Eggplant Caviar Odessa Style

In the midst of the war, despite the tragic events described in my post Hello, Ovid! Я вам не скажу про всю Одессу… (war edition), the inimitable quirky Odessa sense of humor keeps the spirit strong. The following photos were taken in Odessa a few days ago: “Tossing trash on the street, don’t forget to…

Hello, Ovid! Я вам не скажу про всю Одессу… (war edition)

I start this post with a very heavy heart. This is what my lovely Odessa, the Pearl by the Sea, looks like now: sandbags in front of the famous Opera House, considered the most beautiful opera house in Europe… …sandbags and barricades blocking splendid Deribassovskaya, the main thoroughfare, usually closed to cars and bursting with…

The New Boat and the Old Recipe

Our great adventure took a lot longer than intended; instead of a few days, we had spent almost two months driving to Key Largo and back, occasionally staying in hotels overnight, until we finally brought our new boat home. She is not brand new, but new for us, as our old boat had been gobbled…

Leonardo Was a Blog-aholic (Sweet Potato and Spinach Bisque)

No, not Leonardo di Caprio; the real Leonardo, born in the little Italian village Vinci, the Renaissance Man. Since Internet did not exist, and neither did the blogosphere, he wrote – a lot, and on a multitude of subjects, including food. Had he thought of inventing it, together with a bicycle and a helicopter, he…

Let Them Eat… Potatoes!

From the Inca Empire to Queen Marie Antoinette of France, to the Russian patissiers (pastry chefs), traveled a simple vegetable, to be transformed into a delectable pastry. Here is this civilization which, starting in the early 13th century, in three hundred years grew into an immense empire and, by the time it was conquered by the Spanish,…

Of Hats, Pockets, Ears, and Hidden Messages

Originally posted on koolkosherkitchen:
These pastries are called Hamantaschen. We can no more imagine the holiday of Purim without them than without the graggers – noisemakers gleefully shaken by children and adults alike to drown the name of the evil villain Haman. https://youtu.be/b74IcmDxGtY That’s the story of Purim in a nutshell. Once again, the Jewish people, marked for…

Florentine Salad

We were supposed to go to the opera today, to see Rigoletto. My husband, AKA The Boss, and I are both from Odessa, which means we are huge opera fans. When The Boss hears Verdi, he becomes ecstatic, and Rigoletto is on top of his favorite Verdi operas. You can imagine the anticipation building after…

Ukrainian Borsht for Sultana

I usually post this recipe around Chanukkah because having Ukrainian borscht on the table around Chanukkah has been our family tradition. I am breaking my own tradition, repeating it today, first of all, in honor of the International Women’s Day, and secondly, in memory of an extraordinary Ukranian girl, sometimes called a sixteen’s century celebrity….

Catherine the Great Needs a Diet (The Tsar Blini)

We are starting the Women History Month with an International Pancake Day. If there is a deep philosophical meaning to this coincidence, I fail to discern it, but here is a great woman who loved her pancakes. Well, she loved Tsar Blini, but blini is but a Russian version of pancakes, right? A petite, slender…

Raisins in the Pudding

I am repeating this post in honor of the Black History Month. Over forty years ago, as I landed in the U.S., I came across a short poem and was stunned by the powerful images: What happens to a dream deferred?Does it dry upLike a raisin in the sun?Or fester like a sore–And then run?Does…

More Traveling Food, but No Adventure

The great adventure has been postponed. We are literally “sitting by the sea” (the ocean, in our case) “and waiting for the weather” (that’s an Odessa saying). So far only one of you, Beautiful People, has figured out my disappearing act. Well done, dear Carol of Retired? No one told me! One more beautiful and…

Disappearing Baked Tuna Cakes

Dear Beautiful People, I am about to disappear for a few days. I’ll be back, although not as dramatically as the Terminator, and all will be revealed. I will give you some hints, though. Can you guess? Hint #1, for those who love Baroque music. I do. Hint #2, for those who like ballroom dancing….