I'm not sure what came over me.
It could be that it looked like it might start raining, and might even settle in for 24 hours or more (which it did). Or maybe because it was the day before school started for my kids. Or because I've only recently returned to my beloved kitchen with its marble pastry board and welcoming orange walls. Or because we had invited some friends over for dinner.
Whatever the reason, I had a truly manic baking day yesterday.
It was supposed to be hot out, but I had bought the muenster I usually use for Georgian Cheese Breads (Khachapuri), and that was the center of my meal plan. Khachapuri are always a crowd pleaser, and I figured I would make cold soup to go with them. I had also grabbed an eggplant at the store in case I felt up to making eggplant caviar, though some people in the family thought that Russian food would be too heavy for this sudden warm weather. I was doubtful myself, since really good eggplant caviar requires standing at the stove for several hours. But I thought I would see how things developed.
Cold soups need to be made early, so I got out the blender first thing and went to town. For these summer soups I'm using a New York Times general guideline from July 16: "Purée fruits or vegetables into cooling soups." I've tried the cucumber basil soup several times.
This time I combined a large, sweet cantaloupe with some greek yogurt and buttermilk. I added salt and a lot of the Korma spice we bought in London at the Borough Market in March and stashed it in the refrigerator.
I made the dough for the khachapuri and also diced up the eggplant. I found a recipe in my file called Roasted Eggplant Salad with Smoked Almonds and Goat Cheese -- and even though I lacked two of those ingredients, I figured I'd be headed back to the store one way or the other, so I went ahead and roasted the eggplant.
My husband and daughter had planned to go pick raspberries and buy some vanilla ice cream, but the light rain turned into a torrential downpour, and there were no berries in our future. Plus I began to add it up -- this was going to be a heavily dairy meal! (Good thing I hadn't invited my lactose-intolerant friends...) Instead of ice cream, I baked my sister's Foster's Brownies for dessert -- truly the best brownie recipe ever.
By evening in addition to making the soup, I had baked the brownies and the khachapuri, roasted two trays of eggplant and combined with dressing, almonds and goat cheese, and pulled out the leftover potato salad from the day before. With the green beans and tomato-and-cucumber salad my friends brought, we had quite a feast. It felt great to be back in my kitchen, and the delicacies that emerged made up for the fact that the classroom management system I was using to try to get ready for my first day back at school was being recalcitrant. I do hate trying to upload articles!
And I'll admit that after a summer of reading in the newspapers about the Russian incursion into Ukraine, I'm grouchy about focusing exclusively on Russian literature and culture again. Part of the mania may be coming from that -- the clearer it becomes just how much the "separatists" have been leaning on Russia for expertise and weaponry, the more I wonder what the new normal will be for Russianists like me.
On the other hand, Russian literature is my profession. It's good that I'm teaching my Madness and Power in Russia course this autumn. Sure seems like that has been the running subtitle for political events throughout 2014.
It could be that it looked like it might start raining, and might even settle in for 24 hours or more (which it did). Or maybe because it was the day before school started for my kids. Or because I've only recently returned to my beloved kitchen with its marble pastry board and welcoming orange walls. Or because we had invited some friends over for dinner.
Whatever the reason, I had a truly manic baking day yesterday.
It was supposed to be hot out, but I had bought the muenster I usually use for Georgian Cheese Breads (Khachapuri), and that was the center of my meal plan. Khachapuri are always a crowd pleaser, and I figured I would make cold soup to go with them. I had also grabbed an eggplant at the store in case I felt up to making eggplant caviar, though some people in the family thought that Russian food would be too heavy for this sudden warm weather. I was doubtful myself, since really good eggplant caviar requires standing at the stove for several hours. But I thought I would see how things developed.
Cold soups need to be made early, so I got out the blender first thing and went to town. For these summer soups I'm using a New York Times general guideline from July 16: "Purée fruits or vegetables into cooling soups." I've tried the cucumber basil soup several times.
 |
| New York Times graphic |
I made the dough for the khachapuri and also diced up the eggplant. I found a recipe in my file called Roasted Eggplant Salad with Smoked Almonds and Goat Cheese -- and even though I lacked two of those ingredients, I figured I'd be headed back to the store one way or the other, so I went ahead and roasted the eggplant.
My husband and daughter had planned to go pick raspberries and buy some vanilla ice cream, but the light rain turned into a torrential downpour, and there were no berries in our future. Plus I began to add it up -- this was going to be a heavily dairy meal! (Good thing I hadn't invited my lactose-intolerant friends...) Instead of ice cream, I baked my sister's Foster's Brownies for dessert -- truly the best brownie recipe ever.
By evening in addition to making the soup, I had baked the brownies and the khachapuri, roasted two trays of eggplant and combined with dressing, almonds and goat cheese, and pulled out the leftover potato salad from the day before. With the green beans and tomato-and-cucumber salad my friends brought, we had quite a feast. It felt great to be back in my kitchen, and the delicacies that emerged made up for the fact that the classroom management system I was using to try to get ready for my first day back at school was being recalcitrant. I do hate trying to upload articles!
And I'll admit that after a summer of reading in the newspapers about the Russian incursion into Ukraine, I'm grouchy about focusing exclusively on Russian literature and culture again. Part of the mania may be coming from that -- the clearer it becomes just how much the "separatists" have been leaning on Russia for expertise and weaponry, the more I wonder what the new normal will be for Russianists like me.
On the other hand, Russian literature is my profession. It's good that I'm teaching my Madness and Power in Russia course this autumn. Sure seems like that has been the running subtitle for political events throughout 2014.
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