penny in Hammond allows her to use the kitchen there to create her dishes.

"You need a commercial-grade kitchen, according to the health department. I just went down the phone book yellow pages and started with A to C. The man who owns The Copper Penny said yes," she says.

Starewicz says she comes from a long line of teachers and is the first in her family to start a business that blends her entrepreneurial spirit and her education. SCORE, a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration, is helping her write a business plan, and a part-time job is helping her pay bills, she says.

"My goal is to not borrow any money for this business," Starewicz says. "And I want to get these Bacon Buns into grocery stores nationwide." Buscia's also donates 10 percent of its profits to World Vision, a Christian humanitarian group that Starewicz says "combats poverty and injustice domestically and internationally."

MADE IN NORTHWEST INDIANA

Company name: Buscia's

Type of business: Handmade Polish AND Lithuanian foods

When opened: May 2009

Location: Munster

Phone: (219) 742-4046

Owner: Sarah Starewicz

Number of employees: 1