Russian Fairy Tales

My father taught English in Yugoslavia when he was a young man. He traveled extensively throughout the Slavic countries. He has a fondness for that area of the world similar to my affection for Greece.

When I was a little girl, I came into the possession of two Russian fairy tale books. I cannot recall exactly how I came to own them (I believe they were gifts), but I read them over and over again. The pictures were so lovely and the stories so interesting that I would often re-read them for hours.

My boys are bibliophiles as well, but in addition to actually reading their books, they usually tear them up. (Not deliberately - they usually play "library" with their books or leave them on the floor after pulling half their books off their shelf in order to find the one they want.) I've kept the fairy tale books away from the boys, but decided to bring them out for Russia Week to share some stories with them.

I'm sorry to report that they weren't all that interested, mostly because Russian stories (like many fairy tales from other cultures) are long, involved, and repetitive. I had hoped that they'd at least like the pictures, but maybe they are a bit too young to really appreciate them.

Your local library will probably have many books about Russia, but these are the two books I grew up with. You should be able to find them for purchase online or, if you are very lucky, at your local bookstore or library.

Russian Fairy Tales
Translated by Marie Ponsot
Illustrated by Benvenuti
Published 1987 by Ideals Publishing Corporation
ISBN: 0-8249-8160-X

The Three Kingdoms: Russian Folk Tales from Alexander Afanasiev's Collection
Illustrated by A. Kurkin
Published 1985 by Raduga Publishers
ISBN: 5-05-000056-4

On the Menu: Tea...with Jam

I'm not a big tea drinker, but Bobbi and kids drink the stuff like it's water.  Luckily for them, so do Russians.

Although we were surprised to learn that many people in Russia put fruit jam and/or jelly in their tea.  Yeah, that's right, jam…not sugar or honey…jam.

The kids were pretty excited to try it out.  They scooped some homemade strawberry jelly into their tea.  It actually was pretty good.  And I guess it makes sense.  It's like putting honey into your tea, only it adds more than just sweetness, it adds a little fruit flavor as well.

On the Menu: Rassolnik (with leftover Black Bread)

How can you make stew any more amazing than it actually is?

Pickles.

It sounds strange, I know, but pickles in stew is delicious. The pickles add such a lovely tart taste that I almost wouldn't dream of not adding them to my next batch of stew.

Plus, it's a great way of using leftover relish (which, because of my crazy family and our canning adventures, we have plenty).

The boys were tolerant of the pickles, though Balin ate around them. Arthur was as surprised as we were that pickles were a good addition to stew.

Rassolnik (original recipe here)
Serves 8-10

For the broth:
10 cups water
1 lb beef, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup barley, rinsed
1/2 tbs salt, plus more to taste
3 medium potatoes, diced
1 carrot, thinly sliced

For the Zazharka:
1 1/2 cups dill relish
4 tbs olive oil, divided
1 carrot, grated
1 onion, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely sliced
1 tbs tomato sauce
2 tbs fresh dill
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp black pepper
sour cream (optional)
extra dill to serve (optional)

1. In a large pot, boil water, beef, barley, and salt for 30 minutes. Skim off any impurities that rise to the top. This is imperative to ensure that you have a lovely, clear broth at the end!
2. Saute the relish in 1 tbs oil for a few minutes. Add relish, potatoes, and sliced carrots to the pot and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
3. To make the Zazharka: Add 3 tbs olive oil to a large skillet and sauté onion for two minutes. Then add grated carrot and sliced celery and continue to sauté until carrots are soft (about five minutes). Stir in tomato sauce, then add this mixture to the soup.
4. Add bay leaves, black pepper, dill, and salt to taste. Continue to simmer for another two minutes, or until the potatoes have fully cooked. Serve immediately with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of dill.

On the Menu: Lobio with Black Bread

The best thing about this whirl-wind trip around the world is getting to indulge in some new foods. I love to cook and trying new recipes is somewhat of a challenge for me because I usually end up adapting recipes to my family's tastes before I actually make the original recipe.

I don't usually do this with breads, however. Breads are one of those things that generally require such precise measurements that if I fudge with the recipe without making a loaf first, I end up with a loaf of bread that no one eats because it's too...interesting.

I will readily admit that I was nervous about the black bread. It has a few questionable ingredients and I wasn't sure that my two boys (who, in reality, are quite adventurous foodies) would be able to handle it. I had my doubts about the coffee grounds. I had my doubt about the chocolate. I had my doubt about the caraway seeds. But what emerged from the oven was so beautiful and tasty, my mouth is watering a bit right now.

And the boys loved it, too!

We cheated a bit with the Lobio, as it is originally a Georgian dish, but it was very difficult to find a Russian bean dish that wasn't a soup. Although not everyone raved about this dish, I loved the flavor of the beans and ground walnuts and found the dish to be even better the next day, served at room temperature.

Lobio (original recipe here)
Serves 6

1 cup dried kidney beans, soaked overnight
1 cup walnuts (bits and pieces okay)
1 red onion, diced
1 tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp dried savory
1 pinch dried fenugreek
1/2 cup (total) of basil and parsley
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Simmer beans for about 1-2 hours until they begin to fall apart. Add more water as necessary.
2. Saute onions in oil until transparent.
3. Grind walnuts with salt, pepper, garlic, and the dried herbs.
4. Drain the beans, reserving about 1-2 cups of water. Add the onions, mixing well, then add the ground walnut mixture. Add additional salt and pepper, if needed. Add water a little bit at a time to make a sauce.*
5. Add the red wine vinegar and fresh spices. Mix well. Serve hot, warm, or cold. The longer the Lobio sits, the stronger the flavor.

*This is based on your personal preference, so add lots of water if you like sauce and just a little if you prefer drier foods.


Russian Black Bread (original recipe here)
Makes 2 large loaves 

4 cups rye flour
3 cups white flour
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 cups bran flakes
2 tbs caraway seeds, crushed
2 tsp coffee grounds
2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp fennel seed, crushed
4 1/2 tsp yeast
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup dark molasses
1 square (1 oz) unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water

1. Combine the rye and white flours.
2. Using a large bowl, mix 2 1/3 cups of the flour mixture, sugar, salt, bran flakes, caraway seeds, coffee, onion powder, fennel seeds, and yeast.
3. Combine 2 1/2 cups water, vinegar, molasses, chocolate, and butter in a saucepan. Heat over low heat until liquids are warm (butter and chocolate do not need to fully melt).
4. Gradually add the mixture to the dry ingredients and beat for about two minutes with your mixer. Add 1/2 cup of the flour mixture. Beat for another two minutes. Repeat until the mixture forms a soft dough. Let rest for 10 minutes.
5. Knead for about 10-15 minutes, then place dough in well-greased bowl, turning it so that the dough gets grease on the top as well as the bottom. Cover and let rise in a warm place, until doubled (about 1 hour).
6. When the dough has doubled, punch it down, remove from bowl onto a floured surface, and divide in half. Shape each half into a ball. Place the balls onto a large, greased pizza pan or two small, greased cake pans. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk again (about 30 minutes to an hour).
7. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45-50 minutes.
8. While the bread is baking, combine the cornstarch and the ice water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture just begins to boil. Continue to cook for another minute. As soon as the bread is baked, brush the cornstarch mixture over the tops of the loaves. Return the bread to the oven and bake for another two or three minutes, until the glaze sets. Remove from the pans and cool on wire racks.

Russia Week: The Menu

Growing up in Alaska, I'm used to the plethora of late summer vegetables; primarily cabbages, potatoes, and carrots. The growing season in Russia is quite similar to Alaska's, so it isn't a surprise that most Russian recipes integrate some form of cabbage (either fresh or brined or fermented), carrots, or potatoes.

We worried a bit about the heaviness of all the breads and potatoes, but the meals weren't nearly as heavy as we thought they would be.

This week we will be eating:

Lobio with Black Bread

Rassolnik with Black Bread

Piroshki

Medovik

Alternative Menu Ideas:

Pelmeni
Borscht
Shchi
Blini
Botvinya

Russia Week: March 15-21

Arthur picked Russia for his second country. He pointed to the map and said, "This BIG country here." Can you tell he's five going on six? Everything's better when it's giant-sized.

There's a heavy Russian influence in Alaska, especially along the coastal areas. Many people in those areas are often bilingual or trilingual: English, Russian, and a native language (such as Yup'ik or Alutiiq). There are old Russian Orthodox churches everywhere in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and Southeast Alaska. When I went to Nome, there was a lovely little Russian store where I found Robinson a carved chess set.

Long after colonization and Seward's Folly, Russian culture remains strongly embedded in present-day Alaska.

We were studying Russia itself and not any of its former colonies, so to kick-off the celebration, we checked out a movie from the library that was part of a series called "Families of the World." Each video is of a different country and is about a half-hour long. The one about Russia followed two kids, one from a rural area of Russia and one from a city.

The boys loved seeing how their lives were different from the children in the movie. They were amazed at the amount of cabbage, carrots, and potatoes the rural family stored in their cellar. They were surprised that the kids often had sandwiches for breakfast and drank their tea with jam.

But there were also similarities: both kids went to school and did homework. They had after-school activities and their own interests. In essence, my boys realized they were almost exactly the same as the children in the movie.

The movies themselves are pretty old (almost 10 years), but they are interesting enough to make viewing worthwhile. Check your local library! They might even have other series that were not available at mine.

On the Menu: Dulce de Leche

When Robinson was a child, his parents would make this delicious treat for him and his brothers. 

Sometime during our courtship, Robinson made me dulce de leche in his parents' pressure cooker. At that point, I had never made anything in a pressure cooker before, so it was fun to see the transformation of sweetened condensed milk to a thick, caramel pudding. 

The boys loved it, too!

If you don't have a pressure cooker or can't borrow one, you might be able to find pre-made dulce de leche at your local specialty store or supermarket. 

Pressure Cooker dulce de leche

Serves 4

1 can sweetened condensed milk
4-6 tsp vanilla
dippers (apples, bananas, pretzels, and anything else that might be good with caramel!)
pressure cooker

1. Fill the pressure cooker with 1" of water.
2. Take the label off the can of milk and put it in the pressure cooker. Close and heat.
3. Get the pressure to 15 pounds. Process it at 15 pounds pressure for 15 minutes. Let cool.
4. Open the condensed milk can and scrape into a medium bowl. Add vanilla to taste. Eat with whatever dippers you'd like!