Food in Novgorod: An Excellent Experience
As we sat in JFK airport, waiting to leave for Russia, we wondered: What will we eat in Russia?
The other students and I thought we'd be eating a lot of cabbage, potatoes and borshcht. And maybe sausage. Beyond that, we had no idea. The only Russian sounding food I knew about was beef Stroganoff, and strawberries Romanov, both from the Betty Crocker cookbook. I'm pretty sure Betty wasn't Russian.
My hosts are in their forties, and fairly health conscious, except for their dairy products, which were all at least 2.5% fat. This isn't necessarily bad, and it certainly made everything dairy taste delicious. I normally eat only fat-free dairy products, so I had to suspend my personal rules (it was no hardship!). The family eats lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, especially berries in season. During July 2012, the strawberries, blueberries, and black currants were in full swing.
The first day I arrived at the apartment, Lesya and Sasha, my hosts, prepared a beautiful dinner, accompanied by red wine.
The main entree was a breaded chicken cutlet with boiled herbed potatoes. There was sauteed eggplant with a spread of sour cream and dill (bottom picture, right) and summer squash slices with the same topping (top picture, center top). For almost every meal, there was cheese, bread, and sliced cold cuts. There was almost always a large green salad, too.
Breakfast was my favorite meal. Lesya and Sasha said they have a family breakfast tradition of oatmeal (or some other cooked whole grain, like buckwheat) and a variety of chopped fruits. This is topped with kefir (a semi-liquid unsweetened yogurt product) and toasted sunflower nuts and pumpkin seeds. You put some of everything in your bowl and sweeten it with a spoonful of jam. It was wonderful.
This was an average breakfast: kiwi, plums, apples, pears, oranges, nectarines, and peaches to top your oatmeal. Also, there was toast, cheese, and sausage. I drank hot tea, in the mornings, and Sasha and Lesya had either tea or coffee.
This breakfast had some variation because there were fresh blueberries from the forest, and some pink grapefruit. Note the milk carton: 2.5% fat. Since I was used to skim milk, this seemed like cream to me. Delicious!
Here's another variation: pancakes made with cottage cheese, fresh strawberries from the dacha, and toasted walnuts. And the final breakfast addition: scrambled eggs.
Now, let's talk about greens and herbs. Dill was the star herb and salad green. It appeared in sauces, salads, soups, and as a garnish. One day, Lesya brought home a variety of greens and herbs. First she washed everything.
Then she spent a lot of time chopping with her favorite knife. No food processor here! Some of the chopped greens went into the soup pot, some went into plastic bags for the freezer.
She made this sauce/relish out of the greens, dill, tomato, onion and eggplant. It was good on toast, or chicken, or vegetables.
It was used to warm up leftovers (if there were any) and to steam these vareniki.
In the blue and white bowls are pelmeni, delicious meat dumplings. Lesya made an egg and noodle dish to go along with the pelmeni, there was a plate of home grown tomatoes, yellow peppers, and a relish/sauce made of summer squash and carrots (square dish). Note the bowl of salt at the top of the photo.
Here's a delicious salad, a chicken cutlet, and some beans that seemed to me were a lot like kidney beans, with onion and some nice spices.
These are cabbage rolls, stuffed with ground chicken, carrots, and rice. As you can see, Lesya, is a terrific cook. She also works full-time as a dental assistant, eight hours a day, and every other Saturday. I was continually amazed by her cooking.
Again a fresh green salad with lots of dill, and on the white plate pasta with fresh tomato sauce.
For most meals, the table had a variety of condiments. Here you have mustard, horseradish sauce, chili pepper paste and the bowl of salt.
I visited the home of an artist (friend of a friend). Not only did we see her artwork (there's a blog post about it), but she served us a wonderful lunch. The pink soup is cold borshcht with sour cream. It was strawberry time, but she also has red currants and fresh garden peas on the table. And you can also see the wonderful dark rye bread that is so tasty.
Here's something I hadn't eaten before: boiled quail eggs. They were so tiny compared to chicken eggs, but they tasted the same to me. One egg equals one small bite.
This was my absolute favorite dessert: blinis filled with sweetened cheese, and covered with Lesya's homemade black currant jam. The crepes were so thin and delicate, I was amazed again at her cooking skills.
As we sat in JFK airport, waiting to leave for Russia, we wondered: What will we eat in Russia?
The other students and I thought we'd be eating a lot of cabbage, potatoes and borshcht. And maybe sausage. Beyond that, we had no idea. The only Russian sounding food I knew about was beef Stroganoff, and strawberries Romanov, both from the Betty Crocker cookbook. I'm pretty sure Betty wasn't Russian.
My hosts are in their forties, and fairly health conscious, except for their dairy products, which were all at least 2.5% fat. This isn't necessarily bad, and it certainly made everything dairy taste delicious. I normally eat only fat-free dairy products, so I had to suspend my personal rules (it was no hardship!). The family eats lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, especially berries in season. During July 2012, the strawberries, blueberries, and black currants were in full swing.
The first day I arrived at the apartment, Lesya and Sasha, my hosts, prepared a beautiful dinner, accompanied by red wine.
Breakfast was my favorite meal. Lesya and Sasha said they have a family breakfast tradition of oatmeal (or some other cooked whole grain, like buckwheat) and a variety of chopped fruits. This is topped with kefir (a semi-liquid unsweetened yogurt product) and toasted sunflower nuts and pumpkin seeds. You put some of everything in your bowl and sweeten it with a spoonful of jam. It was wonderful.
Now, let's talk about greens and herbs. Dill was the star herb and salad green. It appeared in sauces, salads, soups, and as a garnish. One day, Lesya brought home a variety of greens and herbs. First she washed everything.
She made this sauce/relish out of the greens, dill, tomato, onion and eggplant. It was good on toast, or chicken, or vegetables.
This is the steamer.
They are like delicate pierogies, and were filled with potato or a mild sauerkraut. You eat them with sour cream. They were fabulous. Lesya said she makes them only rarely.
The following photos are all about dinner entrees. We ate in the afternoon, between 3pm and 6pm, depending on when we got home. Then second dinner is served between about 8pm and 11pm. I had to learn to eat less at the first dinner, so I'd be able to eat again later.
Fresh steamed broccoli and cauliflower, rice and marinated chicken cooked over a wood fire in the back yard.
These look like burritos, but they are a flatbread rolled around a mixture of chicken and vegetables. The yellow pepper slices are topped with an herbed homemade creamy spread.
This was lunch (I think). It was a puff pastry "cake" with chicken and vegetables inside. There was always an abundance of fresh fruits and veggies.
I should mention that every meal began with soup, and every day it was different, and very tasty. There's always sour cream on the table, to add to the soup.
Condiments and Extras:
Sasha cut this fresh lemon and sprinkled it with sugar. It was good in tea, or cold water, but I took the picture because it perfumed the air and looked so pretty.
A Special Lunch:
I visited the home of an artist (friend of a friend). Not only did we see her artwork (there's a blog post about it), but she served us a wonderful lunch. The pink soup is cold borshcht with sour cream. It was strawberry time, but she also has red currants and fresh garden peas on the table. And you can also see the wonderful dark rye bread that is so tasty.
We also had strawberry puree in milk, and in orange juice. It was a hot day, so the cold soup and drinks were refreshing and delicious.
Here's something I hadn't eaten before: boiled quail eggs. They were so tiny compared to chicken eggs, but they tasted the same to me. One egg equals one small bite.
Most days there was so much food, the family didn't have desserts after the meals. Once we had an ice cream sundae that Sasha made with a scoop of ice cream, chocolate sauce, some pieces of a frozen dessert (like a sorbet or popsicle), balzam liquor, and a cookie on top. It was great, but I didn't get a picture of it!
The sweets that were available every day were chocolates in many varieties.
This was my absolute favorite dessert: blinis filled with sweetened cheese, and covered with Lesya's homemade black currant jam. The crepes were so thin and delicate, I was amazed again at her cooking skills.
If you go to Russia, don't plan on losing any weight while you're there. We walked a lot, and I swam in the river for a bit of exercise, but with food like this, I indulged my appetite and enjoyed everything fully. Bon appetit!
OMG it all looks so delicious!
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