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Showing posts from April, 2015

Russian Club, or Being an FOM

Yesterday, at the request of the Ohio State Russian Club, I attended a "food event" at a dorm at the university. Teaching a course on Russian food in literature and culture, writing about Russian food, and knowing how to make borscht qualifies me as an expert ... and I'm also the advisor of the Russian Club this year. We learned a few things -- first, as I always say, that when making Russian salads and soups it would be great to have a dozen serfs or so to help with the chopping; second, that you should always double or triple the time it will take to make a really good borscht; and third, that there is a reason the Russians love zakuski . We might have nibbled away while waiting for that cabbage to soften... The past few weeks have been filled with Russian events at the university. One of my students was selected as a Fulbright English Teaching Associate for next year in Russia, so last week I went to the reception to raise a glass to him. So glad for him that he w