The flower gardens were dry enough to walk on and spring bulbs are already a couple inches high, with small brave blooms on snowdrops and crocuses. The girls were here today, Lina and Sveta, helping Tanya clean up her flower beds. We gave them taxi fare and sent them home with one of Tanya's home-made pizzas and a tub of my home-made pork and beans. The girls aren't easy but they can be bought.
Tanya has a yeast raised dough recipe she uses for pirog (pie, stuffed with eg cooked cabbage and then fried) and lavash (like pirog but no stuffing). We discovered it makes a wonderful pizza crust and have been churning out pizzas ever since. Topping as pretty much the same - tomato sauce, various sausage, peppers, tomato slices, dill pickle, mushrooms, green onions, what ever we have, and grated local cheese. Herbs and spices for pizza I need to look up on the internet because I make it up as I go. Oregano, for sure. I put that on anything I can get away with. Garlic salt (too lazy to use fresh garlic, though we have done that too. Something called Italian spice mix but no idea what it is. Dried chili peppers in limited amounts.
Usually if I help we make eight at a time but today, Tanya made four only. She left enough dough for me to try cinnamon buns for the first time. Not perfect but certainly not a failure. They were pronounced delicious. The dough makes a very light bun so it is not an ordinary bread dough recipe, I know that. Next time I will make a full tray.
Glassware is short lived at our home, it seems. To have a pair of matching glass tea mugs, you need to start off with six. Concrete floors covered in ceramic tile are unforgiving and the cups are in constant use. We were getting low. A glass water jug had also gone the way of all flesh (or something) so I stopped in at our favourite kitchen store. Bought a plain jug; was offered a fancy one for twice the price but thought better not. Also bought four lovely glass tea mugs with lilies on them.
He had six but it was pay for them and walk home or take four and a taxi. I opted for the taxi and suggested Tanya stop in on her way home next day and pick up the remaining two. She said she was afraid to go into that store. I understood that as it is an easy place to spend money. She did well, though. Bought the two mugs and only two quite nice decanters which cost $2 each. I would put oil and vinegar in them but vinegar isn't a thing in Ukraine like it is in Canada for salad dressings.
It is interesting to hear about the Ukraine from someone actually living there instead of the news programs. You appear to have a pretty good life. Our news here in America would have everyone think that life there is awful all the time.The fact that your Mrs. prefers to stay speaks volumes. Have a great day, greetings from Nevada.....
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mohaverat. My Canadian pension puts us into upper middle class somewhere in Ukraine. In Canada, not so much. I could live on it but not well and two definitely not well. Tanya's family is here, including two granddaughters. My kids can come here much easier than her kids could go to Canada.
DeleteI would say 70% of the country lives almost hand to mouth. Russia's war against us and the governments inability/unwillingness to clean up corruption make it pretty bad.
can I have your recipe?
ReplyDeleteI don't think there is a recipe for the dough but I might be able to get Tanya to write it down next time. Any good bun recipe would work, I think. The cinnamon part is just butter, brown sugar, raisins and cinnamon.
Deletecool
DeleteAha! Nice to see another vote for the 'raisins-in-cinnamon-buns' faction! I had never made mine any other way, but Hubby hates raisins, so for that last 17 years my cinnamon buns have been raisin-free. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteThe Ukrainian version of lavash sounds a little different than my sister-in-law's Hungarian version - theirs is just dough fried and then rolled up with sour cream and slivered garlic.
For 30 years there were few raisins in anything as I was the only one who liked them. I make up for it now. RAISIN oatmeal cookies not choc chip oatmeal.
DeleteOur lavash is as you describe - fried dough, eaten with what ever you like. Same dough as for pirog.
We use our bread machine for most baking products, from bread to cakes to pizza dough. we had potato pirogi when traveling through Canada on our way from Alaska a few years ago.
ReplyDeletethe Ol'Buzzard
We have a bread making machine but so far only use it for bread. The book has many other recipes. I will have to get brave, I guess. I did see one for pizza dough.
DeleteYeah, post the recipe. Homemade pizza is always better than store bought.
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