Slavic picaresque

[John Ellison]

I would ask help on two items from fellow SEELANGERs.

1) In "Frol Skobeev" there is mention of Annushka not having sufficient
prayer food. Can anyone give me specifics on what exactly constitutes
prayer food and its place in Russian Orthodoxy?

2) Does anyone know of any Polish or Ukrainian tales which are
essentially picaresques alnog the lines of "Frol Skobeev" or "Savva
Grudtsyn"?
                                                Thanks in advance,
                                                John Ellison
                                        jmelliso at email.unc.edu