Ukrainian minimum wage

The Kyiv Post ran an interesting article today on the minimum wage in Ukraine - that covered an experiment run by the Ukrainian National trade Unions forum despite the fact that the "experiment" was flawed - costs vary across Ukraine and so 1 person from 5 different regions doesn't reveal much - it is still interesting. When one considers that the average pension is even lower than the official minimum wage - around $95 a month you can see that the situation can be very desperate for some.

However, one thing the article failed to mention is how people with this money normally "survive"

1) Most students or young adults live with their parents - minimum wage but no rent or utilities. If they have left home, having gone to the city to work often their parents are often sending them products - potatoes, cottage cheese, etc.

2) most people would try to pick up extra jobs and work.

3) for the pensioners - they have their own apartments normally and they don't have to pay for public transportation. They still must pay for utilities and these prices continue to go up as the government can't afford to subsidize them. The costs are still far from the real value.

If you are unlucky enough to not have an apartment and to not have family who can send food or help out -- you do have a very dismal life indeed.

The article was very accurate on the quality of food - the average shopping bag would be cheap meat - like hot dogs, probably some buttermilk (kefir) which would be a meal replacement, and bread. Potatoes and oil are a must.

What I'm bringing to Thanksgiving Dinner

Here in Kiev, a group of us get together for Thanksgiving dinner. This year is extra special as it will be Saphira's 1st Thanksgiving - she won't remember it, but the glow will engulf her I'm sure.

In addition to some other sides - I'm bringing this delectable pie. I did a test run when apples first came into season in September. It was gone in two days. Just Alister and I. And that was with self-control. This pie is like having pie a la mode without having to buy a pint of ice cream.

I made some variations the first time and this time stuck with them with a few others - mainly lowering the sugar and adding cinnamon and other spices. Also - I use a pat-in-the-pan oil crust instead of a traditional pate brisee. Its faster and fool proof. Still, I recommend you make it first and put it in the freezer as you chop apples as it will help stop the custard from being absorbed.

So here is the recipe with my variations.

Sour Cream Apple Pie with Streusel Topping Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 pie crust - http://www.exit109.com/~mstevens/lrccookb/PATINPAN.htm (leave out the sugar - this crust can be made in the pie crust)

Filling
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Allspice
3 cups peeled, sliced tart apples (about 1 1/4 pounds of slices)

Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Mix together all ingredients (except nuts) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in nuts. Chill until needed in the recipe.

METHOD

1 Preheat oven to 400°F.

2 Beat together sour cream, sugar, flour, salt, vanilla, spices and egg (can beat by hand). Add apples, mixing carefully to coat well.

3 Put filling into a pie shell and bake at 400 degrees initially for 25 min.

4 Remove from oven and sprinkle with Cinnamon Crumb Topping. Bake for and additional 20 more minutes.

Let cool for a hour before serving. Serves 8.

In search of . . .

I was writing directions on Saphira's Schedule in Russian for my Russian class when I was stymied by the word sleepsuit / footed pajamas. Wikipedia was no help - no one has posted a Russian entry for sleepsuits. However - I discovered this link in the English post.

And the idle curiosity question popped into my head - how many adults actually wear footed pajamas? I may have to write the company to find out. I mean, even in the really cold months I'd rather wear socks and longjons rather than footed pajamas.

In the meantime - I thought I would ask here - are you a footed pajama wearing adult? Why? comments welcome.

Me Too!

We have a very badly behaved cat - and its entirely our fault. He is the most enchanting beggar. It starts with his purr - on full blast, then its the rub up against your legs as you fry the eggs, the gentle head butt to your elbow as you eat or the resigned paw pat to your knee half way through dinner. Yes - he can be pesky, but overall he was just too cute in all of his antics and so we fed him from the table and that is how we got our badly behaved cat who knows the wrath of the spray bottle only exists when it is in our hands and when we are in the room.

Occasionally he has stolen things from the table - once it was a baked potato (plain - Alister put it in his dinner bowl to finish it off after he stole it), occasionally it is the stray brussle sprout or broccoli that we leave on the table as we go off to watch a tv episode after dinner before going back to the work and chores (so cats crave green things sometimes), and of course we always had to guard any defrosting meat and never leave a plate of chicken or beef unattended.

Now that Saphira has started solids - Haggai has expanded his pallet - we made such a big deal of her eating - all the mmmms, yummies, and isn't that good? - got to him as well. He has now decided he eats beets and pumpkin (he continues to enjoy broccoli). When food hits the ground - he's there in a flash and the food is gone. Just wait till we get to meat, then he'll really be in heaven.

Just checking!

Soviet Cartoons

Just found this on YouTube while I was trying to find some Russian Lullabies. It was in a collection of favorite songs from Soviet Era cartoons. The title is "We are bandits" I think you can figure out the rest yourselves.

Superbly Simple Sweets - part 4

Last, but not least, we have arrived at the Ukrainian chocolate sausage - I know - the name is not really appealing - but WAIT TILL YOU TRY IT - not only is the recipe delicious as is - there are about a billion differnt variations that you could add.

Julia's Chocolate Sausage (шоколадная колбаса)

200 grams cookie crumbs

100 grams finely chopped walnuts

150 grams melted butter (less than 1 cup)

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

3 Tbsp cocoa

Mix butter, sugar, egg, and cocoa on stove rapidly till frothy and until mixture is hot and steamy (NOT BOILING) keep it like this for about 3 minutes, mixture will thicken slightly. Add cookie crumbs and walnuts. Mix well. Pat into a log (sausage) shape and allow to cool. Slice and serve when solidified.

VARIATIONS

Add a liquor or alcohol to the stove mixture

Press flat in a pan or tupperware + frost with chocolate or mint frosting

Dried fruits - (like cherries) can also be added

Sky is the limit for other variations - enjoy!

Solids!!

I know you are all waiting for the wonderfully delicous and final saga of Sinfully Simple Sweets with its culmination in Chocolate sausages . . . but you'll just have to wait. I've been busy with highchairs. Can you believe we're almost at the sixth month mark??? Saphira has been interested in what we are eating and drinking for awhile and when we are all at the table - her favorite toys are a spoon and a sippy cup. No food yet, that will come this month - but she so loves playing with the means for food that food itself is going to be fun by my reckoning.

The problem - How to give her a space to eat? Our kitchen is small. Not as small as some - but small enough for something extra to be in the way. Second, not only is our kitchen small, but our table is small, so I wouldn't trust those clip on chairs to support her weight without the whole table tipping over. Third - we don't have chairs with backs, only stools and a bench - neither of which can accomodate a strap on booster.

The contenders:

So, originally I was all sold on the amazingly small Concord Spin. Marketed as the smallest highchair in the world, it has positive reviews with the main complaint being that the tray had no lip to stop items from falling to the floor as easily. We were all sold on it and about to buy it - but fortunately I actually found a physical store and was able to go check it out - small and compact though it is, the Concord is a PAIN in the B to fold up. What is the point of being small if you can't make it small? Not only did I need two hands to collapse it - I could have used a third! The store assistant had to help me at each step because I just couldn't get the darn thing to collapse.

#2 The next smallest item we found in the store and on the internet was the Graco TeaTime it also had positive reviews and the next smallest footprint that we found. It was also handier as the tray had a lip and 3 adjustment settings, where as the concord was basically an airplane tray with a big gap between it and the baby. Most important, I could collapse the Graco one-handed and though it was only a vertical collaps - at 18 cm it was still small and we decided we would just have to store it on the balcony. I was all set to buy it - BUT the store didn't take creditcards, there were no change kiosks AND all the nearby banks were on there lunch break. And I just didn't get around to ordering it from the internet.

#3 - Enter "Accidental" choice number 3 - I had to go meet up with the registration Lawyer to get my passport back and we happened to to meet at the Metro near a place called "children's world" where not only is there a huge children's department store - but tons of other stores and kiosks selling nothing but children's things. It was saturday morning (9am) and most places didn't open till 10, and I had Saphira so I wasn't going to wait around, but there was one Kiosk nearby and I thought - might as well ask . . . At first I only saw the ones that are chairs that stack on top of a table - which theoretically is also great - multifunctional and all that - but it CAN'T fit in our kitchen (at least not if you want to USE the kitchen)- Then she showed it to me - the Geoby Y 280 it is absolutely amazing!!!! not only can you unfold and fold it up with one hand, but it is basically the same dimensions as the concord and only 1 kilo heavier. Not only that, it was cheaper than both of the other options. The only downside is that the tray is fixed, but we'll cope.

So now for some fun - can you spot the highchair?

There it is!


Saphira trys out a spoon - and her new highchair!


Here it is collapsed from a front-on view - at only 6 kilos - we can even take it with us for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner!