yeah, this. I’m mostly Eastern-European (half German, 1/4 Polish, 1/4 Slovak) and food like gołąbki, pierogi, kiełbasa krajana, barszcz, and sirecz are comfort foods.
if you do that, you will probably make her day. go for it.
Well, I hardly have to ask her. She personally tells me, every day, that she liked what I cooked (she’s awesome like that). She has diverse tastes, and enjoys everything that I cook. But I’m trying/attempting to zero in on what she may have enjoyed eating 70+ years ago, in her native country. She likes what I cook (and what I cook is prescribed by my corporate overlords), but I want to go above and beyond, and perhaps cook something for her that she hasn’t tasted in 70 years, or at least something that she hasn’t cooked for herself in the last 30 years. She told me that she kept working until she was 77 years old, so that she could afford living in a retirement home. And at 99 years old, she still “works”. Around 6AM, she walks around the building and picks up all of the dishes that other residents have left behind, and brings them into the kitchen for washing. She picks up a coffee pot and goes from table to table, pouring coffee for the other, younger residents while they wait for breakfast.
Dammit, if Annith and I were the same age (she was around my current age when I was born - she’s turning 100, and I’m turning 49), I would love her as a coworker.
Just ask her for recipe/cooking tips. Tell her you want to know about different foods. Then ask other old residents. Learn all you can from all of them. You learn, they get to do something (teach, change of pace from whatever they do all day long), and everyone gets to eat a new food.
“Tooted” is the closest I can come to how her Norwegian name sounds. I’ve never seen the name in writing, I’ve only heard it in other people speaking. I’ve just tried to see if she’s on Facebook so that I could ask her, but she’s not on there, and apparently neither of her children are, either.
Okay, I’m resurrecting this for an update:
Annith’s 100th birthday is a week away and … I finally remembered to ask her where she was born.
Nevada.
Yes, she’s a born and raised American (which explains why she has no accent when she speaks. It would seem that my coworker was either misinformed, or confused Annith with another resident.
Other residents?
Let me tell you about one hardcore old lady, with whom I speak every day.
Olga is 93 years old. Olga was born in Ukraine.
I am a student of history.
Olga fucking survived Stalin’s attempt at genocide in Ukraine.
Today, Olga is one of the happiest people I know. She’s absolutely delightful to talk to 
Just out of curiosity but is there a chance Annith is of Basque descent? A lot of Basques settled in Nevada in the late 19th and early 20th century and brought their unique cuisinewith them and adapted it to their new homeland.
I could ask her. Her last name (which I only recently learned) is her married name (she was married for 54 years, before her husband passed, and she never remarried), not her maiden name, and her last name isn’t Spanish. Her last name is more English or Scandinavian.
I’m still wondering why my coworker thought she was Polish/Yugoslavian.
I’m also worried because Annith’s 100th birthday party was three days ago, and I didn’t see Annith this morning. She wasn’t there in the kitchen saying “good morning” to me today, and I didn’t get a ticket with her name on it. Two weeks ago, she wasn’t feeling well, and she told me she was afraid she wasn’t going to make it to 100. I told her, “Of course you will!” (I didn’t add, “you’re too ornery to not make it!”) And I didn’t see her at lunch today, either.
I’m worried that I’m going to show up for work on Tuesday and find the now-inevitable sign that comes with working in a retirement home: “In loving memory of Annith, 1915 - 2015”.
Oh dear. Do let us know. 
I didn’t see this thread when originally posted, but for vintage East European cookery, just of books I’ve seen recently:
Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing
The Vilna Vegetarian Cookbook: Garden-Fresh Recipes Rediscovered and Adapted for Today’s Kitchen