Winter Blues

First off, I would like to introduce you all to my super-awesome friend Ryan, who has just started his own food blog, FoodGrind! He’s been working in a Twin Cities restaurant for the past 6 months or so, and has a lot of downright useful tips for both creative cooking and the basics. Plus, you might be interested in a guy’s point of view… dirty jokes included. There’s no tofu, but he already has posted recipes for overnight pickles and bacon jam. Yeah, seriously. So I invite you to check out his blog!

bloggin' buddies!

So, Winter’s got me down. I think Seasonal Affective Disorder type things are taking a toll. When I was home, I went to the doctor, who said I am probably Vitamin D deficient; a blood test showed that my VitaD levels are pretty much in the toilet. And when there is sun here in Moscow, it is so cold that walking around outside isn’t very pleasant–not that my skin is exposed to soak up the sun anyways. Ick. Since I’ve been back, I’ve been feeling lethargic and unmotivated to do things. And super headachey (runs in the fam–lucky me, I get week-long cluster headaches) which has been making me grumpy, too. I cannot wait for it to warm up so that I can feel lively again. But I know I can’t mope around until March, so I’ve tried to be a little bit proactive about being active.

Even though I felt like butt over the weekend, I decided to bite the bullet and venture out to spend some time with Heazie B (aka Heather) in the big city. We decided to go to Le Quotidien, a French bakery chain that I guess is all over Europe. It’s no Pekarti, but I like it a lot because the atmosphere is really inviting and the food is of good quality. We sat and gabbed for a long time while sipping on coffee…

served in a bowl!

Eventually we got hungry, and ordered some food, too. For some reason, I got the Russian menu, and Heather’s was in English… I think I’ll take that as a compliment, and not a fluke. Anything to boost the ol’ ego, right?

I ended up getting a cup of potato leek soup that was served with brown bread. It was very tasty and filling. And according to the English menu, vegan? Mine just said vegetarian po-russkii.

and yeah, i ate that dill.

After what must have been 3 hours, we finally left the cafe behind and ventured into the cold, cold streets. We wandered around looking for something intriguing to eat for dinner, but weren’t finding the right places. At some point, we didn’t really know where we were anymore, and were mighty thankful to finally come across a Metro (and a bit of warmth!). Since I was getting really hungry, really fast, I suggested that we go right into the center and eat at Okhatny Ryad, an underground shopping mall right outside of Red Square. At the very least, we would be able to find something reliable and affordable.

We ended up going to Il Patio, an Italian restaurant that has pretty decent dishes and prices. I started off with a nice leafy salad.

And then we carb loaded by sharing focaccia with a picante tomato sauce and a four-cheese pizza with walnuts. The last time we went to Il Patio, we ordered a veggie pizza that had no cheese, and this time we realized our pizza had no sauce! Man, we’ve got to read the menus more closely…

....and i ate the basil and strawb atop the pizza....

Finally, we decided to splurge all the way and get ice cream, too. (Are you really surprised? C’mon, people.) I got a treat called Peach Melba, which was vanilla ice cream with strawberries and almonds, topped with half a peach. It was delicious.

i ate that mint, too.

Back in the comfort of my own home, I’ve been eating some old favorites. I made a yogurt mess with tvorog (an acceptable substitute for Greek yogurt), warmed frozen blueberries with a sprinkle of sugar, and a few shakes of Saigon Cinnamon (if you haven’t tried this, go out and get it. For a topping, the flavor is so much richer. McCormick makes it).

I cooked up a lazy dinner of spaghetti (aka the ultimate comfort food) with tons of veggie-rific sauce…

And I’ve been reconnecting with an old friend, Carrot Salad.

yup, eaten straight out of the container... classy!

And then yesterday, I made myself a little get-happy project: to cook up a pot of borsch! I’ve been meaning to make some for a very long time, but just haven’t got around to it. But yesterday was a perfect day to git ‘er done.

Borsch is very easy, and very easy to make “your own.” There is a saying that there are as many borsch recipes as there are kitchens in Russia (or, ahem, Ukraine. It’s actually a Ukrainian soup!) so it can definitely be altered to suit your own tastes. Here is the recipe that I learned from my host mother from study abroad in 2007. I made it vegetarian, here, but it is very good with meat or chicken, too. Just put it in the pot at the beginning, boil until tender, and skim off the fat as necessary.

To start, put about 2 liters of water in a pot to boil. Meanwhile, cut up 2 potatoes into bite-sized pieces and sliver 1/2 a small cabbage. Add them to the pot along with 2 bay leaves and a few peppercorns.

all chopped up! oh, ps, this is all of my counter space. not kidding.

In a saucepan, melt about 1.5 T butter. Of course, you can use olive oil, but I think the flavor is better with the butter (actually, when my host mom taught me, she used a hunk of pork fat!). Saute 1 chopped onion, 2-3 cloves garlic until they’re starting to get soft. Then add a large, shredded carrot (if you have the time and skill to matchstick/julienne, that works even better), 2 chopped tomatoes, and 1/2 a shredded beet. In the US, the beets are teeny-tiny, I would estimate that 2-3 beets there are the same size as one here. Sorry I forgot to take a picture for size reference. But either 3 little ones or one huge one… Cook them in the butter and cover with the pan lid for about 10 minutes.

look at the pretty colors!

Add the veggies to the pot. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and dill (plus anything else you like). At this point, I added another t or so of butter to the soup. Let the soup simmer on low for about 15 minutes. Then, add the other 1/2 of the shredded beet to the soup. Cook for another five minutes and then serve with sour cream and fresh dill.

Two handy hints for working with the beets: First, to reduce purple hands, rub your hands with olive oil or butter, it really helps to prevent staining; of course, wipe up any beet juice that gets on the counter, and do not wear your favorite clothes while shredding beets. It’s just a bad idea Second, the longer you wait to add your beets, the more purple your soup will be. If you cook them for a long time, your soup will probably turn brown (if that’s okay, cool, but I like the reddish-purpley color, myself). If you have it as leftovers, you can toss in a tablespoon of reserved shredded beets while you warm up the soup, and it will bring back the pretty color.

Cooking that was definitely a mood-brightener! I swear, I’m gonna send some to the beet-hating Obama. This stuff is good to look at, and delicious to eat–how could anyone hate a beet?!?

Well, that’s all for now folks. Until someday soon!

Oh, wait! Holly is hosting a giveaway! Enter here.

My gratuitous picture isn’t that exciting… But I had to show you this ginormous carrot! Seriously, how big is this thing? I told you that US produce is little in comparison I think it’s about 11″ long, and 3″ thick at the top. Sheesh.

Do you get the Winter Blues? How do you cheer yourself up? Mmhmm. I have to make myself little projects, like cooking or making something. Going out with friends helps, too!

What’s your favorite comfort food? Spaghetti. Love it. So much. And maybe chicken fingers. They’re pretty great, too, in my book.

Do you eat garnishes in restaurants? I don’t know if it is a faux pas, but I really like them… So yes, I eat the little leaves and fruit bits that come next to my meals. They’re refreshing!

I Make It Snow

So, maybe Lil Wayne can make it rain, but did you know I can make it snow? (I am the best rapper alive. Obviously. Swagger right, check, game tight.) No, seriously, I made my own snow the other day! As I was walking to work, it was so cold that my breath was freezing in the air and crystallizing on my hair. Thus, snow! Photographic evidence:

um, not the most flattering shot, but you get the idea....

Unfortunately, I lost that awesome hat (thanks, Alia!) last night somewhere between being on the bus and getting off it… I realized it was missing pretty quick since my head was freezing (figuratively, not literally, this time). I even managed to catch the bus driver at the depot/station and get on to look for it, but it was gone! Mysterious. And sucky, because now how am I gonna keep warm?

Well,  one answer might be piping hot oatmeal. (Nice segue, eh?) I’ve had plenty recently, but here are two notable bowls.

The first, with a trio of peanut butters, Super Chunky, Dark Chocolate Dreams, and White Chocolate Wonderful. I was living it up with all three pbs, but I think in the future, I’ll just stick to one at a time. It was a pretty nutty combination. (Ha!)

And this little beauty was full of chopped apple, and topped with peanut butter, cinnamon, and toasted pumpkin seeds. A stellar combo, I highly recommend it!

I also made my second-ever pot of chili. I made it vegetarian this time and it came out so, so great! It was delicious, nutritious, and fed me for a week…

In a large pot, I heated up a splop of olive oil, and added 1 chopped carrot and 1/2 a bell pepper. After letting it cook for several minutes, I added in one clove of minced garlic and 1 chopped onion (medium, white), and let the veggies cook until tender. Then I added 1 can of white beans in tomato sauce, 1 can of kidney beans in “Chile” sauce, and 1 drained can of kidney beans. Next I added some (drained) canned sweet corn (I think it was about 1 cup, the can was an odd size, so I’m not sure). Finally, I plopped in a very heaping tablespoon of tomato paste and 1/2 a large jar of canned tomatoes in juice in the pot, and added a bit of water so it was the right consistency. I seasoned everything with chili powder, crushed red pepper, my spice blend, and a few dashes of hot sauce, and a few pinches of salt. I let it all simmer on the stove for about an hour while I worked up my appetite. It was very satisfying topped with sour cream And satisfying that it was effortless

Caro and I went out for our regular Japanese food. I’m pretty sure you’ve seen the pictures of miso soup variety du jour and cucumber/avocado rolls before, so I’ll leave these blurry ones out (it was very dark inside, and my camera sucks in anything but bright lights). We did however, veer from the norm and ordered a blackberry tart thing for dessert. It looked so intriguing and delicious that we couldn’t resist sharing it.

Too bad that this was really, really bad. We ate it, both hoping for a bite that would justify this thing as a “dessert” worth ordering. Man, it was just dry and dull and flavorless. Blech.

Luckily, this dessert, which I enjoyed with Heather at our favorite French bakery-cafe, was not disappointing. (It wasn’t actually dessert, either, since we ate it before lunner, but whatever…) I had an especially good chocolate croissant (my fave!) and a latte. Life is good.

Heather’s roommate joined us after a bit, and we all went to get an actual meal at a place around the corner. We didn’t really know what kind of place it was, but luckily they had a late-running business lunch. We ordered soup and salad deals for about $7. Nice. I had a chicken Caesar salad…

….and a bowl of borsch that really did not want to be photographed. I swear, I took 5 pictures and this is the least blurry of them!

Oh, we all had little pots of tea, too, which might explain the array of white ceramic things all over the table… Yup.

Well, I am feeling tired, and I’ve got a gChat date, so let’s leave it at this for now.

More pictures soon.

Here’s a gratuitous one for you:

This is a sneaky picture I took in the Yeliseyev Gorcery store on Tverskaya. It is a foodie heaven, with a great selection, and lots of nice, imported goods. It is in a pre-revolutionary mansion that was owned by a famous merchant, and there are chandeliers galore. I can’t believe I’d never gone in before!!! I was actually rather surprised that the prices weren’t that bad. They were a little bit higher than at other stores, but really not by much!

I also took a picture of the peanut butter. There were 2 kinds, creamy and crunchy, from the same brand. That’s it. They all cost $9 (exchange rate is 29.8 roubles to the dollar)… Yeah. That’s what I’m up against. Sighh….

Questions for ya:

What’s the current temperature where you are? I think right now it is about -5F, and the highs for the first part of the week will be around 2-3. But at the end of the week, it’s supposed to be 20! Yeehaw! I’m getting out my bikini!

What is your favorite bakery item/pastry? I love chocolate croissants times a million. The other ways to clog my heart are with soft cookies and donuts. But they ain’t as classy…

Random Mishmash

Hey there, homeskillets. Sorry for bouncin’ on you like that. Time at home was too good to spend sitting at the computer, and I’ve been trying to resettle back into Russian Life for the past week or so. Oh, and I lost my camera card. Whoops. So, here I present to you a slew of random photos taken over a few weeks.

Good thing about being home #1: going out with friends. My girlie-o Jill and I went out a couple of times. Once was to Applebee’s, where I haven’t been in yeeeaaars, but it was so cold, we didn’t want to go anywhere that was farther. I had the Paradise Chicken Salad, which was surprisingly good.

I forgot to ask for the dressing on the side, but luckily, they didn’t drown the salad in it. Overall, pretty tasty. I like fruit chunks in my salads, and there was plenty of flavor here.

Jill suggested we get dessert, too, but we couldn’t agree on one thing (she wanted a maple blondie, but I don’t care for maple flavor….), so we went our separate ways. She got the maple blondie, and I got two of the dessert shooters, chocolate mousse and hot fudge sundae.

Hi, Jilly!

I thought they were actually in shot glasses—because at this size, one was enough! I ate a bit of both, but it was too much chocolate to eat it all. But considering the size of these things they’re a good deal for $1.99!

Good thing about being home #2: someone else cooking for me. You saw a taste of my stepmom’s kitchen skillz in the previous post, but my bio-mom is a great cook as well. When I was there for New Year’s, she cooked me a Thanksgiving-style dinner, since I missed being with my family in November (awwww). Since I lost my camera cord, I took pics on my mom’s camera, which, of course, I forgot to transfer onto my own computer… So you can’t see the whole meal, but here’s our giant turkey!

ummm... i may or may not have been nomming the missing wing while taking the photo

It made some badass leftover meals. (I LOVE holiday leftovers!!!) I made a take on my favorite sandwich, the post-Thanksgiving pile o’ everything. But I had the clever idea of using cold gravy as a spread on my bread (no mayo needed!), toasting it, and then composing the rest of my sandie with the requisite turkey, lettuce, cranberry sauce, veggie bits, and whatever else I no longer recall putting on there.

It was also nice to have my family’s traditional New Year’s dinner, pork, sauerkraut, potatoes, applesauce, homemade bread, and cranberries. It is a very beige meal, now that I look at it! At least it’s tasty.

My mom also had about twenty gajillion different kinds of cookies prepared while I was there. So sweets abounded. And then she made pie! Gee, Momma, you treat us right!

pie in the front, cookies in the back!

Good thing about being home #3: going out for breakfast. I LOVE going out for breakfast, it’s so fun for me, and always tastes so good. Lucky me, I had the opportunity to go to my favorite breakfast joint a couple more times when I was home. Once I went with my stepmom and ordered something I’d never tried before, but had seen on the menu for years. The Mexican Mashed meal was a layer of mashed potatoes mixed with corn and chorizo sausage, plus two eggs, served with a chipotle dipping sauce and toast.

I’m not gonna lie, this wasn’t my favorite thing I’ve had there. It seems like a fun idea, but it was just way too heavy for me. I did enjoy my toast, though! I got the homemade cinnamon raisin bread. Just look at all that cinnamon goodness!

I went back on my very last day in the U.S. of A. with Jill and her fiancé, and did get my favorite meal there, the Guy Scramble. It’s eggs mixed with black beans, salsa, avocado, cheese—nothing too fancy. This is something I have tried to replicate on my own, and while my version is good, The Friendly Toast’s reigns supreme.

It is just so much better when they make it for me. I ate up all my eggs, some of my homefries, and more of that luscious cinnamon raisin toast. Mmmm…. When you get it with a mug of hot cocoa with homemade whipped cream, you’ve got a little slice of heaven!

Then, for me, it was time to hop on an airplane, fly halfway across the world, and settle in again in our beloved city of Domodedovo.

It has been a hard week coming back. I’ve realized just how much I miss my family and friends in the US. I took it easy, watching a lot of American TV on the Internet and trying to get back in the groove of things here.

I went out a couple of times with my friends here to catch up and compare holidays. I met Caro by chance (I kid you not, we literally bumped into each other!) in Moscow, so we decided to let Fate do her job and spent the rest of the day together. We seem to go out for Japanese a lot, and we hit up another place near Aleksandrovkii Sad (Aleksander’s Garden, near the Kremlin). I tend to get the same thing again and again… Avocado rolls and soup (unfortunately, I haven’t learned to love fish sushi yet. It’s something about the texture… Any ideas how to get over that?). This soup was called Samurai Curry (I think) and was supposed to be quite spicy. I really wish that Russians knew the meaning of “spicy,” but otherwise the soup was all right. It had nice chunks of chicken, green onion, whatever was making it “spicy,” egg, tomato, and tofu in a miso-style broth.

Caro, at least, is more adventuresome than I am. She got this fabulous-looking dish. I think it was a variation on Philadelphia rolls… I just loved the presentation!

I also hit up the Starlite Diner, my American foods home away from home, with another friend. I was thisclose to getting something chock full of veggies (!!!), and then changed my mind at the last moment and got a buffalo chicken wrap. It is a favorite of mine: I mean, buffalo chicken? Yes, please!

Unfortunately, while the buffalo flavor was okay, there was waaaaay too much of the “crispy” part of the chicken, and it ended up being a weird texture (because so many bites were just “crispiness.” Eww)… And there was a LOT of mayo on it. So, a good experiment, but I guess I’ll leave buffalo chicken wraps to the American kitchens…  Oh, well. Now I know!

So that’s what I’ve been up to.

What have you been up to for the past 3 weeks? What’s the best/most interesting/most exciting thing that has happened to you? Hmmm…. I guess the most interesting thing is that I’m back in Russia… The best part was visiting my family when I was home, of course J

Hashbrowns or homefries? HOMEFRIES>hashbrowns. Forever.

Before and After

…the holidays, that is!

Because let me tell you, the days before Christmas were pretty swell!

First of all–I have to share with blogland because I am SO EXCITED–my two best buds got engaged. To each other. Can we get a round of “awwwww“? Yeah. I have been downright giddy since hearing this news.

Second of all, I got a pre-Christmas miracle when the Boy got to visit. Rumor has it, he hasn’t had two consecutive days off from work in about 4 months. And, at the last minute, he got 3 days off and a plane ticket! Yay! Especially since I haven’t seen him since August!

Oh, yeah, and there’s this little thing called being home, and not stuck on my lonesome in Russia.

So… at the beginning of last week, we went to the Boston Pops holiday concert, a yearly family tradition. Before we got there, I was starvin’ like a Marvin, so the fam ducked into WF (!) and I finally got to try one of the Amazing Grass SuperFood protein bars. Am I the last person on earth to try these? I think so. I grabbed the Peanut Butter flavor to savor.

Overall, it was all right. I was impressed by how green the bar actually was inside. I liked the texture of it; it was chewy and dense. And it was nice and filling without sitting like a rock in my stomach. However, the peanut taste wasn’t very rich, and I would definitely have preferred it to be a stronger flavor. The taste if the bar itself was all right, it definitely tasted “green” and had a bit of sweetness that wasn’t overpowering or gross. So maybe a B-? I would try another Amazing Grass bar, but not in the peanut flavor. You can read nutritional info here.

After the concert (which was quite lovely, thanks for asking) we went to a little Vietnamese/Thai restaurant that was next door. I ordered Pho with flank steak.

The next morn, the Boy and I woke up bright and early, and I dragged him to my all-time favorite breakfast joint, the Friendly Toast. Since I occasionally have homesickness for certain foods from this restaurant (proof!), Luke was excited to finally eat there. He ordered a special, named “Tostada My Kwanzaa,” which I couldn’t resist taking a picture of. It was kind of crazy: tortillas, eggs, chorizo, corn, and some cheesy sauce. Obvi, I had to try it, and it was pretty tasty.

I tried something I’d never had or heard of before (maybe it is new to the menu??), Ole Miss. It was a piece of cayenne-cheddar toast topped with spiced, mashed sweet potatoes, scrambled eggs, and mango-sour cream goodness. With a side of homefries. Good lord was this a lot of food. Delicious, delicious food.

Then I took my gentleman friend on a tour of the Seacoast. We went all over the place, it seemed. If I’ve counted correctly, we were in 7 different towns in two states! After a while, we stopped for a classic New England activity: candlepin bowling. (It does exist!) It is a kind of bowling unique to New England and parts of Canada. Everything is much smaller–the balls are about the size of softballs, and the pins are about 1/3 the diameter of regular bowling pins. And you get to roll three times without clearing the fallen pins. It is much harder than regular bowling–no one has ever scored a perfect 300! But it is also much more fun

Gearing up for a strike, I'm sure!

Clearly, this was good exercise, because we worked up hearty appetites. I dragged Luke to my favorite pizza place, Flatbread Pizza Co., for dinner. We started by sharing their awesome salad, a mix of organic lettuces, chopped celery and carrots, toasted sesame seeds, seaweed, and a berry vinaigrette.

We each ordered a small flatbread. Luke got the homemade sausage, and I ordered one with chicken, corn, black beans, and fire-roasted tomatoes that was topped with a dollop of sour cream and a lime wedge. We were eatin’ good, let me tell you!

sausage on left, chicken on right

The next day, which was Luke’s last, we had to do one more New England-y thing. Hit up a genuine clam shack for some fried fish. Yup. I talked him into going all out and getting a fried clam basket. I got chicken tenders…. I am pretty sure that other than coleslaw, there was not a single vegetable listed on that menu! No salads, no sides… However, everything was fresh and homemade, which counts for something (other than a vegetable serving).

Also, rumor has it that New Englanders eat more ice cream per capita than anywhere else. So….

After I put Luke on a plane back home, it was crazy-home-times for me with the holidays. But after crazy-times come relaxing-times!

Saturday and Sunday were spent sitting next to the fire, reading, playing with the animals, and snoozing thinking deep, philosophical thoughts. (Yes, I have determined the meaning of life, why the sky is blue, and if your blue is my blue. Book and speaking tour coming soon… j/k.)

I got to enjoy one of the best parts of the holidays to the full extent–leftovers. There is a Russian saying, “ostanki–sladki,” which means that the leftovers are the sweetest part. A truth in my book.

ravioli and cider

Eating “dessert” for “breakfast” is pretty great, too.

Yes, that would be a piece of fruitcake. My stepmom made the most delicious fruitcake in the history of fruitcakes. Actually, I hesitate to even call it fruitcake, because it is so rich, and moist, and chewy, and wonderful. It does not resemble that rock-hard mass of red and green candied fruitbits in any way. It’s made with whole wheat flour and lots of medjool dates. If I can wrestle the recipe out of her, I will–I’ve got a sense it’s pretty healthy, too!

However, now it is back to real life. Running errands, tidying stuff up, going to the dentist, etc. In all honesty, I actually gotta jet to get my teeth cleaned right now… Eep!

Have a super-swell day, friendsters.

Do you like your leftovers straight-up, or do you invent new dishes with them? For me, it depends what’s left over, and how much there is! With holiday dinners, it’s special food that we only have occasionally, so I just like to reheat my favorite parts.

Bowling. Yay or Nay? Super huge YAY! Durhh. Loves it.

Holiday Cheer

Well, hello!

Long time, no see, eh? After traveling back to the US, I was just hit with a flurry of activity, and there just wasn’t enough time in the day for blogging, too. Friends, family, and sleep gotta come first, ya know?

I hope you all had the most wonderful holidays (if that’s your thing, of course) and spent quality time with the people important to you. The past couple days have been downright crazy at my house preparing for Christmas dinners, wrapping presents, and trying to stop the cats from eating the tree….

Christmas Eve was a long day, that started with some last-minute shopping (can you believe my 14-year-old stepsister did all of her Christmas shopping that day–in 30 minutes?? Sheesh) and ended with some feasting. In my family, Christmas Eve is as special as the main event, and we always have a big dinner party.

We started out with some wine and conversation….

….before setting down at an elegantly set table (my stepmom made that centerpiece herself!)….

…..and moving on the to first course, a meyer lemon-dressed salad made by our friend Ann. My stepmom says this is her favorite salad in the world.

Then we had some homemade ravioli in broth. My stepmom makes this recipe at Christmas because it is what her father always used to make at Christmas.

Then, the main course! We joked that it was Thanksgiving all over again: turkey, stuffing, beans, carrots, potatoes with gravy, and cranberry relish.

Every bite was delicious, but I was stuffed to the gills before I could eat it all. But not too stuffed to turn down dessert! Of course

I had a few dozen of my favorite cookies, teatime fancies (filled with pecans and melty brown sugar) and chocolate sandwich cookies filled with white chocolate ganache. Yummmmmy.

After helping Santa with some of his chores, I finally went to bed to let visions of sugarplums dance in my head. That’s how that goes, right?

Bright and early Christmas morning my stepsister yelled at my from the stairs. “Sarah, wake up, it’s Christmas!” and went pitter-pattering away. In the 5 minutes it took me to go from being completely asleep to sitting in the living room, she had already opened her stocking and 2/3 of her presents. That kid is fast! Personally, I like to savor gift-opening, and don’t like to open everything all at once, so I just opened my stocking presents while little sister-thing tried on her new boots and fiddled with her iPod.

Oliver didn't want left out!

Then it was time for a nice, simple breakfast of eggs and toast before the flurry of cooking activities commenced.

My parents and I were upstairs, downstairs, in the kitchen, getting ready, stirring, testing, time for a shower, go! go! go! for the next few hours before our guests for Christmas dinner arrived.

We prepared wild rice, green peas, prime rib, gravy, and Yorkshire pudding in a matter of hours!

Salad was our first course, of course.

My dad took control of the Yorkshire pudding–look how great these babies came out:

Our dog Roscoe really wanted to help out with the prime rib…

But he didn’t get to it before me! Hahaha. Here’s everything plated together:

I requested the crispy-crunchy end piece of the roast...

Look at our cute bumblebee knives!

The Yorkshire puddings came out so light and airy. Look! They’re hollow!

After more or less gorging myself (again!) it was time for a couple of cookies and a cappuccino.

And then? Time to fall asleep while watching Home Alone.

Now that’s what I call a Christmas!

I hope everyone else had a great, happy holiday!

Does your family eat the same meal every year at the holidays, or do you mix things up? For us, Christmas Eve is a little different every year, but we’ve been having the same meal on Christmas Day for years and years.

Do you open your presents really quickly, all at once, or do you take your time? At my mom’s we actually have two rounds of presents–stockings and anything from Santa in the morning, and wrapped, family gifts on Christmas night. It makes the fun last all day, and seems much more gratifying than opening everything at once, in my book.

The Birthday.

I typed this up last night before the Internet died (again!)… All is well in the Land of Vodka and Caviar…

First, I have to tell you all that I think something just blew up. No, really. At first I thought it was gunshots, and then I figured it was fireworks (fireworks go off all the time, and I always think they are gunshots at first. Hmm.). So I checked the window, and there were tons of flashes, but nothing to see in the sky. And then there were lots of these boom!boom! sounds, and lots more flashes, and lots of noise with a long “flash,” and then a car alarm went off. What the heck? Is it bad if I am more confused and curious than worried?? That’s Russia for you. Never fear. Never worry. Just roll with the punches (In case you were inclined to be worried, things ARE safe here, and I’m pretty sure that if it was an explosion, it came from the construction project a block down.)

ANYWAYS. I digress.

Last weekend was one heck of a weekend. A certain Heather had a birthday celebration, and you know we went all out. Before the H-star extravaganza, I was feeling moopy poopy from waaaay too long a day at work. I was soo wiped out that I just wanted to go to bed. But oh, no, that’s not what the night had in store for me.

We started the evening at our Central School’s holiday party, which, as holiday parties can be, was weird and awkward. I kind of wanted to leave as soon as I got there, but I persevered. (I don’t like parties where I don’t know people, I have Grinch-like tendencies, and did I mention I was crazy tired? Yeah. I was not in the mood for a holiday party.) When it was time to go, I was more than ready. And where did we go?

Three hints: Well, I go there far too often. I occasionally pick up waitresses there. I like their cheap, cheap coffee.

Did you guess Starlite Diner? If you did, you get a gold star.

We got a lot of beer (there were at least 6 people at this table, and that is only 2000ml, don’t worry!) for starters…

Since I was cranky and hungry, I got one of my all-time favorites to share with Caro. Chicken tenders. And they served it with both honey mustard and BBQ sauces. Day-yum! (I seriously LOVE chicken tenders. And yes, I am older than 12.) This certainly brightened my mood!

A long while and many shenanigans later, we went out to go to a club called Vodka Bar. A friend of a friend was the DJ, and so 1/3 of our group was able to get in for free! The place wasn’t very full, and the music was sort of …different…. for a club, but it was okay. I got my dance on for a little bit! However, we stayed out far too late to take the metro home. By this time, I was getting tired, hungry, and cranky. Again. So you know what we did? We went to the happiest place in Moscow. Can you guess where?

Three hints: They make great burgers. They have a 12-scoop sundae. I had already been there once that night.

Did you guess Starlite again? If you did, you get another gold star.

Thank gawd for 24-hour diners, eh?

We flopped into a booth, ordered Cokes and coffees, and tried to wait until 6 a.m. when they started their special discounted breakfast. DISCOUNTED BREAKFAST?!?!? Yeah. I told you it was the happiest place in Moscow. I ordered my very favorite breakfast. Two eggs over hard, bacon, homefries, toast, and coffee. nomnomnom. The Starlite actually has the closest thing to real bacon in Russia, so it was pretty great, and I was really excited.

Except that even though I specifically requested my eggs be cooked over hard, and had my Russian friend confirm with the waiter that he understood, they served my eggs over easy. Yuck (sorry, folks, but I’m not into yolks!). Since I couldn’t/wouldn’t eat it with runny yolks, I sent my food back.

I have never, ever sent my food back in my entire life. I have eaten things that have been tainted with ketchup (I shudder to think!) and not sent them back… I felt soo bad, but I couldn’t waste the money on food I couldn’t/wouldn’t eat. Our waiter, whose name tag read “The Sasha,” gave me a death glare when I went up to the server station to request that my eggs be cooked more.

When my eggs were returned (still not quite over-hard, but passable), I realized that I didn’t get any toast! Good freaking grief. When The Sasha, who had been actively trying to ignore us, finally came to take our plates, I asked about the toast. Another death glare. But he gave it to me.

And let me tell you, that is the best toast I have eaten in many moons. Thanks, The Sasha.

I tried to make up for it by leaving a nice tip (even if my food was screwed up!) and a love note. Somehow, unlike Natasha, I don’t think he’ll be writing back…

We finally made it home, jumped into our jammies, and hopped into bed around 9 a.m. And had a glorious, glorious nap. The rest of the day was spent talking and laughing with the girlies+Jeff in the kitchen and eating …toast.

Later on in the eve, I made an awesome salad, if I do say so myself. There’s much to be said for simplicity: this was just lettuce, arugula, cukes, tomatoes, and hummus, with a few shakes of black pepper. I may or may not have had 3 bowls. Just sayin’. I guess that makes up for the complete lack of veggies in my previous couple meals!

Monday, Caro and I had our usual afternoon date, and decided to go souvenir shopping. We braved that nasty, nasty cold (-14F) to poke around the arcade near Red Square. Caro found some good Christmas gifts, but I just wanted to get inside!!!  We finally gave in to the cold and went our separate ways home. By the time I got to my apartment, I was so cold and tired that I only wanted something fast, easy, and hot to eat.

Enter pelmeni in tomato sauce. Brainless, tasty, filling. And hot.

Another hot, tasty, and filling concoction? Mango oats with raspberry preserves. Yeah, baby!

Well, my Internet connection just pooped out, go figure, so all of this news is even older! I’ve got to hit the hay, however.

GOING HOME SO SOOOOOON!

Gratuitous picture!

The State Historical Museum is, in my opinion, one of the prettiest buildings and one of the coolest museums in Russia! I think it just looks so cool lit up at night. I love it. A lot.

Q-Diddles:

What is your favorite restaurant breakfast? I love me a “proper” breakfast like I had, but this invention called the Guy Scramble at my favorite breakfast joint at home is pretty great. I’m sure there will be a picture of this soon

When’s the last time you stayed up all night? Last Saturday… I felt like I was a compatriot with all my homies cramming for finals. Except that I wasn’t studying… yeah…

Baby, It’s Cold Outside!

So, believe it or not, it only got COLD recently here in Moscow region. I mean, it hasn’t been warm, but it hasn’t been that expected frozen-to-the-core-of-your-soul cold.

It is now.

The high on Monday was -14F. Yeah.

So what do we do when it’s chilly? Eat chili! Duh.

It all started with my little Aussie friend, who whipped up a big pot for us last weekend… and served it up with some really good multi-grain bread and this crazy garlic-cheese concoction that must be so bad for you because it tastes so good.

said garlic-cheese stuff is behind the bread, whoops!

Once I got home, I cooked up my own pot of chili! My first! Can you believe that I’d never made it before? I made it pretty simple since there are no fancy-pants ingredients around these parts, just carrots, garlic, onions, tomatoes, tomato puree, beans (red and white), and a chunk of ground beef. And a whole ton of “spice mix” in 3 different varieties (one for pasta, one with peppers, and an “all-purpose” mix. I figured that covered the bases).

I realized that I do not own a can opener, and when the pop-top of my tomato puree snapped off, I thought I was doomed! And then, a bolt of inspiration struck, and I hammered my way through the lid!! I splattered tomato everywhere, but at least I got the can open And the end result was lovely.

served with a dollop of sour cream

Thank the sweet lord almighty that it tasted good, because I made a lot. I couldn’t really post much last week, because the only thing I was eating was chili….

And my Russian-Italian fusion meal. I’m not sure what inspired this meal, but I set my mind on making it! With my bit of

extra ground beef, I made a few meatballs. I used them to top “cabbage pasta” that I made by finely chopping some cabbage, carrot, pepper, and onion into small slivers. It kind of reminded me of the zucchini pasta rage… Well, I sauteed the veggies in a pan with a little bit of EVOO, and more of those various spice mixes. I also added a bunch of basil and crushed red pepper. Once all the veggies were cooked and softened, I just plopped the balls on top! Presto! Prosto! (“Easy!”)

And quite tasty. I make a mean meatball, if I do say so myself…

Hearty meals feel so good in the winter! So do warm drinks. And since it looked like this outside…

Pushkin Square last week

…we settled down with some of this inside.

Caro and I braved some pretty nasty weather! But this girl is prepared. Look at her! Just like a real Russkii…

(with apologies to those who hate the use of fur)

Other ways to stay warm? Piping hot oatmeal, for one!

Strawberry and apple oatmeal, topped with crunchy peanut butter. So. Good. Like PBJ deconstructed, I say! I was on a serious strawberry-oats kick. But what can beat pink oatmeal??!?

with a side of Soviet architecture

Definitely not “Flippys” (“Flippies”?). Can you even tell what these are? Huh? Can you?

That would be dolphin-shaped cereal. Mmhmm. Yup. And no matter how sweetly Caro smiles, they’re just not gonna do it for me. Too sweet, too airy.

I can’t wait to be home (3 days!!!!) and eat some real cereal. None of this Flippys nonsense….
What is your favorite cereal?? For breakfast, I love me some raisin bran-type cereal; for snackage, Cinnamon Life all the way.

How do you keep cozy and warm in the winter? Two words: Hot Chocolate. Four words: Hot Chocolate and blanket. Nothing cozier. Love it!

Is your holiday shopping done? Almost. I have a couple more things to tick off my list, but I am pretty darn close!

She Came from Afar

“She” being my wonderful, beautiful Katie!

Last week was one of my favorite weeks since I’ve been here, since Katie (aka LilVeggiePatch) came for a quick visit. It was really wonderful to be able to “mix” my two lives, and show my old friend my new city. I got to drag her around for 2 days, while we caught up, explored, and tried to find any vegetarian-friendly places in Russia.

On our first afternoon, we set out on a walk to Cafe Margarita, a small restaurant (and nightclub, I believe?) inspired by Bulgakov’s classic, The Master and Margarita (which, if you haven’t read, you should!).

Despite this bright door, we walked by it twice! It was sort of a neat little place, with books lining the walls and a fairly cozy atmosphere; it was also right across from Patriarch’s Pond (where the opening scene of the book takes place), which made it a nice destination.

We both ordered Bizness Lanch (ahem, Business Lunch, a set-price, set-menu meal). We started with a deeelicious vegetable soup.

And I ordered blinchiki with meat–basically pancakes/crepes stuffed with spiced ground beef. Katie ordered blini with cheese. We rocked the pancakes. Who needs IHOP?

See?! She was really here!

We wandered around a bit more, went to the Contemporary Russian History Museum, which is chock-full of old Soviet memorabilia, propaganda, and a stuffed cosmonaut dog. Yeah, the actual dog (not Laika, but another one) was in its spacesuit on display. We may or may not have laughed until the security lady came around the corner to see what was happening…

I dragged Katie all the way down to Domodedovo to meet my students in class. We did a mini-cooking vocab lesson. One of my students claimed that she couldn’t even cook oatmeal, so I knew there would be no better day to talk about food in class than when I had a certain kitchen MVP by my side. We talked about the fun ways we top our oatmeal (here, it is usually with butter and sugar. Maybe jam, but nothing fancier than that), and I think they were duly impressed. I am on a mission to convince the Russians to like peanut butter, and maybe, just maybe Angelika will try it the next time she attempts oatmeal.

BUT, speaking of my most favorite of …condiments? Spreads? Things I can eat with everything? Katie brought me not one but two jars of peanut butter. Damn, girl, you treat your friends right! (There is peanut butter here, but it is freaking expen$ive! $9 for a jar, and not that great!) I indulged in a nice, big spoonful just because I could:

true love

She brought me a sweet potato, too, but uh… that didn’t work out so well. Somehow, a chunk went missing, and then it got weird on one end. A day later, it was covered in mold! How did that happen? A+ for effort, however.

The next day we met up and went off to the zoo. I have been to the Moscow zoo before, but I had not seen a few of these animals before! Have you ever seen a springhare?

[source]

Cold and hungry, we wandered into the nearest restaurant for lunch, Yolki-Palki. I had a nice hot bowl of goulash.

We decided to head down to the Tret’yakov Gallery, which is supposedly the best museum in Moscow (and one of the finest collections in the world). We had a long walk, but paused for some pictures!

This is Gorky Park, an amusement park right in the middle of the city!

Walking over the Moscow River on the Krymskii Bridge

We later met up Katie’s dad, who treated us to dinner. We went to an Italian restaurant in GUM, the old”state department store” (which is now a high fashion shopping mall. Prada, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, etc. Oh, and there’s a Levi’s store ).

I ordered the handmade spinach ravioli, and let me tell you, these babies were good!

Unfortunately, I had to dash out to catch the train back to Domodedovo, but I had a wonderful time. Thanks again, Papa VeggiePatch!

I am sooo glad that I got to see Katie, and that she had the opportunity to come to Russia. If anyone else is gonna be here, let me know! It’s great to have friends

Couple of ??s for U!

Is there something that isn’t technically difficult, but near impossible for YOU to make right? I am totally incapable of making my mom’s chocolate fudge frosting, even though there’s nothing to it. I dunno why! My cousin is the laughing stock of our family, because although she’s pretty handy in the kitchen, she always ruins the rice…

What time does is get dark where you live these days? Well, Moscow is not a “bright” city by any means (an hour of sunshine would be awesome!), but it actually starts to get dark around 3-3:30pm. So my sun is setting when it is rising for many of you! (Those of you on the East Coast, basically.) I miss daylight….

GIVEAWAYS!!!

Our favorite Everythingtarian is giving away measuring devices and potholders (oh, baby!)

Maggie wants to share some Amy’s soups and Sahale snacks

The Twins at Pure2Raw are sending one lucky winner a bunch of sweet treats

Thanksgiving Revolution

Back before the Russian Revolution in 1917, Russian time followed the Julian calendar, which is about two weeks behind the “regular” (i.e. internationally accepted) Gregorian calendar. So, although the Revolution is dated 25 October, 1917, in the West, it was already 7 November.

I’m just going to blame it on Russian tradition (and my very poorly working Internet connection. GRR!), and post my two-week-old Thanksgiving photos now. Because if we followed the Julian calendar, it would be somewhere near Thanksgiving Day. Or something.

I spent the Wednesday before Thanksgiving super sick, ick! When I got up on Thursday, I felt sooo sad to be feeling less-than-stellar, alone in a foreign country, on my favorite holiday. Ouch. I felt really down the whole day, but livened myself up a bit by teaching my students all about Thanksgiving, and explaining all the traditional dishes and foods we eat. For the record, sweet potatoes pretty much do not exist here, and whenever I mentioned them, everyone made the most disgusted faces! Little do they know….

After classes, one of the teachers organized a little Thanksgiving dinner for our staff at school. It was a pretty cute get together, and really boosted my spirits.

Evgennii brought a roasted a turkey for us

…and served up boiled potatoes, pickled tomatoes, pickled cabbage, and roasted veggies.

Artem bought us all two kachapuris (Georgian cheese bread). I like this as a T-Day addition…

Here’s my plate at round one. I enjoyed a lot more kachapuri, and more potatoes than just one slice!

Not totally traditional, but it did the trick.We ate and drank, and I went home a happy camper.

Over Thanksgiving weekend, I was invited to a couple American Thanksgiving celebrations. I wanted to hit up both, but the huge amount of travel time between them made it impossible.

But the party I could make was great! I walked in the door pretty late because I work all day on Saturdays (boo!), and was immediately handed a script so that I could play William Bradford in our “Thanksgiving Play.” They told me I had to work for my food. All’s good, because it was pretty hilarious, not gonna lie.

Then it was time for me to eat! Yahoo!

Oksana set up a beautiful spread, with all the American classics. SHE EVEN FOUND SWEET POTATOES. That was pretty much the highlight of the evening

Sorry everything is half-eaten! I was the last person to get there!

The only thing we didn’t have was pumpkin pie, but we had those tasty little cream tarts. They were amazing, so it was okay

Here’s my plate, loaded to the brim with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, rice, cranberry sauce, salad, green bean casserole, a deviled egg, and sweet potatoes. Heaven on a plate, I tell you.

And in true Sarah style, I kept picking all night at the sweet potatoes and turkey. I can’t believe she found sweet potatoes.

We had a great holiday, and spent the rest of the evening eating, drinking, and being merry. The way Thanksgiving should be, right?

Sunday I was still too full to even think about eating. However, the team wanted Starlite, so off we went!

I had a cup of chili with corn chips–anything more would have made me explode!

My friend Jeff, however, was a real trooper. He ordered the Really Big Shaun Burger, which as far as I can tell is a heart attack on a plate. Something like 2 patties with all the fixings on top of a small mountain of chili cheese fries. And he washed it down with a vanilla shake. My gracious!

how BIG is that thing?!?!

Thanksgiving feast all over again, no?

Well, I hope you enjoyed my Thanksgiving flashback. I sure did. Only 11 days until I go home for Christmas! (But who’s counting??) I don’t usually get that excited about holiday season, but I’m getting into it this year.

Questions!

Have you ever spent a major holiday away from you family and friends? Yessum, I think I just described it. But luckily, I still had a great Thanksgiving with my new friends in Russia!

What is your favorite part of the holiday season? Honestly, it kind of stresses me out! Maybe I am excited this year because I am away from it all… But the best part for me, of course, is all the food! Cookie baking extravaganzas, holiday dinners, candy canes, homey smells, chestnuts roasting on an open fire… Well, I’ve never tried that, but I think you get it…

Gratuitous Picture!

I saw this church in Mytishchi (a Moscow suburb) when I was walking to my Thanksgiving party. I have no information about it, other than it is really pretty lit up at night! While I was walking by, they started tolling the bells, and it was just a really lovely moment. Russian churches take the cake, I think. They’re just so beautiful!

Are You There, Blog? It’s Me, Margaret

I mean, It’s Me, Sarah. Has it been so long that I’ve forgotten my own name?!

However, this time, I’ve got a pretty darn valid excuse for not blogging in such a long while. Two weeks ago, I got a phone call in the middle of the day from my boss. Big news: I had to move out of my apartment that night and into a new one. Literally, I had 6 hours notice before it was Goodbye, Sovietskaya St.

My new apartment is nice, but was Internet-less. After much confusion and explanation, we got it installed at my new home, where it worked for one day. And then it didn’t work any more. More confusion, and when it worked next, I unknowingly used my month’s allowance of bandwidth by watching Mad Men and Gossip Girl online. Big whoops. Then, to change to unlimited usage took another several days. So, I have been off the grid, practically. I’ve been missing you, though!

Since I have loads of backed-up photos, I think I’ll just do a greatest hits of the last two weeks sort of deal. Sound good? Good. Because you didn’t have any actual choice in the matter

I discovered the world’s most dangerously delicious snack cookies. Move over, Little Debbie, these babies are eat waaaay more than you should in a day good.

Heather and I went on a Starbucks coffee date, and I was SO EXCITED when I saw that Russian Starbucks had those famous red holiday cups (it took longer for them to appear here, so I thought that they never would). With utter glee, I ordered a tall soy vanilla latte and a double chocolate cookie.

WHERE THE NUT IS THE HOLIDAY CUP????? I mean, when I shell out $8 for a latte and a cookie, you’d better put it in a holiday cup. I was kind of heartbroken, but then the sample lady came over and gave me a sample of the Holiday Blend in a mini red cup. Small things are even cuter, no?

I may or may not have rinsed it out and put it in my purse to use as a kopeck-holder. I think I’m losing my mind.

I made a big, baller salad, and ate it with a piece of super veggie pizza we cooked up.

This salad was pretty special because it was dressed in balsamic vinegar, which we have had a reaaaally hard time finding here. But it wasn’t as special as what’s in this next photo:

HUMMUS!!! Just by chance, my girl friends saw it at the grocery store. Glorious. Absolutely glorious. And it has made some glorious wraps, like this one, made on flatbread with cheese, cukes, tomatoes, and lettuce:

And it has topped a couple mondo salads, like this one, which is just toms and cukes dressed with dill, parsley, and chives, olive oil, and a pinch of salt (a most refreshing combo, try it!):

All these goods came from a huge grocery shop, where I spent more money than I ever have before (in Russia, compared to the damage I’ve done in the US, it ain’t no thang…). A few things were splurges (like broccoli, which costs about $9/kg), and a few things were “investment pieces” (like bottles of balsamic vinegar and olive oil), and the rest had to fill my utterly empty fridge!

I also got me some Fuji apples, tomatoes and cukes, tvorozhnaya massa (I don’t know how to properly explain–it tastes like cheesecake, but looks like ice cream, and people eat it for breakfast here), bananas, pelmeni (Siberian meat dumplings, aka “Russian ravioli”), Caucasian lavash, flatbread, salad galore, chocolate covered almonds, cottage cheese, some unspicy “spicy sauce,” and a mug. Good loot.

This tvorozhnaya massa, I discovered, tastes really, really good with apples. It was sort of an accidental discovery, but still a good one!

I also whipped up a pretty clever dinner, if I do say so myself, and made some sort of pelmeni-broccoli alfredo. It wasn’t perfect, mainly because I only had .5% milk, no butter, and not-parmesan cheese, but overall it was still good. Now I just gotta do it right….

Finally, I had a nice, cheap Japanese meal with Caro. I started with miso soup and teriyaki chicken…

…and then inhaled my avocado rolls. I was so excited for them that I forgot to take the pic until halfway through! Whoops!

Well, kiddos, I’m going to leave it at that for now. I have another set of photos from one of the best days I’ve had in Moscow, but, ahem, I forgot my own camera, and someone won’t email them to me from hers! Pshht. Soon, soon. I will also show you Thanksgiving, Russian-style. You can’t wait, right? I know that you are burning with excitement….

Questionables:

Were you into Judy Blume books? Hells yes. I feel like I read them all! I remember especially liking Tiger Eyes and Then Again, Maybe I Won’t. Oh, and that other one… Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret….

What is your grocery splurge? This week, broccoli for me! It is gram-for-gram the most expensive food item I have bought in Russia. I also spend a little more on apples, because I am awfully particular about them.

Gratuitous picture!

With all that moving nonsense, I missed Gliding Calm’s special edition earring post. Booo. Well, I’ll just put it on my own blog, then. So there!

That is up close and personal… Heh. Well, those dangly guys are my favorites. They were my mom’s, and when I was little, I used to ask her to wear them all the time. Once I got my ears pierced, I borrowed them pretty often, until one day my mom told me I should just borrow them forever. I don’t wear them extremely often, but I really do love them.

My dad hates the little earring at the top of my ear. I did too for a while, because, actually, it got pierced in the wrong place! But switching the earring made me like it better, and I like it now.

This is my other fave:

Luke’s parents gave this pair to me as a college graduation gift, and I wore them all the time. Sadly, one of them fell out somewhere along Novy Arbat, so there was no chance of finding it again. This happened on my birthday. Can you say sad??? But I’ll keep my hopes up that I will miraculously find it in the lining of my coat or that another, identical pair will come into my possession… A girl can dream, can’t she?

http://glidingcalm.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/gliding-calm-special-edition-earrings-from-around-blogland/