Cucumber House

Most of these summer days I stay in Moscow neighborhood, at my parents "dacha". So there are no skyscrapers, no people, no churches, no autos, no noise, no pollution.  Moreover, there is not much to talk about or to show in the blog. So I prepared for you this Cucumber saga.
Parents were brought up and developed in Soviet era, when private property was almost forbidden. Little piece of land (600sqm actually) and little wooden "Finnish" house (here is example), which people received at work as the bonus to Communism builders for dedicated work, was the long-expected dream came true.
Now the Communism builder could plant and grow fruits and vegetables for himself (selling was prohibited), so the land was divided in patches or greenhouses were built to save tomatoes and cucumbers from unpredictable weather.
Here we arrive to the exact cucumber house we see above. It is in full motion and is the integral part of urban landscape in every household in the neighborhood.

I show you the exterior, interior, produce and result.

And the receipt of salted cucumbers (they go great with vodka in the winter time) from my mother:

Put cucumbers in 1litre glass jar, add cold water, 2 tablespoons of sea salt (no salt with iodine!!, Mother's special note), dill's umbrellas, garlic, currant's and cherry's leaves. Keep jar open 3 days in room temperature.
Then pour out the pickle to the pot and bring it to boil, then pour over the cucumbers and keep them for 5 min. Repeat this "hot pickle wash" twice.
And at the end close the jar tightly with thoroughly boiled tin cup.
Keep in fridge's coolness till winter and enjoy!

Few questions because of my long absence.
What happened to City Daily Photo site, maybe you have some info?
Why Tomas is in Montana?
Aren't this blog new co-workers are gorgeous, do you agree with me?

Posted by Irina.

Prianiki

Russian ginger breads (Prianiki).
Recipe (here in Russian):

Rye flour- 2.5 cups Honey - 1 cup Sugar - 1/3 cup Zest of half orange Vodka - 1/3 cup (well, in the original recipe they mention pure alcohol, that one, which is 90%vol and transparent) Cinnamon powder  - 1/2 tea spoon Clove - 1/2 tea spoon Nutmeg - 1/2 tea spoon Pepper - 1/2 tea spoon
Boil honey, cool, stir in spices, orange zest, mix well with spatula, gradually add sugar, alcohol, flour, and when the mass has cooled, knead the dough. After this process the dough, folding and stretching it till it turn white. Leave for half an hour, then cut into round cakes of 1 cm (half inch) thickness and bake on a floured baking sheet for about 15 minutes in mid temperatures.

Restaurant View

The breathtaking view from the top floor of "Sputnik" hotel. Indian restaurant is located there and, if you like Indian cuisine like I do, welcome to the place, to enjoy food, hospitality and the view.

The site of the restaurant. The place was full and many visitors were native Indians, which I always considered to be good sign for national cuisines in Moscow.

Sorry for the quality of the photo (my hands and air conditioned in the right corner), I was too mesmerized by the view to notice these "details"..

Posted by Irina.

The Honey Fair in Manezh

Twice a year, August and February, Moscow is indulged by the honey from all over Russia. The fair gives the opportunity to buy fresh, real honey directly from the producers, who can talk about honey for hours explaining all the nuances and details of utility, collecting and storing, you can taste as many samples as you want, honey is delivered from Middle Russia, high mountains of Altai,  Far East, etc.
I did not know that when you plan to try many types of honey you need to be equipped with bottle of water to wash away the previous taste. Or to take a bite of apple for same reason. I choose water, looks like this way I can try more honey...
Click to enlarge:

Maslenitsa

This week is Maslenitsa(Pancake) week in Orthodox Church calendar. The week before the Lent, seven weeks before the Easter.
The feast is known from pagan times when Russians said "Good-bye" to the winter and welcomed the spring, warmth and the sun. So the pancake symbolised round hot yellow sun.
The Orthodox church added to the feast the idea of forgiving, reconciliation, preparation to the time of the Lent.

For many Moscovites it is the time when we cook bliny (pancakes) and invite our friends and relatives to taste and enjoy the food together.

I made this photo in chain fast-food cafe, specialising in bliny with different filling. Here:

My grandma's recipe (if you want to join our Maslenitsa celebration this week):

I litre (quart) cold milk,
3 eggs,
2 cups of flour, well, she added it by eye...
1/2 tea spoon of salt
1 table spoon of sugar (amount depends on your preferences)
3 table spoon of vegetable oil
First - blend together milk, eggs, salt, sugar, oil and flour.
Second, last and most important  - is the consistence of the mixture. It should be like drinking yoghurt: you'll look silly if you eat it with the spoon, but it definitely not as thin as water.

Heat the frying pan (diameter 24cm/9,5"), add oil. Fill 2/3 soup ladle with the mixture. Pour it into the middle of hot pan and allow the batter to spread  inside the pan, tilting it. That makes very thin layer to be cooked fast, in 1-2 minutes. Then turn the pancake by the spatula to the other side for 1-2 minutes more frying.

Do not worry if the first pancake will be spoiled, it is OK. We have a saying: "First bliny is always spoiled", meaning that first experience in any field often turns disaster.
Bliny needs time to make friends with pan, spatula, oil and your hands. So second one, but usually third one  will turn perfect.
Can be served with butter and different fillings:
Meal: meat, or mushrooms, or cheese, or salted salmon, or caviar
Dessert: honey, or milk, or sour cream or jam.
Enjoy!

Coffee and Lemon

It's been a little while since I posted a photo of coffee cups. Well, here you are!
Enjoy your week-end!

Another version on my extension site.

A cup of coffee

I seem to fall into collecting of coffee photos. But I really can't help taking picture when seeing a wonderful cup of this fresh-made beverage! Can you smell it? :)

Chocolat

Staying home on a sick leave, I entertain myself with my favourite movies, and 'Chocolat' is definitely on of the best! Have you seen that film? Do you like it? Oh, I'm so very fond of it! I've read the original novel, and I believe that story gained a lot by being screened so skilfully. I quess that even slight changes of the plot didn't spoil a thing but rather added some charm.

And here is 'home-made' illustration to the topic :)

Striped cake

This cake, named 'zebra', was considered as a traditional one in my family. When I was a child, my parents used to bake it every Saturday. We didn't have an electric mixer then, and my farther used his drill with hand-made attachment to beat eggs. Ah, those sweet days of childhood!..

I decided to restore the recipe some time ago and to try making 'zebra' myself. Well, it's not quite as I remember it, but still not bad! And it looks funny.

The Theme Day: Glass

Oh, spring has come! At least, the calendar one :)
And, as it's 1st, it means another Theme Day! March theme is glass, and I chose this photo of 'magic tea'. This tea-based hot beverage with cinamon, ginger, pieces of apple and orange is exactly what you need after a walk along the winter park! Its spicy warmth revives and recharges you. Absulutely right thing to have on a cold day!

Another version on my extension site.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

A Crock

What do you think of when you hear about a crock? I bet, even if your thoughts turn toward pottery you hardly mean the real, ceramic one. Well, nevertheless, that's what I'm going to present you today: stew in the crock. Although it seems a little old-fashioned, it's traditional food in Russia even now. Ceramic pots can be found in most kitchenware shops, but not too many households use them because cooking in crocks is a bit labourious. I tried my new ones yesterday, and I liked the result! It took time, though :)

More chocolate

This is nice addition to the cup of coffee I posted few days back.

Quoi de neuf?

This curious coffee-set of mine I use on week-end mornings, and it cheers me up exceedingly. Why, doesn't your coffee cup ask you questions? Mine does, as you see. I should be careful, though, while talking to it so that any occasional witness wouldn't take me wrong.

So, what's new? :)

The Artistry

If you don't know what to do with tons of presscake after you drunk your juice or your children are tired with every other activity - well, just give them the pomace and let them be as creative as they can! Though, you can leave it for yourself if you wish for it's absolutely absorbing! :)

I shaped this 'piece of art' out of carrot presscake and was quite pride with myself :)

Cooking 'Russian Cheese-cakes'

Is it too much food in my blog lately? Sorry about that but I found it extremely entertaining to photograph the things I eat or cook.
So here is a stage in the process of cooking 'Russian cheese-cakes' I posted some days back. I liked the intense colour of yolk and the way it contracts with white curd.

By the way, I published the illustrated recipe for those on my extension site.

Let's talk about...

After holidays my home is full of chocolate. Though, I don't mind at all, for I'm a big fan of that. My daily portion of sweets was a little 'extended' lately, and here is the box of candies which is currently 'in use'. These are by famous Russian confectionary Babaevsky, and from my point of view they make the best chocolate in Russia! Besides, I'm also extremely fond of Lindt and Cote D'Or (and other Swiss or Belgian brands), and Ferrero will do as well.

Oh, you know my weakness now!..

Russian cheese-cake

Hope you have had your breakfast/lunch/dinner? :)

Well, to tell you the truth, this simple food has little to do with traditional cheese-cake but 'cheese-cake' is the exact translation of Russian word for it. In fact, it's a kind of pancakes made of curd (it's something like cottage-cheese but rather indiscrete mass, more or less dry, and unsalted). We eat it with sour-cream, honey, jam, marmalade, chocolate spread or nut-butter.

You can see more photos on my extension site.

One good thing about autumn is a variety of fruits and vegetables available on the market. I hurried to take a picture before this colourful beauty is eaten.

Have a nice week-end!

Cooking day

Market

One of city markets.