Russian, Ukrainian and Polish recipes » Russian recipes

Russian almond milk

admin — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:48:09 +0000

Almond milk

Here is a simple way to make milk from Almonds:

Take a handful of almonds and place them in water over night to soak.You do not actually have to do this, however, it softens them up a bit. How much water you can experiment with. I soak about one handful in 2 cups of water. The next day I add about five cups more. Some people like it thicker or thinner almond milk. You will have to play around with it to your taste.

Add honey, vanilla, in a blender and mix it. I do not strain it but most people use a cloth or strainer to take out the Almond paste. The proportions of honey and vanilla, are to taste. I sometimes add coconut milk.

The main thing is Almonds have lots of magnesium and even b17 laetrile which is unproven anti cancer vitamin. There is no way raw Almond milk can be too unhealthy for you. Many people who are allergic to soy drink this.

One note of caution according to wiki almonds that are bitter combined with water releases cyanide.

I tried to give it to my little daughter to replace her normal milk and she drank a little but preferred her formula or hen goats milk to Almond milk. She is 15 months so do not worry she is not anything like 3 months.

There is nothing more to say about Almond milk it is very easy to make and one handful of almonds will yield a quart of almond milk.

Please let me know if you have any further ideas about almond milk or anything to add.

Russian Borscht

admin — Fri, 01 May 2009 18:47:32 +0000

Borscht is one of my favorite soups. I think not only because I grew up with it, but because its healthy. You need, beets 3 to 4 depends on how much you are making. A piece of meat, it might be, chicken or ribs. One lemon, cream or yogurt (I prefer yogurt), About a half cup Chinese cabbage (or any cabbage shredded), carrots or parsnip, (some people use celery, a pinch of all spice and a bay leave or two,dill. Also salt and pepper to taste.

Basically the ideas is Broth plus shredded beets. First make the broth with meat and vegetables. Bring this to a boil and then simmer from about an hour. Then latter add the shredded cabbage and beets. At the end I add dill.

Borscht variations

People try all kinds of variations from garlic, some people add fried onions, many people add potatoes to Russian borscht. to everything you can image as ingredients for borscht. The main thing is this is broth plus shredded beets and then you have borscht.

Borscht (borsht, barszcz, and borshch) is a really a Eastern European soup found in Ukraine and Russia but also Poland and other European countries. I think it is more of a Ukrainian than Russian soup. But my grandparents came from Ukraine so I am partial.

Hot borscht or cold borscht

I prefer cold borscht (its hot out as I write this), but both are great. I guess it depends where you live in a warm country.

Sour cream or not with Russian Borscht

Again I prefer no sour cream, but I am a borscht purist.

Kvas

admin — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 06:13:28 +0000

Kvass or Kvas is a Russian or Ukrainian drink (non-alcoholic) made from Rye, fruit and herbs.

Boil honey or sugar ( 2 cups) and water (four liters). Let this cool to room temperature.

Break up about a pound of rye bread and any fruit and herbs of your choice and add yeast to make a primary fermentor.

Next add the sweetened water.

Let this bubble up for a few days and then strain the mess out and you will have Kvas. Again it should be basically non-alcoholic Kvass. If you want to read about a funny kvas story or two go here -> Kvas. I think you will like it.

Russian orange salad

admin — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:53:48 +0000

Peel and slice three oranges that have been on ice (Russians put everything on ice).
Remove the seeds, arrange the slices in a compote, cover with powdered
sugar, and add two tablespoonfuls each of maraschino, curaçoa, and
brandy. Let it stand an hour in the fridge before serving. Or, arrange
in a dish a neat border of cold boiled rice. Peel and divide into
sections three oranges; put the oranges in the centre; dust
powdered sugar over all, and set the dish in the ice-box. Just before
serving pour over the salad two wineglassfuls of arrack. A plain salad
dressing is served with orange salad in some places in the East and Russia, but maybe would not suit the American palate.

In Russian, Poland and Ukraine more and more tropical fruits are appearing. Once only a holiday fruit, now is everday. But of course always around for the rich.

Russian barley and vegetable soup

admin — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:48:51 +0000

There are many ways to make this but this is an old fashion way that I got from an old Russian Jewish cookbook. Take a half cup of coarse barley and two quarts of water. let boil for about
1 hour and skim. then add 2 onions, a bunch of carrots, parsley, 2
turnips, one green pepper and six tomatoes (all chopped fine). add a few
green peas, lima beans, two ears of corn cut from cob; pepper and salt
to taste. cook for 1 hour or more until done. then add a small piece
of butter, quarter teaspoon of sage and thyme, if you like, and if soup
is too thick (I never think soup is too think, I like it almost like a stew) add more water.

Barely water and health

Barely water is very healthy to drink. I think its good for the kidneys and general tonic for the winter. Both western and Chinese traditional medice recommend barely broth for various aliments.

Russian crayfish salad

admin — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:39:05 +0000

Cray-fish (or craw-fish) resemble small lobsters; they are excellent as a salad, and are extensively used in garnishing fish
salads. Boil two dozen cray-fish for fifteen minutes in water slightly
salted; break the shells in two; pick out the tail part of each; cut it
in two lengthwise; remove the black ligament. Put into a salad-bowl the
small white leaves of a head of cabbage-lettuce; add the fish; pour over
them a mayonnaise. Garnish with the head part of the shells, tufts of
green, and hard-boiled eggs. Russians have countless lakes, rivers and access to the sea. Crayfish in the countryside might be like lobster is to Maine. Another alternative for the crayfish salad is simply with olive oil instead of mayonnaise.

The word crayfish or crawfish comes from the old French meaning crab. There are fresh and salt water variaties of crayfish.

Russian anchovy salad recipe

admin — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 22:00:58 +0000

Wash, skin, and bone eight salted anchovies; soak them
in water for an hour; drain and dry them. Cut two hard-boiled eggs into
slices. Arrange the leaves of a head of lettuce neatly in a salad-bowl
and add the anchovies and the eggs. Prepare a plain dressing in a
soup-plate, pour it over the salad and serve. The fish may be minced,
chopped, or cut into fillets.

Although Italians are known for the anchovies Russian have a large number of fish and salted fish recipes. I think anchovies are more a warm water fish but I think Russia is such a large country they have access to an anchovy or two via trade.

Boiled salmon

admin — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:14:00 +0000

This fish is seldom sent to the table whole, being too large for any ordinary sized family; the middle cut is considered the choicest to boil. To carve it, first run the knife down and along the upper side of the fish from 1 to 2, then again on the lower side from 3 to 4. Serve the thick part, cutting it lengthwise in slices in the direction of the line from 1 to 2, and the thin part breadthwise, or in the direction from 5 to 6. A slice of the thick with one of the thin, where lies the fat, should be served to each guest. Care should be taken when carving not to break the flakes of the fish, as that impairs its appearance. The flesh of the salmon is rich and delicious in flavor. Salmon is in season from the first of February to the end of August.

Mackerel

admin — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:00:00 +0000

The mackerel is one of the most beautiful of fish, being known by its silvery whiteness. It sometimes attains to the length of twenty inches, but usually, when fully grown, is about fourteen or sixteen inches long, and about two pounds in weight. To carve a baked mackerel, first remove the head and tail by cutting downward at 1 and 2; then split them down the back, so as to serve each person a part of each side piece. The roe should be divided in small pieces and served with each piece of fish. Other whole fish may be carved in the same manner. The fish is laid upon a little sauce or folded napkin, on a hot dish, and garnished with parsley.

Bread sauce

admin — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:22:38 +0000

Take a large onion and boil it, with a little pepper till quite soft,
in milk, then take it out, and pour the milk over grated stale bread,
then boil it up with a piece of butter, and dredge it with flour; it
should be well beaten up with a silver fork.

The above bread sauce can be made without butter or milk: take a large onion, slice it thin, put it into a little veal gravy, add grated bread,
pepper, and the yolk and white of an egg well beaten.

Me personally I have always like bread with some sort of stew or sauce. Its more of a winter thing. But bread sauce can be made light for the summer if you use your imagination. But this is from Russia and I do not know if that is a big concern as the Russian winter is so long.