On a warm, sunny June 19th, 2014, we welcomed an addition to our little family. Her name is Eliza and she’s an absolute joy. She is surrounded by much love not the least of which is from her big sister Sophia.
Category: <span>Life</span>
There is nothing like the vibrancy of summer to kickstart my desire to get into the kitchen and turn out something delicious. I’ve been on quite the baking binge lately including loaves, brownies, sour cherry slab pie and now this walnut-pecan coffee cake.
Thank goodness we’ve had visitors so that they can help out with consumption or else I fear I would bake and cook faster than we can consume and my svelte figure would surely suffer. 🙂 I’ve taken a liking to reading cookbooks. There are wonderful ones out there that are not packed with just recipes but personal stories and perspectives that highlight the rationale behind the author’s culinary style. David Lebovitz and Yottam Ottolenghi both do a wonderful job of luring the reader into their books. All that reading and the amazing pictures in their cookbooks has now resulted in a queue of things I’ll be cooking including roasted banana ice cream and fattoush.
Looks like I am not the only busy bee at our house …
At last, the rain stopped and the sun came out. The humidity stayed away and we really enjoyed being in the country. As if insatiable with summer and what it has to offer, I hightailed to the farm on Saturday morning to pick tart cherries. The season has just started but if I know anything, it is that you got to show up early or not at all. I took my dad on a father/daughter excursion for help and also as an early Father’s Day treat to myself. I don’t remember the last time we spent time just the two of us and I couldn’t think of a better time to restart the counter.
You see, my father has many wonderful traits, but one of them, he comes by naturally: he’s fairly tall. We weren’t as serious about picking as some of the others braving the 9 am farm crush. I could see a slight disappointment in my father’s eyes as he eyed the competition armed with ladders, but we found a few trees that were yielding Jubilee Cherries which are a slightly sweeter, larger tart cherry. You had to go a lot deeper into the grove to seek out this variety but we, and, unsurprisingly a whole group of Russians found them at the same time. The cherries were scrumptious, so juicy and tender that we found it difficult to leave the grove but finally decided it was time to head out when the scales tipped past the ten pound mark. I feared what Evan and my mom would say about the sheer magnitude of our harvest as it had to be used rather quickly.
I knew that we could always be generous and share them with my sister whose absolute favorite food is tart cherry vareniki. Sharing would still leave me with quite a bit and sure, we can turn into jam, preserves, conserves or something of the likes. You can even make fruit punch with them. But I wanted them in a baked dish and hand pies or pierogies seemed like a lot of bother. After some searching, I decided that we had to go big and so made a large, sour cherry slab pie. Mmm, so good. My dad and I picked the cherries, my mom pitted the cherries, I made the heavenly pie crust and assembled with the help of my dad. Unsurprisingly, for a sweet tooth anyway, he never turns down an invitation to help in the kitchen when someone is cooking something sweet.
It was heavenly — tart and sweet, meaty and flaky and just everything that you think summer and summer desserts should be. Thankfully, I froze a batch of cherries for one more pie just like this and I am sure they won’t stay in my freezer too much longer. There aren’t too many other culinary stories to share with you with this weekend because in addition to visiting with us and playing with Sophia, my parents brought us dinner and lunch for the next few days. For once, we’re grateful for the break and are enjoying some of our favorites like cold borscht.
Speaking of playing, and play they did. In the sandbox and in the garden, outside in the front yard and in the back yard. Sophia planted new seeds and watered them too. Happiness is seeing your child involved in take care of her demesne and sharing that with your family.
It has been significantly warmer and muggy around these parts. When the winter chills hit, I forget that the District of Columbia and its surroundings are pretty much one big swamp that gets hot, humid and full of mosquitos come summer time. Usually, the beginning of June serves as an unwelcome reminder and we realize that summer around these parts means early morning/evening walks and hiding out in the comfort of an air conditioner at all other times.
No matter, the weather and the sudden bout of humidity did not deter my sister and her family from visiting.
The kids, despite their age differences played wonderfully together and we all enjoyed great food and great company.
Evan and I whipped together a very easy lunch of a summer-vegetable pasta salad and a chicken sausage with sautéed peppers and onions. Sophia was my sous chef.
We deglazed the sausage and peppers with red wine vinegar to cut through the sweetness of the peppers and the richness of the onions. Since the meal was rich and satisfying and the temperatures far too warm, I whipped up a rhubarb compote with home-whipped cream, meringues and fresh berries for dessert… say a non-messy Eton Mess.
Ever since we started dating … over a DOZEN years ago, Evan’s been fascinated by and embraced my Russian heritage. He had already been exposed to Russian culture and language to a limited extent before he had met me, but I think his fascination gradually increased as he discovered how close-knit my family was and how we get together regularly with our cousins and share unbelievably delicious food and loads of drinks, cakes, fresh fruits and great, great company. The food at those summer get-togethers might be what wooed him, but the people are what probably keeps him coming back. To this day, despite having a little one, we still try to come back for at least a few get-togethers back home in the Philadelphia area and have been labeled “Road Warriors” more than once for sometimes making back-to-back visits for birthdays that are a week apart. But I digress…
The food… the food… hand-made dumplings stuffed with meat and cheese and sometimes, when we consider ourselves very fortunate, sour cherries. Handmade blintzes with farmer’s cheese drizzled with berry sauce made from fresh berries, layered cakes, grilled shashliks, home-made Russian potato salad, pickled herring, smoked & pickled fish, vibrant salads, grilled veggies and cold borsht… (queue … these are my our favorite things). There are more, but I don’t want to tease without being able to offer a taste.
While the food is delicious, the thing Evan enjoys equally as much is the company and the flow of a traditional russian grill/bbq/gettogether. There is a great sense of community and a unique set of traditions. That said, partaking in parties is not a complete Russian experience and we don’t live just by attending one party after another. Since marrying into the family, Evan has learned about many different other Russian traditions, quirks, and shenanigans. These include, but are not limited to, things like enduring my mother’s scolding when either of us doesn’t wear a hat in the autumn because being cold will clearly infect you with a cold… or sitting down for a moment before leaving on a big trip.
All these traditions and quirks can be quite difficult to navigate and, since I’ve inherently been exposed to them since an early age, I too sometimes do not realize that something may present itself as a cultural conundrum. Thank goodness for MOOCs (Mass Open Online Courses). Much to my surprise and secret pleasure, Coursera is now offering an online course called “Understanding Russians“. That’s right, not understanding Russian, but understanding RussianS as in the people. Maybe we (Russians) are really that complicated that a whole course is necessary, or maybe there are just so many nuances. Either way, Evan found this class on his own, has signed up and is taking it. I am looking forward to hearing about his experience.
On a separate note, a rather entertaining situation (at least to me) has evolved with Evan and our local Russian grocery store. (Well, Evan would call them “Soviet-style” food stores, but that’s getting technical.) First, I am as surprised as you are to find out that there are Russian food stores in our neck of the woods. Sure, we occasionally hear Russian speech out in public, but not often. Either way, there are two small grocery stores that offer delicacies essential to any Russian household: smoked fish, cold cuts, excellent dairy products, cakes made in Kiev and Moscow, Russian candies, drinks like kvass and tarhun, cookies, ice cream, caviar, and preserves.
I, being a self-confessed sweet tooth, have indoctrinated Sophia into my love of my favorite Russian candies from my childhood. I personally like Strela, but I wouldn’t turn down a Mishka, either. Sophia has really taken to the Mishka candy, which happens to be her father’s favorite, too. There are many other varieties of candies, but those are some our favorites probably because I grew up with them. Both are now made in Brooklyn, NY by Russian expats and are even better than they were when they were made in Russia. Since they are so cherished at home, we like to re-supply quite often and it has so happened that Evan frequently has to make the dash to the Russian store to pick them up. Apparently, since he only picks up these two necessities, Evan has decided that he has made an impression on the owner and is now known as the candy-man. He’s now boycotting the store … I suppose I’ll have to trek there myself to re-supply. It doesn’t help matters that the surly owner keeps trying to ascertain if Evan is Russian by vigilantly scanning Evan’s face for the slightest hint of a smile (which would be a dead giveaway that he is American), and by presenting him with various Russian shibboleths. Most recently,
[Evan plops a couple kilos of candy onto the scale at the checkout counter.]
Surly shop-owner, in Russian: “You sure you don’t want any kielbasa to go with all that candy?
Evan, in Russian: NO.
He may have passed the language test, but no true Russian would have left that store without cured meat.
Lets pretend that it is the middle of July and we are in the Amalfi coast enjoying a Caprese salad in the not-so-quiet-any-longer seaside town of Sorrento.
You can almost believe that we were there this weekend from this picture… but alas, the basil is from our garden, the tomatoes are sadly hothouse, but the mozzarella, authentic. This salad dressed in balsamic and a great olive oil from Napa was just enough to transport Evan and me to June 2009 when we visited the Amalfi coast on our way from Rome to Sicily.
A long weekend is just what was needed at our house. A long, leisurely weekend where we could stay-cation knowing that there would be nowhere to rush to and no traffic jams to be stuck in. We prepared well by stocking up on groceries and to-do lists, inviting my parents down for a few days to help with Sophia while we got a handle on spring cleaning. My eyes dance with pleasure every time I walk into my closet now — the shoes all organized, the purses neatly stacked away in their cloth cases.
The weather, too, did not disappoint holding the temperature steady in the mid 70ies most of the time. That in itself is surprising for this area given the time of year. We re-introduced Sophia to gardening this year and she planted her own flowers and a few pea plants. She’s been diligently watering them and everything in the yard every chance she gets.
We also broke out our new sandbox — well, new to us. I can’t say that I am a huge fan of sand boxes, but I know Sophia enjoys playing in one and so we finally got some sand and she had a great time.
The spring cleaning and all that time outdoors surely whetted our appetites for something delicious and Evan didn’t disappoint with his stir fried beef with black bean sauce and fried rice.
The days off flew by too quickly but the end of Memorial Day signifies the semi-official beginning of summer, of great weather, great produce and more time outdoors.
Whew… and what a busy and delicious weekend it was. I guess we missed being home over the weekend having been gone for the past two and so we both rushed home from work with bags full of groceries and had every plan to stay, relax and cook. The weather has been beautiful and that has influenced both our time outdoors and our menu.
Before I tell you about the menu and all the fun things we did, I cannot in good faith hold back the fact that Evan has officially indoctrinated Sophia into the club of Popcorn Connoisseurs.
As you can see, she is deliberating on whether she should have yet another perfectly popped corn morsel. Not just any popcorn, but Evan’s special, home-made popcorn too. It was a huge hit and I am glad that they have yet another thing they can share. In fact, I am not sure who was more excited about the popcorn, Evan or Sophia. In the end, I am sure her love of this snack was always a foregone conclusion. She is so much like him, it was only a matter of time!
As for what we did the rest of the time? There was fun at the big playground with a castle, a pirate’s boat and an adventure course. There was also a trip to the nursery to get some tomato, pepper and herb plants which was followed first by fervent planting and then serious groans from some sore backs (actually, just mine, but for good reason!). This year, Sophia has really embraced gardening and was so very happy to plant each and every lettuce and snap peas.
While not planting or running around the playgrounds, we stayed home, watched Cinderella and cooked. There were Evan’s obligatory asian-style, barely cooked snow peas,
and an old-fashioned burger that we made by grinding the meat ourselves (yes, it does make a difference) … with some oven fries.
They were chased by homemade rhubarb and raspberry frozen yogurt
and … because I already had the ice cream machine plugged in, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to add a little variety; I made a Mango cardamom frozen yogurt, too.
That is topped with basil flowers, of course!
These are farmer’s cheese shortbread cookies that I used to love as a child. I had these vivid memories of my mom making them and since this weekend we celebrate Mothers, I thought it appropriate to make something that brings me such warm memories of my own mom.
Are you with me? Oh yes, moving on from sweet and Russian-themed to spicy and Mexican to Breakfast Burritos we made for lunch …
… and finishing off with these amazing chicken fajitas…
topped with roasted peppers and onions and garlicky, cilantro dressing, sour cream and guacamole.
This weekend was absolutely splendid and oh-so-delicious. I just we didn’t live so far away from our families and could share the spread with them.
All has been quiet on this blog for a bit and that is due to a few colds we’ve been weathering. Spring colds or warmer weather colds are the worst. You are home, feeling poorly and watching as the rest of the world comes to life and blooms. Thankfully, we’re mostly over them and have moved on to the next worst thing — seasonal allergies. Seasonal allergies though, did not keep us away from visiting my in-laws and attending our good friends’ daughter’s first birthday party. In between of all the driving, and there was quite a bit of it, we did enjoy time at my in-laws and even a dinner out with my sister and her family.
Bubbles, bubbles are all the rage. Who wouldn’t want to squeal with delight trying to catch these bubbles?
… and then there are always care-taking duties to attend to like feeding your baby. You’ll notice, Sophia even put a bib on the baby. Grammie and Pop’s house is like a toy wonderland and she loved it so much, she didn’t want to leave. Hopefully, we’ll get visitors soon. As usual, I will cook in exchange for having Sophia entertained.
“Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do… but how much love we put in that action.” Mother Theresa was right, and this must be the reason Grammie and Pop’s house is so magical for us and especially for Sophia. There is no magic in reality, just an incredible investment of time, attention and love for Sophia and us, too.
Sophia’s social season has begun and we are too happy to tag along to all her soirees. Fortunately, the first event took place close to my in-laws who graciously hosted us. The weather was gorgeous and we were happy to see our friends, get some help with Sophia, rest and unwind in a much quieter setting than offered in our Washington D.C., suburbs.
Sophia loved, loved, loved being on the balance beam, choosing to go on a high one even though she’s never tried a beam before. We should probably sign her up for gymnastics and nurture her budding skills and interest.
Having caught up with our good friends and enjoyed the hospitality of my in-laws, we departed on our journey back satiated and rested wishing the trip didn’t end so quickly and the drive didn’t take so long.
There doesn’t always have to be a reason to share something, does there?
