Christmas and Food Traditions of Russia

In the days of the Soviet Union, Christmas was not celebrated very much. New Year was the important time. With the fall of Communism, Christmas is openly celebrated – either on December 25th, or more often, on January 7th. The date is different because the Russian Orthodox church uses the old ‘Julian’ calendar for religious celebration days. The Orthodox Church also celebrates Advent. But it has fixed dates, starting on 28th November and going to the 6th January, so it’s 40 days long.

The official Christmas and New holidays in Russia lasts from 31st of December to the 10th of January. The Russian Christmas greeting is ‘S Rozhdestvom!’.

Some people fast (don’t eat anything) on Christmas Eve, until the first star has appeared in the sky. People then eat ‘sochivo’ (a dish made from wheat or rice with honey and fruit). The Russian word for Christmas Eve ‘sochelnik’, comes from the word ‘sochivo’. People then go to the midnight services.

Special Christmas food includes cakes, pies and ‘meat dumplings’. Read More

Russian: Cake “Napolean”

Ingredients : 500 g flour , 250 g margarine , 1 ea egg , 1 tb vinegar . Icing: 1 sugar , 0,5 l milk , 2 ea eggs , 2 tb flour , 200 g butter , vanilla.

 

Method:

Icing: Mix sugar, eggs, flour and then pour over milk. Cook on low heat, stirring regularly, until dense. When icing cools down a little, add butter and vanilla.

Dough: cut margarine into small pieces and toss with flour until smooth. Mix egg, vinegar in 1 cup of water and add it to flour. Knead the dough until elastic and smooth. Divide the dough into 8 parts and put in the fridge for 40-60 minutes. Roll out every part very thin, put in a baking form, cut out remains, pierce with a fork and bake in a preheated oven until light golden. Bake the remains of dough until golden colour.
Spread the icing on every shortcake and on the top. Crumb the dough remains and sprinkle all the cake with them. Puy in a fridge at least for a couple of hours.

See Many recipes for Russian desserts and foods at:http://www.waytorussia.net/WhatIsRussia/RussianFood/Desserts.html

San Francisco: The Russian Festival & More Events

When: January 29-31, 2010 As a non-profit cultural organization, the Russian Center annually produces many cultural activities including operas, dance concerts, folk dance classes, social gatherings and lectures. The Russian Festival, held every February, is a three day showcase of food, art, music and dance, and attracts thousands of people from all over the San Francisco Bay Area and the world.For More Info visit: http://www.russiancentersf.com/

See More Cultural Event updates at: http://www.multiculturalcooking.net/en2/festivals-by-month/cultural

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Tell me something about Russian borsch

Main ingredient in Russian borsch

When you are talking Russian cuisine, the conversation must include soup. It is indeed a comfort food that has lasted the test of time. A very popular soup in Russia, although the Ukraine stakes its claim to the origins, is a beet root soup called borsch/borscht.

A truly hearty meal, its popularity is not contained just to the Ukraine and Russia. In fact, Poland, Lithuania, Romania – all of Eastern Europe prepares some version of borsch. Prepared either hot or cold, borsch has many different incarnations, but it is traditionally prepared from beets and cabbage (sometimes served with a dollop of sour cream).

Borsch was more of a common man’s meal, primarily eaten by the lower class. Those who were able to afford the extra expense used broths made from meat, fish, mushrooms, or smoked sausages, while the very poor solely used vegetables. The main ingredient (beets) were not very expensive.  All borsch recipes are slowly simmered and are served with garlic buns, pancakes, or some sort of black bread.

See a recipe for Russian Borsch here.

Russian Borsch

Ingredients

• 1 lb beef tenderloin
• 3 carrots (chopped)
• 3 onions(chopped)
• 2 big beets
• 3 medium potatoes
• 1 small head of cabbage

Directions

• Cook meat for 2 hours in *water* or until meat is very tender -reserve liquid (*add water if needed along the way)
• Get meat out of pot and shred-set aside.
• Sauté onion, carrots in small skillet-set aside with meat.
• Boil beets in meat broth/water until soft.
• Take beets out and shred.
• Cut up raw potatoes and raw cabbage.
• Put all-(the sautéed mixture–beets, meat, raw ingredients)–together in broth/water.
• Boil until potatoes are done (about 30 minutes).
• Add spices according to taste.
• Serve with sour cream!
• This Russian Borsch recipe was taken from RecipeZaar.

Russian Borsch is just one of the traditional Russian foods, Check out a recipe for Chocolate and Cherry Bread. Click Here.

Russia meets Baltimore for the 36th Annual Russian Festival

From the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow to the Winter Canal in St. Petersburg, there is so much to see and appreciate in Russia. This weekend the Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church is providing a taste of the country’s flavor with the Russian Festival. Now in its 36th year, the festival located in the Fells Point area of Baltimore, not only celebrates the rich history and culture of its parish, but  festival-goers are also invited to sample and enjoy lots of food,  plus live entertainment and souvenirs imported from Russia.

Now about that food…the delicacies range from desserts like Vishnovaya Babka  and Shokoladnaya (cherry bread and chocolate bread) to traditional Russian dishes like salad iz kapusty and blinchky (cabbage salad and stuffed crepes). Sound hearty enough? For the more dainty crowd, there is also an authentic Russian Tea Room with an antique samovar (metal urn for making tea).

The three-day festival ends on Sunday, October 18th with a power-packed itinerary including the Lyman Ukrainian Dance Group, live music from Balkanto, and The Beltway Balalaikas Ensemble. For more information about the Russian Festival go to the following website: Russian Festival.

Festival takes place at 1723 East Fairmount Avenue in the Fells Point area of Baltimore