For our sixth meal, I chose Mother Russia! The theme of this pandemic meal was Пир во время чумы (Feast in Time of Plague), after Pushkin's 1830 short story.
Как от проказницы Зимы,
Запремся также от Чумы!
Зажжем огни, нальем бокалы,
Утопим весело умы
И, заварив пиры да балы,
Восславим царствие Чумы.
As from the mischievous Winter,
We'll also lock ourselves up from the Plague!
Let's light the lights, pour the glasses
Let's drown our minds merrily
And, having brewed feasts and balls,
Let's praise the kingdom of the Plague.
I made rye bread, kasha varnishkes, borscht, pelmeni, and medovik for desert. Even though I had not made any of these items before, except maybe the kasha (my mom's recipe), I felt a lot more cultural confidence cooking these dishes -- my ancestors were Russian Jews, after all!
 |
| Great Grandpa Joe Samet and his bicycle - possibly in Radisivil, where he was born. |
Our evening was festive, and we drank vodka in the Russian style - starting with a raw egg to coat our stomachs, and following each shot with a "zakuski" (literally, "something to bite after"), which together are supposed to ensure that the drinker does not become too drunk.
I originally heard of this way of drinking from our Russian Language Scholar at Reed, a visiting fellow whom we will call "Vlad." I loved Vlad because he seemed to me truly to embody the passionate Russian spirit -- a notable quote from him, "listening to you [first-year Russian students] try to speak Russian is like watching a beautiful thing be destroyed." Vlad taught us, you must smell the bread, take the shot, bite the bread. He was also fond of ham and pickles with vodka, and suggested salt with everything. Vlad, alas, got sent back to Russia, following an unfortunate incident in which he got so drunk he fell down the stairs into the basement.
Being appropriately skeptical of Vlad's technique, therefore, I researched this drinking method on various Russian culture forums, where it was roundly supported. Although my family was dubious, I must say, it was tried but true! I do not have a high alcohol tolerance these days, but I had about 7 Stoli shots in just about 2 hours, and I did not even get drunk. We also tried kvass for the first-time, which is only mildly alcoholic, and so delicious! It is made from fermented rye bread, which sounds awful, but it was light and refreshing, like an ipa crossed with a chocolate stout. I have provided some Russian toasts below*, if you'd like to have your own Russian-style drinking party. (Please drink responsibly.)
My first time trying borscht - it was so good! :) Really healthy tasting, and chock full of veggies. I guess this dish is strongly associated with Ukraine, too (formerly part of the Soviet Union until its independence in 1991).
Kasha varnishkes, "just like mama used to make" (and still does). I did not realize how nostalgic/homesick I was for this dish until I was frying the kasha - such a comforting smell. This was the only specifically Russian Jewish food I made, mostly because I wanted to try new foods.
Pelmeni! These dumplings were really fun to make, as you can see:
I opted not to buy a mold, wanting to make them in the (more time-intensive but) distinctive hand-made shape.
Rizhsky Khleb (Russian rye bread)! This was my first time making rye bread at home and I was nervous, but it turned out really tasty. Did you know rye bread is made by using rye flour, and the seeds (caraway seeds) are just for added flavor/texture? I really didn't know anything at all about bread making before the pandemic, when I started making sourdough - before that I had only ever made challah. It was fun to try this new kind of bread.
The beautiful medovik (8-layer honey cake)! Boy, was this fiddly to make - each wafer-thin layer must be rolled out and then baked on parchment. I am really happy with how it turned out, though, and Mark loved it. My first time making a frosting with sour cream! Sour cream was certainly the theme of the evening, as it was served in the borscht and with the pelmeni, too. Yum.
On a more serious note, relating to the "feast in time of plague" theme - there is definitely a lot of privilege in being able to eat so freely during a time of widespread economic hardship. I feel deeply grateful that Mark and I have been able to continue to work remotely during this period, and that we have the financial means to eat, and even to do these special meals. We undertook this cooking challenge as a way to entertain ourselves and expand our cultural awareness, during a time when travel is impossible, but how can we do this responsibly? I don't have simple answers to this question, but I have been thinking a lot about these issues.
About a month ago, I participated in an online study conducted by a UW grad student about access to food during the pandemic. In addition to questions of subsistence, one question in this survey was about your access to "culturally-relevant foods." This issue is relatively new to me, but it has been on my mind as we do these meals. It has been tricky to get some ingredients and foods (like pandan leaf, barley tea, etc.), especially now when we are not traveling freely to specialty groceries due to the pandemic, which has perhaps simulated in some ways the experience of many Americans, who do not live in areas with lots of diverse grocery stories. Normally, this only impacts me very slightly - I couldn't get kasha at any local grocery and had to order it online at a higher price - as most of "my" foods are easily found within dominant food culture. However, for many Americans, lack of access to culturally-relevant ingredients must be a significant struggle. I think we do a disservice to our citizens, especially immigrants, when it is not possible to readily get needed ingredients -- food is such a big part of the texture of life. I know demand must play a big role in what our local grocery stores can carry, but I wish it were possible to diversify their products. Maybe if more Americans learned about diverse foods, and grew to develop a taste for them, it would drive up demand and make our grocery stores more inclusive. We will do our small part...
After dinner, we watched an episode of Cheburashka, and then the 1980 Soviet film Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears. This was recommended in several forums as a good "slice of life" film embodying "the Russian soul." I really enjoyed it. Fun image of friends celebrating a wedding in their women's dormitory, with a table stretching between two rooms.
When? July 25, 2020
Who cooked? Lauren
What's for dinner? (Recipe links) Russian rye bread, kasha varnishkes, borscht, pelmeni, and medovik
Russia Stats
- Population: 145,734,038 (#9 in the world)
- GDP: 4,000 -- so much lower than China and the US, but still the 5th in the world
- Life Expectancy: 72.4
- Founding Date/Age in 2020: 882 / 1138
- Official Language: Russian
- Largest producer of
- barley
- buckwheat (kasha)
- oats
- sugar beet
- currant and gooseberries
- raspberries
- vetches
- oil
- diamonds
- palladium
- Highest crude divorce rate
- Largest proven natural gas reserves
- Largest natural gas exporter
- Largest forest area, land area, and total area
- Most countries bordered (14; 16 if Abkhazia and South Ossetia are counted, the same number as with China)
- Most time zones (contiguous territory)
- Most television broadcast stations
- Most militarized society
- Largest nuclear arsenal
- Largest tank army
- Most corvettes (vessel of war, not luxury cars) in operation
Поехали! [pa-yé-kha-lee] - Let’s get started!
За здоровье! [za zda-ró-vye] – To your health!
Будем здоровы! [bóo-deem zda-ró-vye] – To our health!
За тебя! [za tibya] – To you!
Выпьем за то, чтобы у нас всегда был повод для праздника! [Vyp'yem za to, chtoby u nas vsegda byl povod dlya prazdnika!]
May we always have a reason for a party!
За встречу! [za fstryé-tchoo] - To our meeting!
За нашу дружбу! [za ná-shoo dróo-zhboo] - To our friendship!
За хозяйку этого дома![za ha-syáj-koo é-ta-wa dó-ma] - To the hostess!
За женщин! [za zhén-shsheen] - To women!
За любовь! [za lyoo-bóf] - To love!
За родителей! [za ra-dée-tye-ley] - To our parents!
Давайте выпьем за то, чтобы мы испытали столько горя, сколько капель водка останется в наших бокалах!
[Davayte vyp'yem za to, chtoby my ispytali stol'ko gorya, skol'ko kapel' vodka ostanetsya v nashikh bokalakh!]
May we suffer as much sorrow as drops of vodka we are about to leave in our glasses!
Давайте всегда наслаждаться жизнью, как этим бокалом водка!
[Davayte vsegda naslazhdat'sya zhizn'yu, kak etim bokalom vodka!]
Let us always enjoy life the way we enjoy this glass of vodka!
На посошок! [na pa-sa-shók] - One for the road!
