Meeting Anne The SpyGirl and Russian ABC: S is for Salad

As many of you know, Anne of Spy Girl is currently on an artistic travel adventure - the project she calls On The Edge: US. We are lucky enough to live very close to the Western edge, so Anne and I had a chance to meet. This is the very first time I met someone from this wonderful and warm blogging circle (but I did meet great blogger friends from my previous blogs - with some of them we are friends ever since that, for almost a dozen of years already!). I offered Anne to stay in our little cottage up the hill from the Puget Sound, and she accepted my invitation!

When we greeted each other right outside of my kitchen door, I said that it feels like she'd walked right off the computer screen and materialized in my garden! It's always a thrill to meet a friend you first "met" online. But since we see photos of each other a lot, it really feels like we already know each other (unlike my first time meeting blogging friends when I had to give them a description something like "a Russian girl with long hair, in a bright yellow coat, very pregnant, with a Chinese husband" - you think they could miss a couple like that?). And since we talk style here - look at our outfits! You'd think we tried to coordinate! I felt like wearing stripes and something white for our very informal homey visit and a walk to the beach. Apparently, I was not the only one. :) Have you noticed that I also wear the pendant which I wore for Anne's challenge 52 Pick-Me-Up: Wear Something Of Your Mom's? Oh, so you have? Good eyes! (But even if you didn't, just go to this post.)

What did we do on our meet-up? We took a nice stroll on the beach (luckily the tide was out, and the beach was wide open - we could go all the way up to Seattle or down to Tacoma if we wanted). We chatted (especially me - I can be quite a chatter box). When Anya came back from school, and Justin from work, we chatted some more. It was interesting to learn more about Anne and how she became an artist, what jobs she has had and what inspires her artwork. I also shared my craving to live in a nurturing arts community (which I never have). And we ate! We ate yummy home-made meals, and I can share that bit too, but first let me show you what Anne brought me from New York! It is rams (or ramsons, or wild garlic, or wild leek - many names in English). I know this plant as cheremsha (черемша) - the early Spring wild vegetable which people gather in the woods, you can buy bunches of it on streets where I grew up. We traditionally eat them in a very simple way - cut and mixed with salt and sour cream, but I haven't eaten them in ages! Probably for at least 12 years. Imagine my excitement when I read that Anne discovered rams in New York woods. She immediately offered to bring them to me. Anne also shared a pesto recipe with rams. (I'll write it here, so I won't forget: equal parts of rams, basil and parsley + olive oil + Parmesan.)

But I haven't made pesto or anything yet (surprisingly, they kept really well in almost 10 days of travel, strong plant!). I made a Russian meal, and I am sure you are dying to know the ancient Russian recipes. Well, I am not going to hide anything from you today (but only today, all right?).

Of course, borscht. Some of you (particularly lovely Sandra) have already made borscht using my recipe right here. It's pretty good. 

Then, Russians eat a wide variety of salads - but they are not typical salads (chopped lettuce and some veggies), some of them are almost like a meal in themselves with plenty of meat or fish as a main ingredient. Others are mixed vegetables marinated together. I'll show you a couple of those here. Just in time for warm weather, though they are great year-round!

1. Chafan

That's what they call this dish in Krasnoyarsk where I am from - it was quite popular there, though I made tons of adjustments over the years. I also figured out the roots of the name - it is from Chinese phrase "eat rice", that is what Chinese people will tell you when they invite you for a meal. It doesn't mean that there will be only rice served, more likely a variety of 5 or 6 different dishes with steamed sticky rice. 

The picture above explains the most of preparation, but there are nuances too.

* cabbage - shredded and marinated (salt + sugar + vinegar to taste)

* slightly boiled (1-2 min only) potatoes, thinly cut in advance

* beets - uncooked and shredded

* carrots - uncooked and shredded

* bell pepper thinly sliced (optional)

* meat or eggplant or tofu (or mix) - thinly sliced, marinated (vinegar + black pepper + hot red pepper + soy sauce) and stir fried in oil with onions and garlic (add a little ginger if you like). I also add chili bean sauce when I fry - I love it spicy.

You can tell that there is a handful or two of each ingredient, beautifully arranged in a dip dish. That's the  way we serve it. We then mix the salad on the table.

The recipe in Russian in my cooking blog here.

2. Marinated cabbage

This is one of my staples and is really easy to make.

* a small head of cabbage - shredded

* 1 or 2 carrots shredded

* onion (a half if it's a big one) thinly sliced

* bell pepper thinly sliced

Dressing:

1/2 cup of canola oil

1/2 cup of vinegar

2 table spoons of sugar

1 tea spoon of salt

garlic, parsley or dill to taste

Mix all together and let sit for about 5 hours on the counter, then put it in a jar and enjoy whenever you want to - it will be good for about a month in a fridge. This recipe I adopted from my good university and newspaper company friend, also named Natasha (it's a popular name in Russia).

The recipe in Russian here.

Back to Bloglandia. Anne left this morning to drive around the Western edge of the Washington State (which would be the Olympic peninsula) and then all the way to Portland, Oregon. It is a loooooooong day of driving. I hope she arrives to her destination safe and sound, such a brave soul she is!

I am wearing:

Boyfriend jeans, cardigan and camisole - Lane Bryant. Shoes - Crocs. 

Anya is wearing almost exclusively Justice, though she got some new stuff via thrift shop and enjoys it too.

Anne is still driving on the edge of the US - you can take a look at the map which shows exactly how many miles she has driven and how many miles were funded through her fundraiser. As you can see, there is still plenty of opportunity to raise money. Arts and culture traditionally depend largely on the generosity of the art patrons and public. There is still a chance to help raising funds to cover the cost of Anne's artistic endeavor.