In the years of being immersed in another culture I have learned to substitute most of the foods I missed about my native land with local versions of one kind of another.  Some products I learned to replicate quite successfully. Take kefir for example. I am now making a very nice creamy version of kefir […]

It’s officially cold and flu season.  Don’t know where you are reading this, but in our area temperatures had dropped about thirty degrees on average.  And that means, sniffles are coming.  In fact, my daughter had already made it through her season change cold, and I am battling one right now. The upside of every […]

I poke around Russian culinary forums from time to time, for good ‘ole time’s sake.  Once in a while I stumble upon a good recipe or two and feel compelled to translate them for my English readers.  Recently, I had a discussion with a few ladies who happen to be big fans of Belonika. If […]

Quick post today about biscuits. Yes, those things of which everything is written, said and cooked already.  It’s not about the recipe really. Insert your own if you like — trust me, it will work just as well. The thing I like about biscuits is the texture. I like the flakes, and I like the […]

There was a time in my life when I was baking for a living. Nothing special or elaborate — I was baking beer sticks and cookies and delivering them to the local coffee shops and watering holes. Those were the times…  Money was tight, I needed to do my share to contribute to the household’s […]

I was looking for quick and easy bread recipes and stumbled upon this page.  I liked the use of the whole wheat and the coconut (though I didn’t have fresh coconut), and the whole biscuity feel of the overall method.  I would definitely recommend it, though personally, I prefer buttermilk or, better yet, kefir to straight […]

Yep. We overbought bananas. Again.  I think my family is secretly trying to force me into baking sweets.  Somehow we always have exactly three overdone bananas left — three is just enough for a banana bread.