the last supper

I'm trying to get caught up on posts here from our final days in Irkutsk - and first 2 weeks home.

Thought I would post a pic of our last meal at the apartment. Truth is, on our last LAST day - we ate at the Jackson's - which was a HUGE relief! But, here was the last thing that I cooked - and I'll call it Mexican Fiesta...Russian style!


My no-meat version

Anya gave it a "thumbs up"...which for this picky eater - that is a big deal!

And here is the meat version (with chicken).

you should really try this

Just got this note from my Mom's friend, Diane:

Please tell all your readers on your Blog, to PLEASE, PLEASE MAKE THIS. I made this Sunday morning, and it made a good size pancake which I completely devoured between 8 am and 2 pm, and was tempted to make another. I did make Cinamon Sugar (to taste) and sprinkled it on the pancake right when it came out of the oven. It was YUMMY, WONDERFUL, DELICIOUS. Thanks for the recipe.

My work here is done...

food - beef stew

BEEF STEW
There are no veggie broth type things here in Russia, so I improvised. At home I make this in the crock pot with veggie broth. I let it sit in the crock pot all day (about 5-6 hours at least).

3 onion bullion cubes
3 tomato bullion cubes (they might be red pepper, kinda hard to tell)

About 4-5 carrots
½ cup celery (optional as this is very hard to find and pretty expensive in Russia)
4-5 potatoes
1 cup green beans, could also add in some mushrooms
About 4 cups of water
Salt and pepper to taste
Also add in the following to taste: basil, oregano, garlic
Cubed beef

Put into large pot on oven set to about med-med-hi. Let come to a boil, and reduce heat to low and simmer for about an hour.

I cook the meat in the oven and add it in later (since I am a vegetarian)…this is always a family favorite! And if REALLY good the next day.

Food - mac-n-cheese

Tami’s Mother-In-Laws Mac-n-Cheese
YUMO!

1 ½ cup macaroni
Boil macaroni until done

3 tbl spoons of flour
2 cups milk
½ tsp salt
Pepper to taste
2 cups shredded cheese

Mix together

Bake at 350-400 for 35-40 minutes until the top is golden brown. You can also put on broil for 10 minutes.

food - lentil soup (VERY good!)

Lentil Soup

I never thought I would like Lentil Soup, but this is really REALLY good. Marty loves it, and asks me to make it ALL the time. This recipe came from Tami!

NOTE: this makes A LOT of soup – way too much for a family of 3 or 4. But, it keeps very well, and is good the 2nd, 3rd and even 4th day.

I’ve altered the original recipe to show how we make it.

1lb ground beef
Garlic to taste
5-6 carrots
1 bag dried lentils (about a 1lb bag)
1 can diced tomatoes
4 beef bouillon cubes, or 8 small ones (I used 4 onion and 4 red pepper cubes)
12 cups water
2 bay leaves
3 tsp basil
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp parsley

Rinse lentils
Brown ground beef (I made the beef after the soup was done, and added it at the last minute, was fine that way – also very VERY good without meat)

Add all ingredients in a large soup pot, bring to boil.

Simmer on low for about an hour and ½ or so.

Food - my favorite, potato pancakes

Potato Pancakes

4 potatoes
1 onion
1 egg
1 tsp salt
3 tbl spns flour
Pepper to taste
Oil (for pan)

OPTIONAL
Mushrooms
Cheese

Grate potatoes
Mix in egg salt, pepper and flour
Add onion and other ingredients

Mix together until all liquid is absorbed. You may need to add more flour (we added a LOT more)

Drop balls of mixture into oiled pan with a spoon (at about med to med-hi). Flip until golden brown on both sides.

HINT
If you have a lot of these to make, you will want to put the done ones in the oven to keep them warm. Also, if your pancakes are thick, put them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes to be sure they are cooked all the way through.

more questions answered part 5 - food (Marty's contribution)

Since we're talking food, Marty's contribution is as follows:

Kathy - caught at Subway in Irkutsk - with a mouth full of food. Anya says, "I like the BMT!"
Yep - bacon flavored chips. You really haven't lived until you've had bacon flavored chips.

more questions answered part 5 - food

CAN YOU SHARE RECIPES?

This is pretty funny, someone asking ME for a recipe?! I will admit, that since we’ve been in Irkutsk I’ve had to get in touch with my inner Betty Crocker. Putting away the 4” stilettos and donning an apron isn’t really my thing…but hard times call for tough women!

I thought I would spread out my new favorite recipes…for the first one – this is a recipe for ‘DEBBIE’S OVEN PANCAKES’

Preheat oven – the goal is about 350 – for the ovens in Russia, I put it on a little more than 4 (and with the nifty oven thermometer Tami let me borrow, that is about 350 - depending on the day)
2-3T butter melted

Mix together:
2-3 eggs
¼ L (or 1 cup) milk
1/10L (or ¾ cup) flour
1T sugar

Mix it all together. Pour batter into a pan (with the melted butter). Bake for about 20 minutes, until it is brown and all curled up.

Kathy’s Twist
Right before it gets done, sprinkle sugar all over the top (could even be cinnamon sugar) – bake just past brown on the top. Makes it crispy, kinda like an elephant ear. YUM!

________________
I wish I had a photo of this - I will try to make it again before we leave, and take a pic. I will say that this was a big hit with Anya and Marty!

We did this with 2 eggs - with 2 eggs, it turned out more souffle ish (and I am pretty sure that is spelled right...), and I am not a big fan of egg so I might back off to 1 egg just to see how that works.

If you have a great recipe that is easy, uses natural easy ingredients (i.e. things you can find in Russia - in other words, no Bisquick, vanilla, maple syrup, or anything else fancy) - let me know and I'll post it here!