Russian Season

It’s been a while since I last viewed my own blog - been working on my primary website day and night again! Two to three times per week, Stano drives me to my parents’ place, which gets divided into a “home daycare area” (where my Mom plays with Ivanka) and a “home office area” (which is actually a desk with a PC in the centre of the daycare area). I get some chance to work, still staying within reach for Ivanka - good for both of us. Of course it’s a little bit difficult to concentrate on things like testing and adapting new plugins or translating European Commission press releases,  so the hardest tasks are left for late nights. Yesterday however, Ivanka got up at quarter past midnight to “dance” and “sing” in her crib for almost an hour. So, late nights are not always mine either :)

The daycare/office facilities I’m using provide free dinners as well:) My Mom has become a true Babushka who always has something yummy in her pantry. At home, I’ve been making lots of rhubarb preserves: compote, jam, and frozen rhubarbs. I actually came to conclusion that freezing this wonderful plant is the most rewarding option, because I don’t like the extra sugars you’ve got to add if you want your jam to keep until winter.And what can be simpler than cutting rhubarb stalks, freezing them on a large plate, and then transferring into a plastic container… that’s it!

One of the main culinary delights I’ve indulged in recently is my Mother’s strawberry sponge cake. She made me two cakes already and I hardly shared them with anyone. It’s made without butter, so it doesn’t leave a heavy feeling. It’s simple. It’s summery. Fragrant strawberries sinking in a fluffy sponge cake under a sugary, crisp, thin crust - that’s what the first steps of a cool Latvian summer taste like.

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In a cold country like Latvia, Cheremsha (Russian name for Ramsons, or wild garlic) is one of the earliest sources of vitamins. Cheremsha grows in shady woodlands and its green parts resemble garlic by scent and flavour. The smell can be pretty long-lasting, but it’s worth it, for each leaf is packed with vitamin C and minerals. I prefer to eat Cheremsha on its own with coarse salt, but it’s also a great and healthy addition to any spring vegetable salad. Some other uses for fresh Cheremsha include soups, sandwiches, and pie fillings; it can also be pickled, but not dried.

Do you have/eat ramsons in your area?

Rhubarb is one of the foods that I can eat every day once their season arrives. And it seems like all of our family is sitting on a rhubarb diet. Ivanka in enjoying her daily rhubarb drink, Stano’s asking for more rhubarb cordial, my Mom is making a rhubarb crumble, and I have three different rhubarb cakes plus preserves in my plan. We’re a kind of a rhubarb family, aren’t we! :) Maybe this is just an effect of rhubarb being the first spring fruit plant that can be eaten as a fruit. I guess most of you are already enjoying fresh strawberries and other gifts of summer, but here up North, we’re still stuck in the rhubarb season (imported strawberries don’t count). And I love it! The tart stalks that turn so tender when baked or simmered, the bold play of green and red colour that turn amber and translucent when heated, the glossy skins and the firm, watery flesh. Oh, rhubarb!

This cake, topped with streusel, is my attempt to recreate the most common Latvian rhubarb cake - a simple, lovely, habitual cake. I’ve compared about half a dozen recipes (that sometimes were pretty controversial) and compiled them into one recipe with my own amendments included. First, I used 1/4 whole wheat flour, as I frequently do these days. It’s healthier, it gives extra taste, it provides pleasant moistness. Second, I used a mix of white and brown sugar for the filling, and I think I could have used brown sugar only. The original recipes called for plain sugar of course, but I thought brown sugar was a better match for the tart rhubarb. Third, I incorporated a little starch into the filling, just to prevent it from leaking. And that’s it. I thought of playing with walnuts in the streusel, but then I decided to keep it simple and traditional. Sometimes I succeed in holding back from too much tweaking ;-)
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The Italy issue of Bon Appetit was splendid. I’ve bookmarked about a dozen recipes and already made Pasta al Pomodoro twice. Now I know how to make a smooth and silky pasta sauce :)

From this BA issue, I also learned that making biscotti is a doable task. Biscotti are one of my favourite Italian sweet treats, but I’ve never thought of making them at home. I thought I would need tons of almond flour or other ingredients that I would have to hunt for all around the city, while all I needed was a dash of almond extract. And almonds :) The BA recipe called for dried cherries and pistachios, but I opted for dried cranberries and almonds instead, because the pistachios they are selling here at the moment look ugly.

Surprisingly, my own biscotti looked and tasted quite similar to what I usually get as a gift for Christmas and Easter! The blend of almond, citrus zest, and cranberry flavours was divine! The only thing I did wrong was slightly over-bake them. They looked too moist all of the time, and then suddenly oups! they got over-baked. Next time I bake biscotti I will remove them from the oven while they still retain moistness, for they will harden as they cool. I’d like to try to make them with AP flour next time as well. I couldn’t find unbleached flour so I used 3/4 AP flour and 1/4 whole wheat flour, which  tinted the biscotti golden brown. I guess with 100% AP flour, they would have been even crispier and airier. But anyway. I’m very content with this recipe, that’s why I’m sharing it with you (with my tweakings), even though it’s not Eastern European :)

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Rogaliki are small crescent rollls filled with jam, marmalade, Tvorog or even raisins. I think the most common filling for Rogaliki however, is jam/marmalade. I’m not sure we ever had them at home when I was a kid, but some of my friends’ mothers and grandmothers used to bake these very often. Rogaliki are very good with tea or coffee, and they are budget-friendly. It’s been my dream to have warm Rogaliki for breakfast for many years now, and today this dream came true.
I made the dough ahead and refrigerated it overnight. Chilled dough was very comfortable to roll and cut. The unsweetened dough made with sour cream and a pinch of baking soda is flaky and soft, even though my Rogaliki were tiny. I was in the mood for something petite and delicate, so these crescent rolls came out more like soft filled cookies. Of course this means you have less filling in the centre - just for flavour - and it takes you longer to make them. Classical Rogaliki should be larger in size, with more filling inside; the original recipe yields 3 times fewer rolls than I made.
At first I was thinking of filling them with dark, rich apricot jam made by Stano’s Mom, but then I remembered about three little jars of a wonderful chocolate applesauce she gave to us, and used it instead. I must ask Stano’s Mom for the recipe when we are in Slovakia in summer; chocolate applesauce is something amazing! First you taste the chocolate, then the juicy tartness of apples comes through; there’s a lot of surprise in it! It’s great on crepes, pancakes, ice-cream, whatever. As a filling for Rogaliki too. It smelt like a chocolate factory when the rolls were baking!

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Unicorn 2

Some time ago I mentioned I was taking pictures of something beautiful, that I would show you later. Today I would like to finally present my Mother’s paintings that I’ve photographed. We had a kind of a catalogue with printed photos of her works before, but it was rather out of date. We have also opened a new Page on Facebook, so if you like the artworks, please give her a Like :o)

My Mother, Natalia Petropavlovska, is a professional artist. She studied Graphic Art in the Latvian Academy of Arts. The  techniques she has mastered include various Etching techniques such as Mezzotint, Aquatint, and soft ground etching, as well as Woodcut, which she has used for creating bookplates. Her favourite printmaking technique is Mezzotint, because the prints resemble pencil drawing that she likes so much. She has always enjoyed working with colour however, so soon she developed her own watercolour technique, which she uses nowadays. It involves vibrant, almost psychedelic palette with light highlights that add volume to shapes.

Speaking about classic art, she admires Gothic miniatures, Early Renaissance (Giotto and Botticelli in particular), and Pre-Raphaelites, especially Dante Rossetti. Her favourite Russian painters include Vrubel and Somov.

Here I am posting some of my Mother’s paintings from various years, including the Italian series from 2011. I’ve never been to Italy, but I’ve seen the photos and I believe these works really recreate the clear air and the tranquility of the Italian lakes.

The Sphinx series is one of her own favourites.

Lake Como

Lake Lugano

Italian Switzerland

Sirmione

Summer Dream | watercolour, 26.8×18.9″

Winter Dream | watercolour, 26.8×18.9″

Palma Cathedral At Night | watercolour, 27.6×18.9″

Mallorca Beach | watercolour, 27.6×18.9″

Still Life Under Palm Trees | watercolour, 27.6×18.9″

Sphinx And Anubis | watercolour, 26.8×21.7″

Egyptian Sphinx | watercolour, 26.8×21.7″

Evening In The Park | watercolour, 25.6×19.7″

A Morning In Balaklava | watercolour, 23.6×18.9″

At Dawn | watercolour, 18.5×19.7″

Still Life With Tulips And Herons | watercolour, 17.7×23.6″

Still Life With Blue Chrysanthemums and Partridges | watercolour, 17.7×23.6″

Still Life With Radishes | watercolour, 25.2×18.1″

Still Life With A Vase | watercolour, 19.3×23.6″

Hoopooe

Natalia Petropavlovskaya in Venice