Ah, the beauty of camping: simplicity, tranquility, nature. Having all the devices turned off, cookbooks stashed away. The smell of fresh summer air and grilled meat, fire-roasted potatoes, s’mores. No disturbances from the outside world, no interruptions, just you being one with nature.

This is what I’ve known camping to be. My last camping trip was nothing like that.

It first started with a power outlet on a tree. Then park-wide Wi-Fi. Caviar on a buttered toast. Cabbage-stuffed piroshki. Pickled delicacies. Turkish coffee with a splash of Cognac. French toast. Crepes. Kefir with homemade granola. A Yoga class. A concert stage.

This is camping, the Russian style.

Grilled Cheese Egg

Recipe inspired by a dish served at the Russian Banya in New York City

This dish comes together in no time. I cooked it on a camping stove, 5 times. What makes this egg-fast so special is the order of ingredients. First goes the cheese (no oil – double score), then the eggs (whole, scrambled, any way you like them,) then bread. The result: perfectly set egg with a crispy crunchy bottom.

Ingredients

• 2-3 slices of cheese (cheddar is best, havarti is second best. I forbid you to use any low fat cheeses – they will ruin both the egg and the pan)
• 3-5 large eggs
• 1-2 slices of bread, cut into 1inch pieces (optional)
• Parmesan cheese, grated (mandatory)
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Layer the bottom of the frying pan with the cheese slices. The more cheese, the tastier the crust
2. Crack just enough eggs to cover the cheese
3. Press the bread pieces into the egg-white (you can omit the carbs – the egg tastes just great on its own)
4. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste
5. Fry on med-high until the eggs are the right consistency for your taste

Drink pairing

It is morning, so no alcohol, unless it’s an emergency, in which case I would recommend a touch of Hennessy in your fresh cup of coffee! If you are coffee drinker, like myself, try Lavazza. But if coffee is not your cup-o-tea, then go for my other favorite, Winter White Earl Gray tea.

My recent lack of motivation has forced me to take a break from cooking and Cuceeing. In the last few months, the only meals I have been putting on the dinner table were healthier-than-takeout, getting-rid-of-spoiling-ingredients, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink meals.

But as the holiday season approached, my culinary ego went into an assertive state and forced my creative self to come back out.  So, crossing my fingers and toes, with a renewed sense of inspiration, I cautiously declare the end of my creative cooking blockade. Like the Israelites freed from the bondage of Egyptian slavery, I finally feel liberated from my creative block.

Today’s recipe has been inspired by a dozen of freshly baked macaroons  given to me a few Passovers ago by a friend of mine, who insisted they were the simplest dessert to prepare on the planet. Being a very ammature baker, I received her excitement with a lot of skepticism until I effortlessly made a batch of my own macaroons this last Sunday from a famous recipe by David Lebovitz. These fuzzy little balls were so good that, halfway through the baking, I discretely finished one quarter of the batter by myself, while my unsuspecting children were at the pool with their daddy.

Here is the recipe, modified to be Kosher for Passover and Pretty for Cucee.

Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

Recipe adapted from Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes, and inspired by my friend Danfa of Stellina Sweets

Ingredients

• 4 large egg whites
• 1¼ cups sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2½ cups unsweetened coconut
• ¼ cup coconut flour
• 2 ounces semisweet chocolate

Directions

1. In a large skillet, mix together the egg whites, sugar, salt, honey, coconut and coconut flour.
2. Heat over low-to-moderate heat on the stove-top  stirring constantly, scraping the bottom as you stir. When the mixture just begins to scorch at the bottom, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Transfer to a bowl to cool to room temperature.
3. When ready to bake, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Form the dough into 1 1/2-inch mounds with your fingers evenly spaced on the baking sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until deep golden brown. Cool completely.
4. To decorate the macaroons in chocolate, melt the chocolate in a microwave. Line a baking sheet. Dip the bottoms of each cookie in the chocolate (or pour some over the top in a pattern) and set the cookies on the baking sheet.
5. Allow cookies to set in the fridge for 10 minutes.

Wine Pairing

Crisp, light and very affordable Saracco Moscato d’Asti is a match made in heaven for this ultimate Passover treat.

I was blasting down a steep windy trail over the rock gardens and roots – rocks ricocheting off of my shiny, barely used Target “tricycle.” I was holding on for dear life, in fact so tight that my hands were starting to go numb and turn white from gripping the brakes too tightly. As I burned most of the energy on nerves, life was flashing before my eyes: this was my first time on a bike and there I was, biking downhill over terrifyingly rocky terrain.

I was deeply focused. I was desperately trying not to panic and just concentrate on getting to the end of that nerve-racking ride — and then never EVER getting on a bike again. But the end seemed miles away and all I could feel was fear. Fear of hitting a tree, going over the handlebars, flying off the bike, off the trail, breaking an arm or a leg.

As I got to the sharpest and the rockiest descent yet, I froze still, unable to continue no matter how much my friend begged. Paralyzed with fear, all I could think was DEATH!

In her final attempt to get me back on my tricycle,  my  buddy got off her bike, tapped me on my back and whispered into my ear, “If you could feel the fear and do it anyways, what would you do?”

Empowered, I gathered myself, got back on that wobbly bike and made it to the bottom of the mountain, all in one piece. Later that day, I  upgraded to a safer, more reliable Specialty Stumper in the hopes of pushing myself outside the comfort zone and turning my fear into confidence.

This was last summer. Today, I have found myself at yet another rocky descend. I am scared, no – terrified; I cannot move. This time, A LOT more is on the line. Will I have the courage to go through with this new challenge? Will I be able to push myself out of the comfort zone and get down this new steeper mountain in one piece?

Algerian Tomato Soup

Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special: More Than 275 Recipes for Soups, Stews, Salads and Extras

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 onions, diced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1.5 teaspoon salt
• Grated orange peel from 1 large orange
• 2 28-ounce cans undrained canned tomatoes, chopped
• 6 cups vegetable stock
• 3 red bell peppers, diced
• 1 sweet potato, diced
• 1 cup vermicelli broken into 1/4-inch pieces or any other pasta (I used Kamut Spirals)
• 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot, add the onions and garlic, and saute on medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.
2. Add the spices, salt, and orange peel and saute for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
3. Add the tomatoes and stock, cover, and bring to a boil.
4. Add the peppers and sweet potatoes, return the mixture to a boil and cook for 15 minutes.
5. Add the vermicelli (or pasta) and simmer, uncovered, until the pasta is al dente and the vegetables are tender.
6. Stir in the lemon juice and serve.

Wine pairing

I will admit that I have never heard of Roussanne varietal.. Until I did a quick google search on vinos to compliment the African/Moroccan food. Surprisingly, I had a bottle of Roussanne in my wine cellar (how it got there is beyond me – I don’t remember ever purchasing one) and thought it went beautifully with the Algerian dish! Very balanced and layered, it cut through the bouquet of spices in the soup without fighting with them.

A few months ago, my hubby and I wandered into the Italian food mecca of SF – the North Beach. It was Saturday night and getting a table was proving to be an impossible task. After hours of trying, starving and almost defeated, we noticed a small trattoria, tucked away in a cozy cul-de-sac.

We peaked inside. The restaurant looked authentically Italian, with checker-board linens and Red, White & Green decor. Friendly waiters were busy serving tables and an extravagantly dressed host in blue mascara was patiently trying to accommodate hungry tourists. We decided to try one last time.

Disregarding all restaurant etiquette, we elbowed our way towards the host. Looking directly at the host, and with a big warm smile on his face, my man softly inquired, “My wife and I would like to get a table but we don’t have a reservation. Is there anything you can do for us? Anything at all?”

As some of you may know, my husband can be very charismatic, and his sweet smiles have gotten us many tables in the full-to-capacity restaurants in the past. This particularly busy night, however, I was feeling realistically skeptical that even his charming personality could get us seated …until i noticed the host blushing. A young man in blue mascara quickly looked at the reservation book, then those behind us, and blushed again as he briefly considered the moral implications of letting us cut the line. He then pulled out two dinner menus and led us through the crowded restaurant to the two empty chairs at the bar.

We ordered lots. And drank lots. Made a few friends at the bar, including one businessman from Lebanon with a dream of opening his own restaurant. The night turned out  to be quite memorable and so did one of the dishes that we tried: Swiss Chard Roll-ups. Comforting, colorful, multidimensionally flavorful and so non-Italian healthy.

The memories of that fun night got etched into my memory but I have long forgotten about the delicious dish… Until recently, when I tried something similar at a friend’s house.

In my own kitchen, I integrated flavors and ideas from the original dish into my friend’s recipe and added a bit of a Cucee twist. The result – tart collard leaves loosely wrapped around a creamy, flavorful mixture of goat cheese, lentils and barley, and baked in the sweet marinara sauce with a touch of freshly grated Parmesan.

Swiss Chard Roll-ups

Adapted from Giada’s recipe that my friend served us for dinner

Ingredients

• Butter, for greasing the baking dish
• 6 large Swiss chard leaves (about 1 1/4 pounds)
• 2 cups cooked barley
• 1 packed cup baby arugula leaves, chopped
• 1 cup (8 oz) goat cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup cooked green lentils
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp salt, plus extra for seasoning
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• One to two 26-ounce jar marinara (or follow my recipe)
• 1/2 cup (2 oz) grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Spoon 1 cup marinara sauce on the bottom of the prepared pan. Set aside
2. Remove the thick stem from the center of each chard leaf. Cut each leaf in half lengthwise. Trim the ends from the leaves to make each leaf-half about 7 inches long and 5 inches wide
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the chard leaves and cook for 10 seconds. Remove the leaves and rinse with cold water. Drain on paper towels and set aside
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the barley, arugula, goat cheese, lentils, mint, olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and garlic. Season with additional salt and pepper
5. Spoon 1/3 cup of the filling onto the end of each chard leaf and roll up like a jellyroll
6. Arrange the rolls, seam-side down, in a single layer on top of the sauce. Spoon the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with the Parmesan
7. Optional – drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil or dot the top with butter
8. Bake until the cheese begins to brown and the rolls are heated through, about 25 minutes

Marinara sauce (if you want to make your own)

I usually double this recipe and serve extra sauce on a side. (Confession: I like my Italian food saucy so I also add more sauce to the pan as well)

P.S. This recipe comes from my East Coast Italian friend whose family serves this sauce over many special-occasion dishes!

Ingredients

• 1/2 onion,  finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 (about 28 oz total) cans San Marzano whole canned tomatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. In a large casserole pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions, garlic and dried oregano. Saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes
2. Add the tomatoes, basil, parsley and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 45 min to 1 hour
3. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, to taste
4. Let the sauce cool a little. Transfer to a food processor and blend until smooth

Wine Pairing

My favorite in the whole wide world zinfandel,  Sin Zin, is a really good wine to compliment these flavorful roll-ups.

Here is what makes me Jewish:

• My naturally curly hair
• My non-athletic children
• My hefty Yiddish vocabulary (go ahead, test me!)
• My extensive collection of latkes recipes

Speaking of latkes recipes, this particular one is new, and a fun addition to my Hanukkah repertoire. A little unorthodox potato pancake that defies all laws of gravity (and kashrut,) and is likely to stir a riot at the dinner table, especially if I serve its cheesy little self next to meat (which I won’t do – pinky promise.)

Cheese and herb potato cakes

Adapted from Vegetarian Tapas

Ingredients

• 2 lbs potatoes, peeled
• ¼ cup grated cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp chopped fresh dill
• 1tsp chopped fresh chives
• 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. Cut potatoes into even-sized pieces and place in a large saucepan of lightly salted water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat very slightly and simmer until the potatoes are tender. This will take about 20 minutes, but will depend on the size of the pieces. You can test the potatoes with a knife; it should go in easily. Drain
2. Place the potatoes in a large bowl, add butter, mash until smooth. Add the cheese, herbs and a good grind of black pepper. Mix thoroughly.
3. Once the potato is cool enough to handle, take heaped tablespoons of the potato and roll into balls, then flatten to form cakes.
4. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the potato cakes and fry for 4 minutes. Carefully turn then, then fry for another 3 minutes, until golden. Serve.

Wine Pairing

I am still deeply in love with the 2008 Pinot that I tasted in the beautiful Lynmar winery and I think this medium-bodied wine would work really well with these not-so-conventional latkes

Last week, on my way to work, I got startled by GENi‘s email announcement of my hubby’s approaching birthday. Four Zero! Gotto tell you, seeing such a mind blowing number next to my man’s name was pretty surreal!

My man was abut to turn 40!!!

That baby-faced boy, that I met as a teenager, is soon to celebrate his 40th … the boy I introduced to my parents as my boyfriend twenty years ago, and to the world as my husband seven years later… the boy I witnessed grow into a fine man that he is… the boy who has inspired, comforted, and loved me for more than half of my life. That boy was now turning 40!!!

I remember my parents turning 40. Boy, did they seem old to me at the time…. Yet now, standing next to this beautiful man, I don’t think 40 is old at all. In fact, to me, this 40 year-old is that same baby-faced boy that I met 20 years ago, with just with a few gray hairs. He has not changed a bit – in fact, he is just as sweet, charming, charismatic, and good looking as he was back when I first met him!

Happy birthday, hubby!

My hubby’s favorite dessert, reinvented! Think of the classic Napoleon – for the foodies of the 21st Century, with delicate layers of french-style crêpes and creamy vanilla cream. Warning: you will be tempted to eat the leftovers for breakfast, so plan accordingly.

Crêpe Napoleon

Crêpes recipe adapted from Crepes: 50 Savory and Sweet Recipes
Vanilla creme recipe adapted from The Russian Heritage Cookbook

Vanilla Cream

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Crêpes

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 to 2 1/4 cups milk
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 cups  flour
• 6 tbsp regular unsalted butter (or 7 if making brown butter)
• More unsalted butter for the pan

Directions

1. Brown butter – optional: Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan every few seconds, until all of the water has sizzled off and the milk solids begin to turn a pale golden color, 2 to 4 minutes. Continue cooking another few seconds until golden brown. Immediately pour the butter into a bowl to stop the cooking. Cool to room temperature. (When adding the butter to a crêpe recipe, include the delicious brown milk solids)
2. Crepes: Put 1 3/4 cups of the milk, the eggs, sugar and salt into a blender. Whiz for a few seconds. Add the flour. Blend until smooth, about 20 seconds. Pour in the melted butter and whiz until combined, 10 seconds more
3. Chill the batter overnight. When ready to make the crêpes, stir the batter to redistribute the ingredients,  it should be as thick as heavy cream but not as thick as pancake batter. If it feels too thick, whisk in up to 1/2 cup more of the milk
4. Heat an 8-inch crêpe pan or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Spread about 1/2 tsp of butter
5. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the center of the pan and spread evenly across the bottom of the pan
6. Cook the crêpe until the edges begin to dry and lift from the sides of the pan, and the bottom is nicely browned, about 1 minute. Lift the crêpe and quickly flip it over. Cook until the center is firm and the second side is browned, too, about 20 seconds more
7. Slide the crêpe from the pan onto a large plate or cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining batter. The crêpes will soften as they cool

Assembling the Crêpe Cake

1. Alternate crepes with Vanilla Cream, ending with a layer of cream on top
2. Chill thoroughly overnight
3. Sprinkle with the powdered sugar before serving

Tea paring

Try this cake with hubby’s favorite tea - Lavender Earl Gray!

I have been living without a range for a whole month!

My old range had been sending me death signals for over a year but I kept deliberately ignoring them, just like I ignore any other sign of problems in my life. (I know, I know… not the best coping strategy, but it has worked for me in the past!)

This time, however, the problem ended with one range fatality, confirmed by the rapidly blinking “error 300,” and the range’s inability to produce a breath of gas. I don’t hold much loyalty to my appliances, so instead of fixing “the altar at Cucee’s sanctuary,” I promptly ordered a new system that took a whole month to be delivered and installed.

Meanwhile, without an easy access to an indoor fire, I had to get creative with my cooking. I’ve iron-cheffed my way around the backyard grill to put breakfast, lunch and dinner on the table – food ranging from grills to omelets to soups. Boy, that one lonely little burner on the side of my Weber had never expected so much action!!!

The last thing that I made on the “grill” was so memorable that it was also the first dish to inaugurate my brand new stove. A rich-tasting, flavorful vegetable soup became one of our new favorites and served as a perfect choice to welcome the fall season. Chunky and hearty, it was still so darn healthy. But the biggest surprise of all was the broth – full of flavor, depth and unexpected complexity.

Gypsy soup

Adapted from The Moosewood Cookbook

Ingredients

• 2½ Tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions, diced
• ¼ celery stalk, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 medium white potato, peeled and diced
• 1¼ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp salt
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cups water
• 2 Tbsp soup base
• 3 tsp soy sauce
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 1 cup dry lentils
• 1 red pepper, diced

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, celery, and potatoes for 5 minutes. Add paprika, basil, salt, cayenne, and bay leaf and mix well. Add water, tomatoes, lentils, soup base, and soy sauce and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer (covered) for 15 minutes.
2. Add red pepper, plus more water as needed (it should come to the top of the vegetables). If you add water, you may want to also add a bit more soup mix or soy sauce. Simmer for another 10 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender.
3. Find the bay leaf and discard it. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed, then garnish individual bowls of soup with fresh parsley.

Wine pairing

A delicious Hall Napa Valley Merlot is an excellent choices for pairing with this soup, for it is medium bodied, soft and fruity.

Work life balance no more. I had been the only designer at a small internet startup for years… until the Big Bang explosion of success had happened and the company began expanding like a mushroom cloud. In what  feels like a blink, my design department grew to 5-people, with 3 more open recs, and I had metamorphosed from a laid-back designer into a busy butterfly… I mean a creative director.

As a result, all those carefree evenings that had been dedicated exclusively to cooking and Cucing are now partially devoted to work.

Last Saturday, while my children focused their attention on the new set of Pokemon cards, I got awarded with a few free hours of “me” time.  So, I decided to spend it in my abandoned sanctuary – the Kitchen.

I flipped through my shiny new cookbook and landed on a recipe that was bookmarked with a torn piece of sunday paper. A quick little soup: small number of steps, little prep work, short cooking time – all seemed very attractive and, more importantly, doable in the limited amount of time that I had.

I jotted down the required ingredients missing from my pantry, flew to WholeFoods and back, and quickly crafted the soup.

This little dish surely packed in a whole lota flavor. Slightly tangy, a little sweet, very fresh, light and summery, it was gone in a blink of an eye, praised with the thumbs up from all of my gazillion kids (OK, just two, but handful like a gazillion) and one very unaware husband.

The following day I woke up super early and repeated the soup, making minor modifications and doubling the recipe. I cucee-graphed it and went back to the book to copy the recipe for the blog. As my eye accidentally landed on the opposite side of the book fold, I froze and then burst out laughing, waking up the rest of the household.

You see, I made the WRONG SOUP! How did that happen? – you ask.  I’ll tell you. Thrilled to be awarded with two hours of creative cooking time, I got so excited that I accidentally followed a  recipe on the wrong side of the bookmark. I never really bookmarked the Red Pepper Soup for it isn’t really a type of soup that normally catches my attention; my intention was to cook the Lentil soup from the adjacent page.

Well, this accidental find became one fortunate mistake.  So, I am now seriously considering introducing more randomness in deciding our family meals from this point forward.

So, ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the never-planned-to-be-made, work-is-taking-over-my-life, Red Pepper Soup.

Red Pepper Soup

Ever so slightly adapted from from the Soup & Bread Cookbook

Ingredients

• 2 cans coconut milk
• 6 red bell peppers, chopped
• juice of 2 lemons
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 2 whole red onions, chopped
• 2/3 bunch asparagus, chopped
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 4 tbsp garlic, minced
• 2 tsp coriander
• 7 – 8 basil leaves, torn into little pieces
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large soup pot, heat olive oil to point of fragrance.
2. Saute garlic, 4 diced red peppers, celery and onion in the oil.
3. Add coriander and saute for another 1-2 minutes.
4. Transfer to blender together with the vegetable broth and blend until smooth.
5. Transfer to pot, add coconut milk and lemon juice.
6. Add bell pepper to pot and cook on low-medium for 20 minutes.
7. Add the asparagus.
8. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add basil. Simmer for 15 minutes or until asparagus is tender yet still crunchy.

Wine pairing

This vegetable focused dish is great with Dog Point Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc‘s lightly herbal citrusy nature.

Odessa, Ukraine. My husband and I are dressed to go out. Dinner, then a nightclub at a beach. A coral dress and blue heels for me.  Hair down. A gray v-neck and faded jeans for the hubby.  Leather wrap bracelets. 

It is Saturday night, the air is warm and smells of summer. It is our last night in Odessa. We nostalgically stroll the streets of the city center.  These are the streets where my husband grew up.  These are the streets that I grew to love during the two weeks of vacation.

We walk down Derybasovskaya Street, which is now closed to traffic.  We reach Pushkinskaya, then turn left towards Prymorskiy Boulevard.  

The streets are crowded with locals. Everyone who is anyone is out tonight. Laughing, talking, smoking… Their voices are often loud enough for us to make every word – privacy is rarely a concern here.  It feels new to hear everyone around speak the language that we only use at home.  We exchange glances with each other and smile as we learn about strangers’ personal lives and chuckle at their private jokes.  We easily recognize different accents and dialects. We understand them intimately.  We understand them completely.  We understand them because everyone speaks one language- the language of our parents, our first language. We are comfortable here and feel like this crowd is “our crowd” – we belong among them, because we are them and we are home.

We come to a restaurant located steps away from the monument of Duke De Richelieu and the famous Potemkin Stairs. We smile at the waiter and ask for a table. He sits us down and hands us two menus, one in Russian and one… in English.

For a moment, we stare back at him, confused.  Yes, it has happened here before, we ask for a table in a perfect Russian, yet are greeted back in a broken English. What is it that makes us appear more foreign than we feel?

My husband gestures to the waiter, who quickly rushes to our table. In Russian, he asks him why he thought the hubby deserved a menu in a foreign language.

Caught off guard, the waiter blushed – he did not expect an “off-the-menu” question.

“Well,” he cleared his throat, “we see a lot of different people, tourists and locals, so we learn to identify their origin even before they start speaking. When you entered the restaurant, I assumed that the lady has probably lived in Odessa for sometime now, while you, sir, were definitely a foreigner. Then, as you both smiled, asking for a table, I realized that neither of you were from around here.  Did I make a mistake in your case?”

“No”, I answered without looking at him.

We set there silently for while, sipping wine and watching the passers-by.  “Do you realize”, my husband said somberly, “that we will never feel home… anywhere.”

Feeling let down by our appearance and holding on to the fleeting sense of belonging, I ordered the “most Russian” item on the menu.

Russian gazpacho Okroshka (окрошка)

Okroshka is a Russian Gazpacho. Light. Refreshing. Improvisational. A mix of any available crunchy summer vegetables and fresh herbs.

Ingredients

• 3 cups plain lowfat kefir (or buttermilk if you cannot locate kefir)
• 3 cups water (or liquid whey)
• juice of 1 lemon or 2 tbs vinegar (skip if you are using whey)
• 1 cup finely chopped scallions
• 1/4 cup finely chopped dill
• 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
• 1 bunch radishes, cut in half and thinly sliced
• 1 cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 ripe avocado, diced
• 4 hard-boiled large eggs, diced
• 2 medium size boiled red potatoes, diced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbs Horseradish
• 1 tbs mustard (Russian mustard adds a kick)

Directions

1. Dissolve horseradish and mustard in a little bit of kefir. Set aside
2. Get your mortar and pestle out and pound scallions, dill and cilantro with a few large pinches of salt until the aroma of the herbs reaches your nose. Don’t turn the herbs into a paste though
3. In a large soup pot, combine diced boiled potatoes with the herb mixture. Mix well, even crush a little to incorporate herbs into the potatoes
4. Add the rest of the ingredients: horseradish and mustard mixture, eggs, avocado, cucumber, radish, kefir, water (or whey) and lemon juice. Gently mix
5. Taste for salt. Add more if necessary
6. Chill for 1 hour or more in the refrigerator

Drink pairing

Definitively Kvass or Vodka

It is breakfast - Crunchy Granola Cups

Is it very obvious that my family considers first meal of the day their favorite? Even with all of the breakfast recipes that I have up my sleeve (Almond Butter Smoothies, Pear Honey Pocket, Baked Oatmeal, Breakfast Polenta, Granola among many others) the demand for additional ideas simply refuses to taper off.  So, every week or so, I keep coming up with the new alternatives.

Our newest breakfast obsession – cookies! Yep, you heard me right. But don’t think that Cucee has gone off the deep end with a cookie – these are super healthy and the only kind allowed in our house before noon.

The final version of this simple recipe stands on the shoulders of multiple failed attempts. If you’ve tried making your own breakfast granola cookies or bars, then you too probably ended up with a fair share of misshaped, cracked pieces of granola bark. Even David Lebovitz gave up on these. But I was determined to keep trying until a Cucee-fine breakfast granola cookie came into an existence.

Almost like a fairy tale, it all came together one fine day when, defeated and frustrated, I was standing in the middle of the kitchen, licking the crumbs off of the very knife that caused yet another granola bar massacre. Suddenly an oven light popped in my head. How about a cupcake pan as a baking and shaping tool?!

Success! Individual-size granola bars (ahem – cups), each as perfect as a billboard photo of a Big Mac.

The recipe is disappointingly simple: combine the base with a mixture of your favorite nuts, dry fruit (even chocolate.)  Pop these suckers into the oven, sit on a couch with a nice glass of Zin, relax and let the vanilla aroma fill every nook and cranny of your house. In fact, the process is so simple that I normally make not just one but multiple flavors – one for every member of our family: chocolate-chip for my son, cherry for my daughter, and Grey Goose & Red Bull for my husband (well, only in his dreams Does not e know that Red Bull is so not good for him?!)

Crunchy Granola Cups

Inspired by me

Ingredients

• 2/3 cups thick rolled oats
• 1/3 cup coconut flour (or oat, wheat or all-purpose flour)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 to 3 cups dried fruits, nuts and seeds (our default combo is sunflower seeds, slivered almonds, pumpkin seeds and dry cherries)
• ¼ cup coconut flakes (optional)
• 1/3 cup sunflower seed butter (or another nut butter)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• ¾-1 cup honey
• 2 eggs, beaten (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat cupcake pan with a non-stick spray
2. Bowl 1:  stir together the dry ingredients
3. Bowl 2: whisk together egg (if using,) vanilla, melted butter, honey and sunflower seed butter
4. Mix the ingredients from all 2 bowls together until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Fill the cupcake pan, pressing the mix firmly into each cup
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until  the tops are nicely brown
6. Cool completely on a cooling rack before removing from the pan. Store in a large cookie jar on the counter or in the refrigerator. They freeze really well too

Variations:

• Seeds and nuts: flax seeds or ground, chia seeds, sesame seeds
• Dried fruit: cranberries, apples, apricots, blueberries, raisins, chopped dates
• Nut butters: tahini, almond butter
• Sweeteners: date sugar, maple syrup
• Extras: rice cereal, chocolate nibs, buckwheat groats, toasted wheat germs