Monthly Archives: December 2006

year-end wrap-up

I guess this has been a pretty good year. It’s had its ups and downs, but for us, I think, there were more ups than downs, so I’m happy with that. I am pretty sure that I’m going to be … Continue reading

Plov

There are several different national versions of ‘pilaf,’ a rice dish. This is the Ukrainian version. I first had it at Natasha’s and I wanted the recipe, but she couldn’t give it to me because she didn’t have one – she just sort of threw it together instinctively. Not to be deterred, I searched around for a recipe and I watched her do it again for good measure. Here’s my take on it. Like many of recipes I seem to gravitate to, timing is everything here. And, it really needs to be served with a big salad. Continue reading

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Natasha’s Borsch(t)

My friend Natasha is originally from the Ukraine and we confer on cooking quite regularly. She recently showed me how to make borscht (apparently, the t is either silent or non-existent in Russian). I’ll try to recreate what I saw her do, but it looks like one of those recipes that you feel your way through. Read the instructions all the way through (a couple times) before starting as timing is pretty important and you need to be able to do several things at once. Continue reading

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This is why I won’t get a cat…

I have ur pantez Originally uploaded by athenas_secret. …they’re devious. I stumbled upon this today at flickr.com and (still) can’t stop giggling.

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Recital

The Joint Sos. Bucium (langa statia Petrom) Phone: +40 232 21.87.01 http://www.inoras.ro/?section=local&instit=326&dom=3&or=1 Bar none, this was my favorite dining experience in Iasi. Nelu kindly took me on a night-time driving tour of the town, which ended here. I’d been looking … Continue reading

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got my stuff back!

Big ups to the Hotel Unirea for offering to call — and keep calling — Austrian Airlines to inquire about my lost bag for me while I was at work today. Big boos to Austrian Airlines having lost it in … Continue reading

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Day 3 — still not stinky (I hope)

I fear I might not even notice my stench in these clothes at this point. I must praise the staff of the Hotel Unirea, because Virgil and Alina on staff there are repeatedly calling Austrian Airlines to check on the … Continue reading

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third time’s a charm, right?

…an EVIL charm maybe. On this, my third and definitely final trip to Iaşi this year, I had high hopes that all my travel ducks would be in a row. Previous trips have gone off without a hitch — airport … Continue reading

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Shalom, Chanukkah! Care for some pudding?

Hi all, I guess we’ve been subliminally building up our appetites for Chanukkah for a couple days now — even without our knowledge. It all started off while we were thinking about a planning a trip to England. I was … Continue reading

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Potato Latkes

Gentiles: these are something you should really experience, if you never have. You may know them as “potato pancakes,” if you’re not familiar with them from an Eastern European/Jewish cuisine background. Potato pancakes are kind of seasonal fare here in Germany, often sold by street vendors fresh out of the fryer with apple sauce to sweeten them up and cool them down somewhat. We had some at the Weihnachtsmarkt out on the square, but they paled in comparison to the ones I had in Cologne. So Sarah found a recipe, and we made them, and they are just awesome. We were inspired by this recipe. Continue reading

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