Georgia on my mind...

It's been a while since my last post, but Melissa and I just got back from our vacation in Kharkov a little while ago (which will be the subject of my next post!) and I've been teaching long hours ever since. Now that it's Sunday and I can finally relax a bit, I thought I'd post on one of my favorite vegan stand-by options in Odessa (and all over Ukraine, for that matter): Georgian food!

No, I do not mean fried chicken a la Paula Dean. I mean the cuisine of Georgia, that mountainous country on the Black Sea between Russia and Turkey, where they speak საქართველო.





I had never seen a Georgian restaurant in the United States (and am pretty sure there are none in Florida), but here in Ukraine, there are many places which feature Georgian cuisine. Think of it as their version of Chinese or Italian food. Although Georgian food is best known for its "exotic" choices of meat (including horse), and "hatchipuri" (bread covered in cheese with a fried egg in the center), there are plenty of delicious vegan appetizers available at every Georgian restaurant in Odessa.
One of my favorite Georgian places is "Chito-Grito" which gets its name from a famous Georgian song. It's located less than five minutes from our apartment, on the corner of Daribosovskaya and Preobrajenskaya in "Passage," a pre-USSR hotel/shopping plaza.


Here's a picture of Passage and Melissa sitting in the "outdoor" seating area of Chito-Grito.


There I am sitting at a table made to look like a carriage. And, yes, there's a painting of hatchipuri behind me. And a wooden bird. But check out those tulips! Spring!


So here's the spread: ispanakhi, krasnoye lobio, adjabsandali, two loaves of warm lavash (Georgian bread) and black tea with bergamot.

Here's a closeup of the ispanakhi. It's basically a spinach puree made with onions and walnuts, topped with pomegranate seeds.


Krasnoye lobio, or "red bean" in Russian, is a dish made with stewed red beans, onions, walnuts, and various Georgian spices, also topped with pomegranate seeds.


One of my favorite dishes is adjabsandali, a cold appetizer of eggplant, sweet pepper, mushroom, and onion. It tastes amazing inside a piece of warm lavash.


Although I could easily eat this delicious food every day, it is a bit pricey and is best enjoyed on special occasions.

Tonight we're defrosting the fridge because a MONSTER ice block has formed over the freezer and it won't close. As a result, we have to eat what was in the fridge so it won't spoil. On tonight's menu: Vereniki (dumplings) filled with cabbage and potatoes, chickpeas, and oven fries with ketchup. It's like being in college all over again.


SaM.

Birch Juice Season Has Arrived!

Spring is finally moving into Odessa and the rest of the country, and we all know what that means: birch juice season? Yes, available in most supermarkets now is the juice from Betula pendula, the white birch tree, or берёза (beroza) in Russian/Ukrainian.



After reading all about the practice of extracting and drinking birch juice in Ukraine (as documented by The Pickle Project), I decided to give it a try. I went to my local market and found a glass bottle of birch juice on the bottom shelf of the nectar/juice aisle. I know that this store-bought version is nothing like fresh juice from the forest, but oh well that's what I get for living in a big city. After buying the juice, I quickly brought it home and let it cool in the fridge for a few hours before pouring myself a nice, tall glass. The taste is basically like a woody, watered down maple syrup. Because the juice spoils quickly, the supermarket version I bought was pasteurized and pretty heavily sweetened, killing what I imagine to be the juice's naturally subtle taste. Trying this store-bought variety just made me want to get on a marshrutka headed north and drink a glass straight from the source.


And on a somewhat related note--Apparently in Belarus there's a company that puts out birch vodka.


Well!


SaM.

1001 Uses for Chickpeas: Part I

I went to Privos market the other day and bought a kilo of dried chickpeas. If you haven't been enlightened by the presence of chickpeas in your life, I think you are missing a vital part of existence. I am here to spread the chickpea gospel.

The chickpea (aka "garbanzo bean") is among one of the most protein-rich foods out there and was perhaps the earliest cultivated vegetable, as 7500 year-old remains of chickpea cultivation have been found in the Middle East. One cup of chickpeas contains about 269 calories and 14 grams of protein. It's also a great source of iron, potassium, zinc, and calcium. Not too shabby, little pea.


In Israel, this thing was everywhere. I ate hummus (a mix of chickpeas and tahina), chickpea soup, chick pea sauce on spaghetti (I'm serious), falafel (a mash of chickpeas, deep fried), and just about every other form imaginable. When I first arrived in Ukraine, I thought I would have to give up chickpeas cold turkey, as I didn't find any trace of them, canned or dried, in any supermarket.

Then, one day I went to Privos market, an amazing outdoor food and product bazaar that deserves its own post. At one stand, near the pickle section, I found a man selling kilo-bags of dried chickpeas, or наот (naot) in Russian. Last night I decided to get a little brave and test out a new recipe: Chana masala, a popular Indian recipe for cooking chickpeas.

Chana masala spice is a mixture of coriander seeds, salt, dried mango, pomegranate seeds, red chili, cumin, black pepper, cloves, mint, nutmeg, ginger, cassia, cardamom, and... mace.
Pre-packaged boxes of this spice mix can be found in Indian food markets if you don't just happen to have mace lying around. I found a box of the spices in Krakow and brought it back with me, but I think the recipe would taste just as good with some fresh ginger, cumin, nutmeg, clove, salt and pepper: spices that are all easily found in any supermarket.

This is the recipe that I followed:




Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
2 cups dried chickpeas or 2 small cans of chickpeas
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 head cauliflower, chopped
1 tablespoon chana masala spice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1/2 liter of water

Soak two cups of dried chickpeas overnight (or use two small cans of chickpeas and skip this step). In a large pot heat two tablespoons of cooking oil (I used sesame oil) and fry the onion until translucent. Then add the tomatoes, cauliflower, chickpeas, salt and spices and stir for five minutes. Add 1/2 liter of water and baking soda, bring to a boil and cover.

(Sorry about the quality of these photos... a light bulb blew out in our kitchen and it was pretty dark so I had to use *flash* which I try to not to use when taking food photos)

Simmer on low heat for 40 minutes until all the water evaporates.
Serves four or two very hungry people... especially tasty paired with rice or a crusty baguette.


It came out a little spicier than I expected (it even fogged up the entire apartment!), but it was still very tasty.


Next time I'll try to cut back on the mace.


SaM.

Cheap Eats

Living on a, let's say, "modest" teacher's wage and part of a US government research stipend *cough cough* -- I'm always appreciative of inexpensive ways to eat quality food. Though Ukrainian prices are usually more forgiving than American prices, living anywhere isn't cheap and it's always nice to get a break every once in a while.

That's why I thought I'd post on perhaps the most amazing lunch I've ever purchased under $6. In Florida, the only quick, vegan "meal" I could've expected to buy for six bucks would have been a bag of pretzels, an apple and maybe a fountain soda. Today, however, my $6 (or about 50 gryvnas) stretched a little bit farther. Here's a picture of a delicious $6 lunch for two:




That's two large salads to-go from Tavria B, a local supermarket chain (I still haven't figured out if there's a Tavria A), 6 apples, a baguette from our local French bakery (or "backery" as the sign says), and a 2-liter bottle of water, без газа (without gas).

The only unfortunate thing about this meal was that it was entirely wrapped in plastic.
But that's a topic for an entirely different post.


SaM.

Snacks!

With my sporadic teaching schedule, I can't always plan on eating at the same time every day. Sometimes I rush out the door without eating breakfast and other times I'm too far away from the apartment to make lunch and I don't want to go out to a restaurant. This is why snacks come in handy to keep me going throughout the day.

Unfortunately, most Ukrainian snack food (pastries, mini-sandwiches, dried fish, sour cream/caviar flavored chips) is off limits for me. Luckily, seeds of all kinds are very popular here, especially sunflower seeds, as well as nuts, and are both available at kiosks and mini-markets all over the city. Perhaps this has to do with the fact that these salty foods go so well with beer, a favorite Ukrainian "soft drink."

I have a few favorite snacks in my rotation that keep me energized all day.
First, there's dark chocolate and oranges. Fortunately, I found an amazing 60% dark chocolate that's 100% vegan. Melissa introduced me to pairing chocolate with oranges/orange juice and now I'm hooked. Also, peeling and eating oranges reminds me of lazy afternoons spent sitting on the porch of my father's house in Tampa, eating naval oranges straight from the tree. This thought always puts a smile on my face.


Another great combination is strawberries and... Well, I'm not sure what these are, but they taste like bagel chips and are available absolutely everywhere. In Odessa, there are special bread kiosks that sell loaves of fresh black bread, pastries, as well as these bagel-shaped snacks that are not only vegan but certified kosher parve! The salty/starchiness pairs very well with the sweet, tart berries.



For less of a sugar rush, I reach for my tried and true favorite snack: hummus and cucumbers, or any other vegetable for that matter. I'll be honest, I wasn't able to find hummus for my first two or so months in Odessa, which was pretty difficult to handle after five months at Ein Gev. Living in Israel had basically taught me that hummus belongs in its own food group and I was going through some serious withdrawal. Fortunately I found a falafel stand that sells huge containers of hummus for only 13 gryvnas (that's about $1.75). Cucumbers are and have always been plentiful in Ukraine, so that wasn't a problem.


Last but not least, I can't get enough of apples and peanut butter. OK, this snack is kind of cheating, because I didn't buy the peanut butter in Odessa, I bought it in Poland. Unfortunately, they don't sell peanut butter in Ukraine, as far as I know. I did find one jar of imported peanut butter at a gourmet grocery store near my school, but it had long expired. No matter, Melissa and I bought enough peanut butter during our trip to Krakow to last us until the next trip!


Happy snacking!


SaM.

МЯСА НЕТ!!!

I just wanted to share something ridiculous (amazing?) that I found at a souvenir market the other day. First, though, I must explain one thing.

In Ukraine, all different sorts of astrology are very popular, particularly the Chinese Zodiac. Some of you may know that this year is the Chinese Year of the Tiger. Living in Odessa, it's difficult not to be reminded of this fact, as there are representations/images of tigers everywhere. There are tiger displays in the supermarket, stuffed animal tigers in every toy store, tiger calendars, tiger key chains. I have even seen dogs dressed in tiger-print track suits walking around Shevchenko Park.

Most notably, Yulia Tymoshenko, the Presidential candidate who was defeated in the last elections a few months ago, was presented with an albino tiger cub named "Tigriulia" in August, 2009. Accepting this gift, she said,

2010 is the Year of the Tiger so this gift is a talisman for the next year and I am dreaming to take it somewhere to political negotiations, especially when it grows a bit. I am convinced the Year of Tiger will be successful for Ukraine and for everyone of us.

Since the Year of the Tiger is so popular, all the souvenir markets and booths are full of tiger-themed memorabilia. I'm a pretty big fan of kitschy novelty items and had been looking for a tiger-themed souvenir for some time.

Then the other day I came upon this:


The first magnet says, There isn't any meat!!
The second says (basically), What about Kompot?

So now I have a magnet that represents the Year of the Tiger, includes a reference to an Eastern European fruit drink, and can also be read as pulling for a meat-free lifestyle.

YES!

SaM.

My kind of medicine!

So I'm sick in bed with the flu. Or at least I think it's the flu... Whatever it is, it's miserable and I've lost my voice completely.

Whenever I used to get sick as a child, my mother would whip up some good ol' Jewish penicillin: chicken soup. Yesterday, I made my own vegan version, which was just as effective! Fortunately, I had just gone out to Privos, the big, outdoor market in Odessa, and purchased plenty of vegetables.


Here's the recipe Iused...

Ingredients

1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped
3 medium white potatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium parsnips, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup parsley
1 tsp olive oil
1 cube vegan bullion
1 teaspoon celery flakes, (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:


Chop all of the vegetables and put them in a large pot. Add enough water until the vegetables are just covered. Add the bullion and olive oil.

Boil the vegetables until the potatoes and cauliflower are soft (about 20 mins)

Turn off the heat. Add salt, pepper, and parsley.

Serve with a baguette and soy margarine... Or, better yet, a large salad.

YUMMMMMMM

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 30 mins




The salad I made was basically just diced veggies (cauliflower, tomato, onion, cucumber), romaine lettuce and a couple carrot-stuffed cabbage rolls that I bought at Privos. I drizzled it with a simple oil/balsamic vinegar dressing.


If all those vitamins don't kick this bug then I don't know what will! Well... maybe penicillin, but I'm not even gonna go there.


SaM.