Got up at 6:00 this morning and drove our umpteenth time to P'yatikhatki to the documents office. The lady had all our paper work done and needed two more mugshots to complete the package. She was driving into Dnipropetrovsk and we needed to get there early before she left. For $200 USD we will get the internal passport in less than 6 months, otherwise we could wait up to a year. We paid. she will call us tomorrow to let us know how long it will take. I don't dare leave the country until I get this passport or I cannot get back in for 3 months or maybe 6 months. Canadians can stay 3 months with no visa. People were abusing the system by doing a one day turnaround to Poland or Moldova and essentially staying as long as they wanted, so they cracked down and if they leave they have to wait 3 months to come back in. I had been getting permissions to stay which would keep me from being deported but if I left, it would not get me back in.
I like the folks at the registration department here. Unlike Canadian Immigration, they are on our side and are trying to help us meet the requirements and get all the paperwork done right. They don't do this very often obviously as they admit they don't know the rules either and are learning as they go, as are we.
In other news, on the way home we stopped and bought three litres of creamed honey for $10 CAD. Too cheap but that is what he asked. Same price as when we bought from him last fall. Lunch was toast and honey.
I made QoWP's creamed carrot and pepper soup for supper tonight. Great stuff. Tanya was amazed at the lack of "traditional" soup ingredients. No meat? No. No?? No potatoes? No. No?? (There is a hole in it. Yes, its a Bundt cake. But there is a hole in it). She was impressed with the final outcome and thought it was a bit spicy. (After a few bites the chipotle settled down and didn't tickle the back of your throat anymore). Now I need a cream of mushroom soup from scratch recipe.
I'm glad you guys liked the recipe!
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the movie Everything Is Illuminated? I think you would like it. An American man is in a Ukrainian village, trying to explain to the innkeeper that he is vegetarian, and they are very confused by the idea that he doesn't eat meat. "But what about sausage?"
Mushroom soup from Scratch (Like mom used to make)
ReplyDeleteSERVES 4
Ingredients
* 4 cups button mushrooms
* 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 1 small onion, finely chopped
* 1 tablespoon flour
* 1 3/4 cups vegetable stock
* 1 3/4 cups milk
* 1 pinch dried basil
* 2-3 tablespoons cream
* salt
* freshly ground black pepper
* fresh basil leaf, to garnish
Directions
1. Pull the caps away from the mushroom stalks.
2. Finely slice the caps and chop the stalks, keeping the 2 piles separate.
3. Heat the oil and half the butter in a heavy based saucepan and add the chopped onion, mushroom stalks and 1/2-3/4 of the sliced mushroom caps.
4. Fry about 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently, and then cover and sweat over a gentle heat for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.
6. Gradually add the stock and milk to make a smooth, thin sauce.
7. Add the basil, and season with salt and pepper.
8. Bring to the boil and then simmer, partly covered, for 15 minutes.
9. Allow to cool slightly and then pour into a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
10. Melt remaining butter in a heavy based frying pan, and fry the remaining mushrooms over a gentle heat for 3-4 minutes until they are just tender.
11. Pour soup into a large clean saucepan and stir in sliced mushrooms.
12. Heat until very hot but not boiling and add salt and pepper to taste.
13. Add the cream.
14. Serve at once garnished with the basil leaves.