Quick Cheese Pascha

Sorry that I again took such a break from updating!  I admit I have sort of gotten out of the habit of updating, but am determined to get back to it!  Both Andrey and I have been sick for about two weeks.  We both have bad colds and Andrey has been feeling especially bad and had a low-grade fever on and off for the past few weeks.   He also has had no appetite so I haven't been cooking a lot lately.  I've had a lot of sandwiches and pirozhky and easy things for one person.  But one thing I did make lately was Cream Cheese Paskha.  It is a very quick version of traditional Cheese Pascha that can be whipped up at a last minute notice.  I made it for a little belated baptism reception I had for my goddaughter who was baptized on Palm Sunday.  Here is the recipe:

Cream Cheese Paskha
from Food for Paradise

3 lbs. softened cream cheese
1 pint sour cream
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 lb. softened butter
2 cups cofectioners' sugar
raisins and/or almonds (optional)

Cream the butter and add the cheese, continuing to cream them both.  Add sugar and vanilla.  next stir in the sour cream and raisins and almonds (if using) in desired quantities.  Spoon into bowls and decorate the top.

I had mine decorated with XB made of dried cranberries and a border made with chocolate chips.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo.   In my opinion, it is best served at room temperature.  It is the only cheese Pascha I made this year.   Sometimes it isn't worth spending the time on making both Cheese Pascha and Kulich. 

Well, since we've been gone a while, I'll add a photo updates of what we've been up to:

Me with other moms and daughters from church

The baptism reception at our house where the Cheese Pascha was served (Andrey took the photo)

Roasted Fiddlehead... so delicious!!

Baptism of another dear friend's daughter

Lilacs from our yard put together as a gift for a friend's mother

Salad made mostly from foraged greens!  Not by me... I might have ended up poisoning people!  It was good!!

Liza with a friends Iphone.  She'll probably figure out how to use it before Andrey or I do!

We're Back!

 We just got back late last night from a nearly two-week trip to Cincinnati and Toronto.  We spent the second half of Holy Week, Pascha, and St. George's day with my family in Cincinnati.  We had an awesome time!  Then we stopped in Toronto for Radonitsa and went to the cemetery where Andrey's father, both sets of grandparents, and uncle are buried.  We ran into Andrey's uncle and lots of friends there.  We had a great time going from grave to grave, singing litias, and sharing in Paschal joy and food with others there!!  Here are some photos of the highlights of our trip.

With my dad at the park

My niece, Hannah, with a butterfly at Krohn Conservatory

Liza right before church for Pascha (around 10 pm)

Our family at Pascha

At the zoo with cousin Natasha

Tea at the Bonbonerie with my mom and sisters (minus Andrea)

Liza with the newly-Christened Clara in Toronto

Andrey's maternal grandparent's grave in Toronto

This morning, the Kursk Root Icon came to our house!  What a blessing!  It was Liza's first time to be with the icon, although I venerated it soon after I found out I was pregnant with her.

Right now, I've got chicken and veggies in the slow cooker.  I think it will be perfectly done for when we get home from church tonight (there is an Akathist in front of the icon we will attend).  The recipe for the chicken is pretty simple and open to variation, but I'll tell you what I did today.

Chicken with Vegetables (Slow Cooker)

2 small onions, finely chopped
3 small carrots, cut into rounds
10 button mushrooms, quartered
½ cup white wine
handful of dried cranberries (raisins were called for in the original recipe)

olive oil
10 chicken drumsticks
1 can diced tomatotes
herbes de Provence
salt and pepper

1. Pour the wine into a small bowl then soak the raisins. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat, then add the chicken drumsticks and sauté thoroughly on each side until golden, about 7-8 min. Take the chicken pieces out of the pan put them in the slow cooker.
3. Add the canned tomatoes and spices (to taste) into the slow cooker with the chicken.
4. Add the onion to the pan where the chicken was cooked and sauté 2-3 minutes. Add the carrots and mushrooms then cook 2-3 more minutes. Add the raisins and wine. Scrape the bottom of the pan thoroughly as the wine comes to a boil.
5. Add the cooked veggies to the chicken and tomatoes in the slow cooker.  Cook on high for 4-6 hours.  Serve with rice, couscous, quinoa or other side of your choice.

I'm serving it tonight with couscous.  I'll let you know how it is.

Since I haven't written in so long I thought I'd put another recipe on for today.  I haven't made it in a few months, but I happen to have a photos of it and it is so delicious!  I think I will make some within the next week.

Whole Orange Cake
From Sunset Magazine, March 2013

Cooking-oil spray
1 cup butter, softened 
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs 
2 oranges (about 1 lb. total), ends trimmed, then cut into chunks and seeded
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons plus 1 tsp. orange juice

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Coat a 10-cup Bundt pan with cooking-oil spray. In a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed, beat butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs.
2. Whirl orange chunks in a food processor until mostly smooth but not puréed. Add 1 1/2 cups orange mixture to batter and beat until blended. Add flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder to bowl and beat until smooth. Spread batter in prepared pan.
3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few crumbs clinging to it, about 55 minutes. Cool pan on a rack 10 minutes, then invert cake onto rack and let cool completely.
4. Whisk together powdered sugar and orange juice in a small bowl. Drizzle over cooled cake. Let glaze set, then slice cake.

Note:  This was written yesterday (Monday, May 13th), but only posted today because I didn't have the photos loaded.

Provençal Salad with Tuna and White Beans

Palm Sunday is one of the two days during Great Lent when we can eat fish.  Our parish (and I think many others) has a potluck that day.  My favorite thing to make and bring is a Provençal Salad with Tuna and White Beans from the Chic Simple Cooking book.  My sister Martha gave me this book for my 23rd birthday.  Before getting my own copy, I had been checking a copy of this book out of the library regularly!  It's a great basic cookbook with hints of gourmet.  None of the recipes are complicated, but focus on putting the right ingredients together for perfect flavor.  The book has a list of seasonal menus in the back (with wine pairings) which I often consult.  So, without further ado, here is the recipe of the day:

Provençal Salad with Tuna and White Beans
From Chic Simple Cooking

2 tsp. olive oil
1 leek, julienned, or Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, julienned
2 carrots, julienned
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 19-ounce can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup water, vegetable stock, or fish stock
1 fresh tuna steak (about 1 pound), 1-1½ inches thick
2-4 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1-2 tomatoes, diced
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley or basil

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add 1 tsp. of olive oil.  Add the leek or onion, celery, carrots, bay leaf, and thyme, and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.  Add the beans and water or stock and cook about 5 minutes, or until the beans are soft and heated through.
2. Remove the bay leaf.  Scoop the vegetables and beans into a large serving dish.
3. In the same pan, heath the remaining teaspoon of olive oil over medium-high heat and add the tune.  Cook for about 5 minutes per side or until desired doneness.
4. Cut the tuna into large chunks and arrange them on top of the bean mixture.  Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar, tomatoes, and parsley or basil.

Serve at room temperature.  Serves 4.

I tripled the recipe for church and had to make a major substitution.  I couldn't find tuna steaks this year, so I ended up getting halibut steak.  The guy at the fish counter told me he thought it'd be fine, but honestly, it wasn't.  Tuna steak has a meaty texture and could almost pass as a pork chop.  The halibut, on the other hand, was really flaky.  It tasted fine, but didn't have the texture that it really wonderful in this salad.  Next year, I will plan more in advance and order tuna steaks if I have to.  They are worth it!

The day before Palm Sunday (Lazarus Saturday) is a caviar day... a day when the church calendar officially recommends (well, allows) that you eat caviar (and it's a wine day too)!  We love taramosalata so that is our usual Lazarus Saturday treat.  On the way home from church, we first stopped by Bridgehead Coffee with a friend, then the Italian grocery store to pick up the taramosalata.  The Italian shop also carries Art-Is-In bread which is one of my favorites and has a wonderful olive bar.  So, we came home and had a wonderful, simple lunch.  It was so delicious!  What a nice little feast!

In addition to the Great Feast of Palm Sunday, we had another joyous occasion yesterday - the baptism of our friends' new baby, Anna.  I was very honored to be her Godmother.  May God grant her many, many blessed years!
  

Big sister, Dora, Liza, and me before the baptism

Pilgrimage to Jordanville and Mjaddrah Recipe

We went to Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY for a quick trip this week.  It was such a nice Lenten pilgrimage!  

On the way there, we stopped in the charming town of Gouveneur, NY for lunch.  We had a picnic with the hummus and bread we'd packed and then stopped by a coffee shop for some caffeine.  

We were able to be there for Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesday.  Before we left we decided we'd better go soon since this would be our only opportunity to go to a mid-week Lenten service at the monastery.  It is only a four and a half hour drive for us.  I definitely think we should go more often.  We are planning to go for Pentecost weekend this year (the feast day of the monastery is the day after - Holy Spirit Monday) and again in July for Liza's nameday (July 18th - Grand Duchess Elizabeth).  

There is a women's skete nearby the monastery also named for Grand Duchess Elizabeth that will be celebrating their feastday that day.  I hope we can make it a tradition to attend the services at the skete for Liza's nameday.  As a side note, I also highly recommend their handmade skin cream.  I bought the natural cream for Liza (ingredients are olive oil, water, beeswax, and vitamin E).  It healed the baby eczema she's had on her hands for months!  It healed with just a few treatments.  The only other treatment I'd used was coconut oil, which did not do much, but did make her hands a little softer.  This one really took away the bumpiness and redness.


Yesterday I made a big pot of Mjaddrah.  I learned the recipe when I was in the Holy Land, where I spent five months volunteering at the Orthodox school in Bethany.  I don't always measure, but here is approximately how I made it.


Mjaddrah (Lentils and Rice)

1 cup rice
1 cup lentils
3 cups water
salt
1 Tbsp. cumin (I've used whole seeds and ground - both are good)
2-3 onions, sliced
olive or other oil

Add the rice, lentils, and water to a pot and  bring to a boil.  Once boiled, add salt (maybe ½ tsp), cover, and simmer.

Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat.  Add the onions and saute until they are starting to brown.  Turn down the heat to medium-low, add cumin and some salt, and keep cooking them while you continue to stir.  After about 20 minutes or so, you should have nice caramelized onions and the rice mix should be done.

Serve the caramelized onions over the rice and lentils.  It goes very well with a salad with crunchy lettuce.

The girls performing during their 75th anniversary last year

Me with some of the girls who live at the school

This will be a busy weekend with several church services.  Tomorrow is Lazarus Saturday and one of my favorite days!  It is really a festive day (a sort of Nameday for me and my sister Martha) and along with Palm Sunday give us a glimpse of Paschal joy before starting the solemn Holy Week services.  Growing up, we would make palm crosses and put them into bunches with pussy willows on Saturday after Liturgy to be handed out that night at Vigil.  Lazarus Saturday also holds a special place in my heart as it is the feastday of the church at the school in Bethany.  Pilgrims come from all over to celebrate in Bethany.  I was not there during Lazarus Saturday (I was there August - January), but would sure love to be able to do that someday.   If you remember, please say a special prayer tomorrow for the students and nuns who work at the school.

The chapel built over a stone found during excavations that reads "Here is where Martha met Jesus and he told her of the Resurrection"

"Creamy" Clam Chowder and Almond Biscotti

"Creamy" Clam Chowder


2 medium potatoes, cubed
2 carrots, sliced
1 onion, diced
2½ cups water


2 vegetable bouillon cubes
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
2 (6.5 oz) cans whole baby clams, undrained
1 (15 oz) can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 can coconut milk
1 tsp. paprika

Put everything except the coconut milk and paprika into a large pot and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Stir in coconut milk and paprika and serve.

This is my favorite Lenten soup!  I made it today for the first time this Lent.  I had to make some substitutions - sweet potato for the carrot and kidney beans for the white beans.  I highly recommend this recipe!  It's very easy and so delicious!

My deep cleaning for Spring hasn't gone as planned, but I did manage to get some work on in my living room this week... mainly the floor.  They were really dirty and hadn't been cleaned well in a long time.  Since all the furniture had to be moved to do that, we decided to rearrange things when we moved it back.  I really like our new look!  It seems much more spacious.  Liza is enjoying having a little more room to crawl around.

Here is another recipe for today!

Lenten (Vegan) Almond Biscotti

2 cups flour
1 t. baking powder 
¼ t. salt
1 c. sugar
4 T. margarine, softened
Egg replacer for 2 eggs' worth
½ t. vanilla extract
½ t. almond extract¾ c. almonds, toasted (on a pan for just a few minutes) and coarsely chopped

1. Heat oven to 350º. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. 
2. In a large bowl, beat the sugar and margarine together using an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy and uniform. Mix in the egg replacer. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. 
3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Mix in the almonds until just incorporated. 
4. Use floured hands to shape the dough into two 13x2-inch loaves on the prepared baking sheet, spaced about 3 inches apart. Bake the loaves until golden and just beginning to crack on top, about 35 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking.  
5. Let the loaves cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Lower oven temp to 325º. 
6. Transfer loaves to a cutting board and slice each on the diagonal into ½-inch thick slices with a serrated knife. Lay the slices about ½ inch apart on the baking sheet and bake until crisp and golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes, flipping the slices over halfway through baking. Transfer the biscotti to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving, 1 hour. 

I found this recipe on Facebook a while back and made it this week for the first time.  They were nice and had a good subtle flavor.  I think it is a good base recipe that could be open to modification to fit your mood (ie, dipped in chocolate at the end, add dry fruit, use other nuts, etc.).  It's definitely a recipe I'll make again and probably include some variations depending one what I have.  Sorry I don't have a photo of the biscotti!  They are all gone... what we didn't eat I passed along to a friend yesterday.

Learning to Bake and a Lenten Pudding Recipe

I spent most of the day yesterday making kulichi with a few other ladies from church.  We made it in two batches.  The first batch was not rising but I decided to go ahead and put them in the oven.  They still did not grow much.  The second batch was a little bit better with rising (but I think mostly because we waiting a little longer to put them in the oven).  When we were finished making the breads, one lady who often bakes with us joined us and I told her about the difficulties of the day.  She asked which yeast I used and I showed her the bottle and it turns out she had used that a few months ago and ruined a batch of blini since they wouldn't rise!  So, I threw the rest of the yeast away - it's ruined enough recipes!  I don't know why it was put back if it was bad, but at least it's gone now!  She told me one way to test if yeast is good is to smell it.  This yeast had no scent at all!  Good yeast should have a nice yeasty aroma.  I don't think all is ruined though as I am definitely not a perfectionist (and I don't really want to spend another day baking).  We cut open one of the ones that didn't rise well and tasted it... it was delicious!!  In total we made 28 kulichi (using eight times the recipe below) which will be sold by the church sisterhood for Pascha.

So, although I've make kulichi probably at least ten times in my life I'm still learning a lot.  This time my lessons were:
1. Be patient!
2. Check the yeast to see if it's active.

The results of the kulich baking day.  The tops are cracked and ugly, but they taste good!

If you follow the recipe and follow those rules, the result should be both beautiful and delicious!  Here is the recipe I used (I got it from my mother):

Kulich

6-6½ cups flour
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. yeast
¾ cup sugar
5 large eggs
½ cup butter
1 tbsp. lemon zest
1 cup raisins (optional - I didn't use)

Set butter out to soften. Scald cream and blend into 1 cup flour.  Let cool to lukewarm.  Dissolve yeast in a little waster and add to lukewarm cream and flour mixture.  Separate eggs, putting whiles into a medium sized bowl and set aside.  Add ½ cup sugar and the salt to the egg yolks and stir into flour mixture.  Beat egg whites until stiff and add remaining sugar (¼ cup).  Fold egg whites into flour/yolk mixture.  Place bowl in warm place and let rise until full of bubbles (about 30 minutes).  Add lemon zest and softened butter to the mixture after it has risen.  Add enough more flour to make a dough that can be easily kneaded and knead well, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Place in a buttered bowl, cover, and let rise about 1 hour or until doubled in size.  Punch down and add raisins, if using.  Divide into four equal portions and place each in a greased 1 lb coffee can (Note: we lined our cans with parchment paper instead of greasing).  Cover cans and let rise one more hour.  Bake 350° for  ½ hour to 45 minutes.  If tops begin to brown too quickly, cover with foil and continue baking.  Immediately after baking, remove breads from cans and cool.

Today I wanted something sweet so I decided to make tapioca pudding.  Here is my recipe:


Lenten Tapioca Pudding

The assembled ingredients minus the salt, vanilla, and almond milk

⅓ cup sugar
3 tbsp. minute tapioca
½ tsp. salt 
1 can coconut milk
1 cup almond milk
1 cup raisins or other dried fruit

1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a medium sauce pan, whisk together sugar, tapioca, salt, coconut milk, and almond milk.  Slowly bring to a boil over medium high heat, whisking constantly.  When it comes to a full boil, remove from heat and add the vanilla and fruit.  Pour into a nice dish to set.  Let cool for about an hour. 

The final product!

It's not quite as firm as tapioca made with eggs, but it's pretty good and really delicious!  I've also made rice pudding following approximately the same recipe but using already cooked white rice.  I would imagine you would need about a cup of cooked rice, but I don't remember exactly what I did... I do remember it was delicious!



And as always, I've got to include a photo of my little girl.  I had mentioned in a previous post about how she fell asleep at the head table at the fundraising dinner at church a week and a half ago, but I didn't get a photo.  Well, a friend of mine did catch the little snoozy baby and send me the photo:

Salad Days

My salad days, when I was green in judgment: cold in blood, to say as I said then!  Cleopatra in Shakespeare's Anthony and Cleopatra, 1606

That's not the kind of salad days I'm talking about!

I've got one and a half fasting salad recipes for you, both of which I made today.  The first is a carrot salad called "Korean Carrot Salad" by the Russians.  It's a pretty popular Russian salad and definitely more Russian than Korean!  I don't know where it got it's name.  The second is not really a true recipe, but just about how I make pasta salad during Lent.

So, first off here is the "Korean" Carrot Salad:

7 carrots, shredded
1 onion, chopped and sauteed
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. ground coriander
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 tbsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. sugar or honey

Mix up the last seven ingredients (everything except the carrots and onion) to make the dressing (I usually put it in a jar and shake).  Mix together with the shredded carrots and sauteed onion.  Marinate 4-24 hours.

I made a triple batch of this recipe today for lunch after Liturgy tomorrow.  For us to eat at home I made a pasta salad today.  My favorite ingredients to make pasta salad more hardy during Lent are artichokes, avocado, olives, and beans (usually from a can).  Here is the recipe for what I made today:

Pasta Salad

1 lb. pasta (I had fusilli)
1 (1 L) jar artichoke hearts (in oil, I get them at Costco)
2 bell peppers, chopped and sauteed
2 tomatoes, chopped
frozen spinach
1 cup black beans
red wine vinegar (about a half a cup)
herbs de provence
salt and pepper to taste

I mixed everything together including oil from the artichokes.  If I didn't have oil from artichokes, I'd use olive oil or an Italian dressing (and then leave out the vinegar).  I like to add more vegetables and other stuff than pasta.  I know this recipe is nothing ground-breaking, but it is good!

This week, we were in Montreal from Monday to Wednesday.  Andrey was attending a clergy conference at St. Nicholas Cathedral, our diocesan headquarters.  I went so I could go shopping since there are definitely different styles in the stores in Montreal.  I thought I could get something cute for Liza.  But it turned out that I mostly baby-sat for Liza and our friend's one year old son.  The first day I tried to take them both shopping with me.  I had the one year old in a backpack carrier and Liza in the stroller.  We made it to the mall (quite a hike!) and walked around a little.  I gave up after about an hour since there were too many stairs and escalators and it was hard to bring the stroller up or down them while trying to be careful with the baby on my back.  From that trip, I have the Liza picture for this post.  It is a photo of her at the final luncheon of the conference.