Busy

It has been pretty crazy the last few weeks trying to take care of everything before leaving for the states (BTW - We're here! - more on that later)

As if things weren't hectic enough, we decided to follow up an invitation from a reformed church in Ivano Frankovsk (western Ukraine) and go visit and share about our church with them as well. The town was lovely and it was great to hear about their church and learn about the social activities the church and Pastor are involved in (HIV/ AIDS education and anti-prejudice campaigns.

No pictures at the moment but we got to go through the countryside as well - stopping at the Pysanky Museum (where I saw some of my teacher's eggs), trying local cheese, and going through the tourist markets where Yushenko (president Ukraine) shops (at least there was a picture of him at the restaurant). No wonder though - as all the souvenirs really come from western Ukraine and they are WAY cheaper (10-15 uah before bargaining) than in Kiev. Also - here - national costumes were not only in supply - but in abundance and there many differnt styles and patterns that in kiev you just don't see (in kieve its like a standard shirt - one pattern suites all) Not that we bought national costumes - but it was great to see the variety and innovation. We also learned that all these crafts were mostly instigated by the Hutsul people.

Also - I gleaned the most amazing recipe for pickled tomatoes. I know, you are wondering how pickled tomatoes can be amazing - well you have to trust me - once we get back to Ukraine (in tomato season) I will mix up a batch and see if I can duplicate the results and share it with you. (really I just didn't bring the recipe with me)

Easter^2

Easter we planned to invite lots of people over - but it ended up that this year there weren't really many people who needed a place to go so it was Alister and I and our friend Jura.
Western Easter was Our Palm Sunday and I made Hot Cross Buns. Easter dinner cresendoed with my first ever Black Forest cake. I made only half the cake - but I think I could have gotten by with only making a quarter - the thing is so rich that a "normal" sized piece is a meal in and of itself.

Another Haggai walk

A few weeks ago we tried to Haggai on a walk again. The poor thing was scared spitless. Wouldn't even come out of his bag. I think he enjoyes all the smells and the fresh air - just all the sounds were a bit too much. At one point he did try to venture out - but at that very moment a group of people went by on motor bikes and that was the end of that.

Ballet

We went and saw a ballet the other day.
La Bayadere - or Bayaderka in Russian.
It was fabulous - I liked the servant - one of fakirs - the best. You can see his performance towards the middle end of this youtube clip- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlNEKBf1qsE

The ballet is about a young warrior who falls in love with an Indian temple dancer. Meanwhile the Temple priest is also in love with her - And at the same time one of the Lords is planning that the Young Warrior should marry his daughter. The father and daughter decide that the bayadere must die and the Bayadere chooses to die rather than betray her love to the young warrior and marry the priest. So you have plenty of intrigue. The clip below is of the daughter Gamzatti as she dances at her wedding.

The most interesting thing - reading up on it on Wikipedia is that this is considered one of Russia's most important ballet but because of Soviet times - it didn't "get out" of Russia until the 1960's and even then not all of it got out and parts of the music were lost and other parts modified because western dancers couldn't achieve the poses that the Russian dances could or the western stages weren't as large or spacious as the stage that the Ballet was originally written for. So this ballet has probably more interpretations than your average ballet.

Another interesting thing is that the last scene is sometimes left off. Instead of ending with the underworld revenge and temple collapse, it ends with a dream where The young man sees his dead beloved in the underworld and dances with her a last time. at 2.5 hours - (with pauses) it was a long ballet and so I imagine the original ending would make it very long and difficult for the dancers - they had quite a few jumps that they had to undertake in the score.

Easter is in the air

Easter is coming. I realized it last week. Not because of big pink bunny rabbits decorating store windows (there aren't any), not because of pastel colored peeps lining the checkout isle (there aren't any) Not even because of a plethora of Easter baskets and Easter candy assulting the buyer entering a store (there aren't any). No, rather I know that Easter is coming because on the street people are selling green onions, a weird leafy vegetable I last wrote about here and radishes. Soon after I noticed the radishes, I also realized that more cake ladies had sprouted on street corners and the other day I saw a man running around with his hands full of woven baskets (but not with Easter bunnies- women will load them with ingredients for easter dinner and take them to the priest to bless on Easter Saturday or Sunday morning).

I decided that now would be the time to begin my quest to find and collect the plastic egg sleeves for decorating eggs. Because Pisanki is very difficult (and you can't eat the eggs) Easter eggs - in the form we know them are still all over the place here - but aside from using colors (very very bright strongs colors) they also have a very wide variety of interesting egg sleeves with traditional designs, paintings from fairy tales, as well as icons. I didn't buy the icons. Last year they sold out really quickly and buy the time I figured out that they might make fun and orignial gifts, they were all gone. So I am congratulating myself for being ahead of the game this year.

Sweet and Sour Chicken for a crowd

A lot of people have been asking what and how I cook for 20 people when we have group and so I thought the easiest way to answer this once and for all would be to do a post.

Last night, I made sweet and sour chicken (thanks to Alister’s Aunt Violet who served it while we were in N.I and told me the recipe). This combination of things actually only fed 12 (but there was enough chicken left over for probably 2 more portions, plus we only had 3 girls and the guys will tend to keep eating until everything is gone if given the chance as long as everyone else has eaten) Everyone really liked the recipe so it is definitely one I will try again. Probably though – I could have done with another salad. (By the way - other yummy and chicken/ crock pot recipes are appreciated!)

Prices are rounded to the nearest hreevna to give a generous estimate

Item	Cost
3 whole chickens @ 18 uah/kilo	71	I put these in the slow cooker and cook them overnight. The next day I debone them and strain the broth, setting it aside or using it in whatever recipe I’m making at the time. The cat always likes this part because he gets lots and lots of bones
1 850ml can of pineapple chunks	9
350 gr of Peppers purchased and frozen during the summer when they were 10 uah/kilo	4	I make the sauce and then add it to the deboned and diced chicken from the night before. This recipe didn’t need much more cooking so basically I just turned the crock pot on low an hour before group to reheat the chicken thoroughly and make sure everything was hot.
1 cup of vinegar	1
2 onions 3 uah/kilo	1
¼ cup sugar 4 uah/kilo	1
1 tablespoon of Ginger and Vegetable bouillon	1
1 bottle of soy sauce	4
1 kilo of white rice	14
1 grated carrot @ 3.5/kilo	1
A few tablespoons of flour to thicken the sauce	1
1 head of cabbage for salad	3
3 carrots for salad	1
1 packet of mayo	4
1 tablesppon of dill	1
Juice of half a lemon	3
A couple of loaves of bread	10
Total cost of meal	130	= $16.50 at current exchange rate

I always try to buy veggies and things that are in season. The biggest cost is always the meat but so far prices on chicken have stayed stable. The exchange rate is also a big factor – this recipe would have cost $35 dollars if I had made it during the summer – but even at that rate each person would have been fed for less than $3

Lately people have been bringing cookies and stuff for tea and it seems we always have enough of everything.

Back in Kiev

Well, we spent a couple of weeks in Northern Ireland and England before coming back home on St. Patricks Day - maybe we got the scheduling off - everyone seemed surprised that we would not be in the UK for St Patty's day - but given the riots that took place - not that sad to have missed it really.

We had a great trip - the weather was very spring like - in N.I. It fluctuated between sun one moment and snow or showers the next. Nottingham was covered in Daffodils - so it was a bit of a let down to come back to grey, freezing rain here in Kiev - but spring is just around the corner.

We're now busy getting back into the routine - piles of laundry - group on Friday, office and other misc activities.

On the way home from the airport we talked to the taxi driver about politics - he is thoroughly disgusted with the whole affair - thinks all the politicians should be tarred and feathered and has decided to turn off the news whenever it comes on. What point is there in listening to the news, after all, when there is nothing "new"?