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| There are no words... |
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
The following words come to mind:
OK...so it has been a month now and the following words come to mind:
Apartment is ready tomorrow!!!
Beautiful scenery along the Moscow river
Careful
Dusty and dirty
Expensive
Friends...old and new
Grinning from ear to ear
Holding hands
Interesting
Job opportunity
Killer heels on the women (N G-C would be in heaven)
Luxury cars everywhere (BMW, Porsche, Mercedes)
Market shopping is better for produce, meat and cheese
New
Old habits die hard
Photographs
Quick
Reading
Supermodels everywhere -Russian women really are that beautiful
Time zones -too many to count
Underground metro stations are stunning works of art
Vodka is not sold after 10PM (by the bottle, of course)
Warm summer breeze blowing through the window
Хорошо (hey, nobody said I had to stick to English and since I make the rules...)
Yes
Zoo
Top 15 things I’ve learned over the course of the past month:
1) Construction takes place 7 days a week and beware the potholes. You are at risk and at fault here.
2) There is something in the drinking water here. The men and women here tower over me. That isn’t even taking into account the sky-high heels on the women.
3) No matter what the time of day, a party dress is always appropriate.
4) If no price is posted, there is always room for negotiation. Apparently I’m “in” with my fruit guy at the Wednesday/Sunday market. I paid local prices this time around. Don’t ask me what they were, I just know that I walked away with 3x what I bought last week for 1/2 the price. Negotiating for the icon of St. George slaying the dragon was funny too. I’m sure he would have gone lower but I was tired of the banter so I settled for a drop from 1500 РУБ to 700 РУБ. It seemed fair to me.
5) Women would rather starve than pass up the chance to buy a new pair of shoes. That might explain the waifs walking around everywhere. They do have great shoes though...
6) The pedestrian walk bonhomme only allows you enough time to get across 3/4 of the crossing before it starts to flash. How do the little old ladies cross the road? No, that was NOT the opening line of what could only be a bad joke.
7) Gas stations are few and far between. I have only seen 3 so far which leads me to wonder where everyone fills up their tanks.
8) “Walking on the right” does not apply here. Free for all is more the protocol on the sidewalk, crossing the street, waiting to buy tickets, etc. The only time that convention does apply is on the world’s longest escalators down to hell. Then you stand right and walk left. Personally, I prefer to cower against the handrail.
9) People are very outwardly affectionate. Couples hold hands and kiss in public no matter their age, old or young.
10) Flowers are brought home on a regular basis. You don’t necessarily offer them only by way of apology. Roses are especially popular. I wouldn’t know though as I haven’t yet received any...hint hint hint
11) Ice cream is a very popular treat here any time of day. This morning at 9AM I saw a woman eating a McDonald’s soft serve cone. They also have these little booths set up everywhere and they sell nothing but ice cream cones of various flavours and styles. They come in little bags that you tear open and they range in price from 25 РУБ to 50 РУБ. I tend to prefer the 50 РУБ ones, go figure!
12) Beer is sold by the 0,3L or 0,5L and I am addicted to lemonade mojitos with basil.
13) If it doesn’t say негазированная, your water will be carbonated. *sigh* I really don’t enjoy carbonated water. I really have to learn to decode faster.
14) Anything is available here...for a price.
15) The men here have no issue staring at the beautiful women walking by and the beautiful women walking by have no issue with the men staring at them.
Happy one month anniversary to me...I think I’m going to like it here. I think I’ll go buy myself some flowers.
The following images were taken at Victory Park, WWII memorial. St. George is the patron saint of Moscow. The last photo is part of the monument to all those who lost their lives in the Holocaust -an arresting sculpture.
Apartment is ready tomorrow!!!
Beautiful scenery along the Moscow river
Careful
Dusty and dirty
Expensive
Friends...old and new
Grinning from ear to ear
Holding hands
Interesting
Job opportunity
Killer heels on the women (N G-C would be in heaven)
Luxury cars everywhere (BMW, Porsche, Mercedes)
Market shopping is better for produce, meat and cheese
New
Old habits die hard
Photographs
Quick
Reading
Supermodels everywhere -Russian women really are that beautiful
Time zones -too many to count
Underground metro stations are stunning works of art
Vodka is not sold after 10PM (by the bottle, of course)
Warm summer breeze blowing through the window
Хорошо (hey, nobody said I had to stick to English and since I make the rules...)
Yes
Zoo
Top 15 things I’ve learned over the course of the past month:
1) Construction takes place 7 days a week and beware the potholes. You are at risk and at fault here.
2) There is something in the drinking water here. The men and women here tower over me. That isn’t even taking into account the sky-high heels on the women.
3) No matter what the time of day, a party dress is always appropriate.
4) If no price is posted, there is always room for negotiation. Apparently I’m “in” with my fruit guy at the Wednesday/Sunday market. I paid local prices this time around. Don’t ask me what they were, I just know that I walked away with 3x what I bought last week for 1/2 the price. Negotiating for the icon of St. George slaying the dragon was funny too. I’m sure he would have gone lower but I was tired of the banter so I settled for a drop from 1500 РУБ to 700 РУБ. It seemed fair to me.
5) Women would rather starve than pass up the chance to buy a new pair of shoes. That might explain the waifs walking around everywhere. They do have great shoes though...
6) The pedestrian walk bonhomme only allows you enough time to get across 3/4 of the crossing before it starts to flash. How do the little old ladies cross the road? No, that was NOT the opening line of what could only be a bad joke.
7) Gas stations are few and far between. I have only seen 3 so far which leads me to wonder where everyone fills up their tanks.
8) “Walking on the right” does not apply here. Free for all is more the protocol on the sidewalk, crossing the street, waiting to buy tickets, etc. The only time that convention does apply is on the world’s longest escalators down to hell. Then you stand right and walk left. Personally, I prefer to cower against the handrail.
9) People are very outwardly affectionate. Couples hold hands and kiss in public no matter their age, old or young.
10) Flowers are brought home on a regular basis. You don’t necessarily offer them only by way of apology. Roses are especially popular. I wouldn’t know though as I haven’t yet received any...hint hint hint
11) Ice cream is a very popular treat here any time of day. This morning at 9AM I saw a woman eating a McDonald’s soft serve cone. They also have these little booths set up everywhere and they sell nothing but ice cream cones of various flavours and styles. They come in little bags that you tear open and they range in price from 25 РУБ to 50 РУБ. I tend to prefer the 50 РУБ ones, go figure!
12) Beer is sold by the 0,3L or 0,5L and I am addicted to lemonade mojitos with basil.
13) If it doesn’t say негазированная, your water will be carbonated. *sigh* I really don’t enjoy carbonated water. I really have to learn to decode faster.
14) Anything is available here...for a price.
15) The men here have no issue staring at the beautiful women walking by and the beautiful women walking by have no issue with the men staring at them.
Happy one month anniversary to me...I think I’m going to like it here. I think I’ll go buy myself some flowers.
The following images were taken at Victory Park, WWII memorial. St. George is the patron saint of Moscow. The last photo is part of the monument to all those who lost their lives in the Holocaust -an arresting sculpture.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Parking and Construction
OK...a few things strike me as rather odd about the city of Moscow -parking and construction are two of them. I can’t quite figure it all out. Maybe you can help me? Below you’ll find photos illustrating exactly what I mean. It is a pity that I can’t include soundbites too. Maybe one day I’ll figure out that branch of technology and try to include sound files in the post but don’t hold your breath and I make no promises.
I have been trying to figure out parking rules for just about a month now. My frame of reference is Canada where we post signage (far too often for my liking but that is a whole other story for another day) with clear graphics and text to indicate the local parking regulations and by-laws. If there is no indication, the assumption is that street parking is for 3 hours maximum. Cars displaying handicapped parking passes have their own system and therefore can park where I cannot. Fair enough. That seems clear, right? In Canada we are only permitted to drive and park following the direction that traffic flows down a street. Again, this is generally indicated by a white or yellow line down the center of the street and arrows pointing us in the correct direction. I am reviewing these rules simply to set your parking paradigm as I had set mine.
Apparently I need to adopt a whole new parking paradigm that I will never, ever be able to bring back with me to North America. There is one simple rule here that is park where you can (sidewalks are fair game, by the way), any which way you can. I’ll let the photos do the talking. It all seems to work for every one too. I haven’t seen one person upset that they were blocked in and unable to drive away. I shudder to think what chaos would result back home in comparison.
When it comes to health and safety regulations for construction sites and the actual work itself, well that is a whole lot of scary. WSIB would immediately go into convulsive fits were they to witness 1/10th of the bloodsport that seems to be the Muscovite way of doing things. I cringe every time I walk past a construction site, expecting to hear blood-curdling screams of pain and see an eye rolling away from the unfortunate worker or to see someone fall off the edge of the 5th floor of building that is under construction with no restraints, safety barriers or support scaffolding. Half the time construction sites are vacant and materials are left in the middle of the site, unguarded. I’m impressed by this as back home, the material would be gone or the site vandalized in under 60 seconds.
No word of a lie, yesterday I walked by an older gentleman (in his late 60s or early 70s) using a reciprocal saw plugged into a long extension cord running across a very busy sidewalk and into a store along the street to slice through a brick that he held in place with a Birkenstock-clad foot. Needless to say he wasn’t wearing ear or eye protection.
The five man crew tearing up the asphalt pad to the left of my building were using a big machine to pound away and break the surface and then hacking away at it with pick axes. Nobody wore eye protection, hardhats or safety boots. Watching from my 7th floor window I barely felt safe. I can’t imagine how their ears must have been ringing at the end of the day.
When they tear up the streets it seems that it really is a case of caveat emptor. Sure there is a simple fencing around the excavation site but if you step in the hole, it is your fault, not theirs. People are really good about not playing around and paying close attention to their person here. Back home I could smell the lawsuit a million miles away. “YOU didn’t cover the hole and put up a fence and warning signs and post flyers and apply for a city permit and post that and have a flag person and orange cones and traffic rerouted and x and y and z and so when my little Bobby ran around the fence and fell through and broke his leg it is YOUR fault. I am suing the city and the construction company and the hospital and the transit system for 10 million dollars for damages and grief.”
Here you’d get a derisive snort and a shrug and a grumble of “You should have watched where you were going.” They might call an ambulance to pick you up but the driver would be slow and the passengers are permitted to smoke in the front seat. I have no idea what goes on in the back but I can only imagine.
When the exposed copper wiring in the dig site along a busy street began to spark and fizzle in the rain, I had to laugh out of sheer disbelief and maybe a little bit of fear. I started to watch much more closely where I was walking after that.
There is a city-wide sidewalk beautification process taking place this summer. I’ve read that the mayor’s wife represents a brick company. Most of the asphalt sidewalks are being replaced with bricks. Below are some photos taken during the week at about 10AM on a number of different days.
The moral of the story is watch your step because Mommy isn’t holding your hand anymore! I think the rest of the world could use a bit more of this Moscow common sense and Moscow could use a few more pairs of safety boots and goggles in exchange.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
My, what beautiful plumage...
As the weeks roll by (we’re in our fourth one already, where DID the time go?!) our world seems to be expanding greatly beyond the walls of our apartment and the various routes I take to travel to/from Mr. Unmentionable’s office. Since we’ve been on a couple of “field trips” this week, I thought I’d share some of our experiences and list a few of my observations.
Friday’s foray was to the Moscow Zoo. (I love the zoo almost as much as I love aquaria.) Well, it turns out that for 200 руб this girl can go see the well-groomed muskoxen ANY time! It is a 20 minute walk from my door that takes you across the Кутузобский Проспкт bridge with a quick left turn just past the “White House” on to Конющковская ул. then it is about 500 m to Б.Грузинская. The zoo is situated smack in the middle of the city and you’d never know it. It is surrounded by trees and green space that protect it from the city noise and (possibly?) the pollution. The zoo is deceptively large and spans about two Moscow city blocks. To put that into perspective for you, a Moscow city block is the equivalent of the real estate occupied by the entire Byward Market. You do remember that I had said everything is huge here. I wasn’t kidding.
The weather was perfect -not too hot, not too cool and bright enough that sunglasses were a necessary accessory. Speaking of accessories...check out the beautiful plumage of the...
...oh, no wait! That is a visitor, NOT a peacock. Right. Ok then. It seems my companion and I were underdressed. Neither of us got the memo telling us to wear the seemingly obligatory sky-high heels and the skin-tight clothing that are a part of the dress code for an afternoon trip to the zoo. I wasn’t sure if I should be looking into the cages or outside of them. At least everyone got a great show; both visitors and residents alike. Yikes.
We only managed to tour 1/2 of the zoo as we ran out of time but we both agreed to bring our “other halfs” back to finish the visit at a later date. Next time we’ll remember to wear our finest (and tightest) outfits.
Sunday’s trip to the CD/DVD market was quite the eye-opener as well. Capitalism is alive and well and making a tidy profit around the Багратионовская metro station. Emerging into the sunlight from the dark underground, your senses are immediately and overwhelmingly assaulted by a variety of sights, sounds and smells. To your left is a small “tent city” of labyrinthine alleyways housing a plethora of wares to meet all of your needs be it for clothing, housewares, pharmaceuticals or even basic home hardware. Home Depot should never even attempt to open a franchise here, they could never compete! While gingerly skirting past the pack of feral dogs walking about we picked our way through the alleyways avoiding the tempting cries of the hawkers and emerged (thankfully) unscathed on the other side next to a kebab-to-go cart. Mr Unmentionable wasn’t quite that brave even though I dared him to give the local “street meat” a try.
Facing us was a multi-level structure occupying an entire Moscow city block (again, see above description for approximation of size) replete with its own security and what I can only surmise is its own power supply hidden somewhere to keep the fluorescent lights burning at full Las Vegas-like intensity.
Once we braved the crosswalk (playing Frogger with your life is a national sport, it seems) and finally found a point of entry, our eyes and ears were again assaulted by Vegas-like lighting and over-stimulation from the advertising and lighting meant to completely and immediately disassociate you from any known time-space continuum. All I can say is that if I want anything I can plug in, recharge, turn on/off or play with, I now know where to go.
Anything can be purchased here...for a price. We were looking for some DVDs to watch because frankly, we are at the point where we are learning to speak German through osmosis from the sport channel we have on the TV. BBC news is fine the first time around and frankly, CNN is making my eyes water and my brain leak out of my left ear. That means that until our internet is set up in about 2 weeks, we have to contend with the German sport channel. Not that there is anything wrong with learning a new language...it is just the WRONG ONE for now!
We purchased the HBO special The Game of Thrones for 600 руб from “a guy” at a booth on the second floor who had to call “another guy” to check the price. He then wound his way in/out of the booth searching for the collection through piles of piles. A laugh to behold, for sure. Cash changed hands and a hearty round of thanks yous ensued. We scooted out of there quickly thinking that we had gotten the better deal in that exchange.
On we went to the next booth around the corner where 2 wild and crazy guys from the Ukraine usurped our time and ended up selling us a couple of seasons of Breaking Bad, the latest season of House MD, Limitless and Priest. We had a good laugh with them -me and my pidgin Russian and Mr. U and his fairly fluent Russian had a hoot and ended up making ourselves well-understood. When I looked at one of the guys and said, “very expensive” and made a face, he laughed and said what I believe to be “Don’t worry, we’ll fix a better price, watch this.” After some furious pounding on his calculator (don’t ask how it survived that interaction but he can always pick up another cheaply on the first floor) he came up with a reasonable price and we all walked away happy that day. All told we spent 2850 руб. A pretty lucrative day for sure.
The Game of Thrones works well, House MD has a few skips here and there but is generally fine and Breaking Bad seems to be ok too. Limitless only plays in Russian despite the packaging indicating otherwise and Priest is scratched and defective.
I guess we’re going back to see our “new friends” next weekend...
Friday’s foray was to the Moscow Zoo. (I love the zoo almost as much as I love aquaria.) Well, it turns out that for 200 руб this girl can go see the well-groomed muskoxen ANY time! It is a 20 minute walk from my door that takes you across the Кутузобский Проспкт bridge with a quick left turn just past the “White House” on to Конющковская ул. then it is about 500 m to Б.Грузинская. The zoo is situated smack in the middle of the city and you’d never know it. It is surrounded by trees and green space that protect it from the city noise and (possibly?) the pollution. The zoo is deceptively large and spans about two Moscow city blocks. To put that into perspective for you, a Moscow city block is the equivalent of the real estate occupied by the entire Byward Market. You do remember that I had said everything is huge here. I wasn’t kidding.
The weather was perfect -not too hot, not too cool and bright enough that sunglasses were a necessary accessory. Speaking of accessories...check out the beautiful plumage of the...
...oh, no wait! That is a visitor, NOT a peacock. Right. Ok then. It seems my companion and I were underdressed. Neither of us got the memo telling us to wear the seemingly obligatory sky-high heels and the skin-tight clothing that are a part of the dress code for an afternoon trip to the zoo. I wasn’t sure if I should be looking into the cages or outside of them. At least everyone got a great show; both visitors and residents alike. Yikes.
We only managed to tour 1/2 of the zoo as we ran out of time but we both agreed to bring our “other halfs” back to finish the visit at a later date. Next time we’ll remember to wear our finest (and tightest) outfits.
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| The only thing between the great cat and you is a chain link fence with no guard rail to keep you away. |
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| I have no idea what this strange beast is called. |
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| Mr. Unmentionable's favourite animal. Apparently their fur is incredibly soft??? |
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| I lost my crayons for this one. |
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| All dressed up for the races at Ascot. |
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| He was simply strutting for the cameras to ensure we got his "good side". |
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| Catching a quick nap in the noonday sun. |
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| How can something so graceful in the water be so awkward on land? |
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| Sculptural element in the middle of the zoo park. |
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| This bird was tall and large enough to look me in the eye. |
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| Llama or not a llama? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVcGdnhURJs |
Sunday’s trip to the CD/DVD market was quite the eye-opener as well. Capitalism is alive and well and making a tidy profit around the Багратионовская metro station. Emerging into the sunlight from the dark underground, your senses are immediately and overwhelmingly assaulted by a variety of sights, sounds and smells. To your left is a small “tent city” of labyrinthine alleyways housing a plethora of wares to meet all of your needs be it for clothing, housewares, pharmaceuticals or even basic home hardware. Home Depot should never even attempt to open a franchise here, they could never compete! While gingerly skirting past the pack of feral dogs walking about we picked our way through the alleyways avoiding the tempting cries of the hawkers and emerged (thankfully) unscathed on the other side next to a kebab-to-go cart. Mr Unmentionable wasn’t quite that brave even though I dared him to give the local “street meat” a try.
Facing us was a multi-level structure occupying an entire Moscow city block (again, see above description for approximation of size) replete with its own security and what I can only surmise is its own power supply hidden somewhere to keep the fluorescent lights burning at full Las Vegas-like intensity.
Once we braved the crosswalk (playing Frogger with your life is a national sport, it seems) and finally found a point of entry, our eyes and ears were again assaulted by Vegas-like lighting and over-stimulation from the advertising and lighting meant to completely and immediately disassociate you from any known time-space continuum. All I can say is that if I want anything I can plug in, recharge, turn on/off or play with, I now know where to go.
Anything can be purchased here...for a price. We were looking for some DVDs to watch because frankly, we are at the point where we are learning to speak German through osmosis from the sport channel we have on the TV. BBC news is fine the first time around and frankly, CNN is making my eyes water and my brain leak out of my left ear. That means that until our internet is set up in about 2 weeks, we have to contend with the German sport channel. Not that there is anything wrong with learning a new language...it is just the WRONG ONE for now!
We purchased the HBO special The Game of Thrones for 600 руб from “a guy” at a booth on the second floor who had to call “another guy” to check the price. He then wound his way in/out of the booth searching for the collection through piles of piles. A laugh to behold, for sure. Cash changed hands and a hearty round of thanks yous ensued. We scooted out of there quickly thinking that we had gotten the better deal in that exchange.
On we went to the next booth around the corner where 2 wild and crazy guys from the Ukraine usurped our time and ended up selling us a couple of seasons of Breaking Bad, the latest season of House MD, Limitless and Priest. We had a good laugh with them -me and my pidgin Russian and Mr. U and his fairly fluent Russian had a hoot and ended up making ourselves well-understood. When I looked at one of the guys and said, “very expensive” and made a face, he laughed and said what I believe to be “Don’t worry, we’ll fix a better price, watch this.” After some furious pounding on his calculator (don’t ask how it survived that interaction but he can always pick up another cheaply on the first floor) he came up with a reasonable price and we all walked away happy that day. All told we spent 2850 руб. A pretty lucrative day for sure.
The Game of Thrones works well, House MD has a few skips here and there but is generally fine and Breaking Bad seems to be ok too. Limitless only plays in Russian despite the packaging indicating otherwise and Priest is scratched and defective.
I guess we’re going back to see our “new friends” next weekend...
Thursday, August 18, 2011
My queendom for a sharp knife!
As most of you know, I can hold my own in the kitchen. I have had the good fortune to be exposed to the art and craft of a number of very talented and gifted chefs (JM et al.), to a Parisian Cordon Bleu education by proxy (nod to GB) and to share many satisfying meals with great friends along the way (more duck fat potatoes, Carrie?). I have learned that a cook’s arsenal MUST include a good knife and with that one can create almost anything. To that I add the following: not only is a good knife imperative but a few basic pieces are a must. None of which, sadly, can be found in my current kitchen.
I am grateful that there was a “pack up kit” left for us upon our arrival -even unpacked for us, if you can imagine! It served to welcome us to this new city of ours and to soften the blow of not having our own possessions travel and arrive with us. We were allocated 6 place settings of everything (dishes, glassware, cutlery), 2 non-stick frying pans, a couple of non-stick pots (large and small) a non-stick cookie sheet and an aluminum cookie sheet that only fits in the oven with the length facing the sides rather than the traditional way and even then, the edge touches the oven door. The kit also includes among its arsenal of plastic implements 2 long serrated knives (apparently one is a slicer?) and one serrated paring knife. Most of these items come from IKEA which, I have been repeatedly told by advertisers, is Swedish for common sense. Ummmmmm OK. Apparently common sense isn’t so common.
I’m not here to play the “kitchen snob” as I am so often mockingly (yet lovingly) called by Mr. Unmentionable but merely to share my oh-so-heavy burden with you in the hopes that a bit of mirth will serve to alleviate some of the frustration that has been building these past 3 weeks. If you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?
Equipped only with my sub-standard arsenal in hand, I valiantly set forth on a daily basis to create culinary delicacies of a nature that would bring tears to the eyes of Zeus, Himself. I usually hope and pray that it will turn out to be edible with the thought in the back of my mind that I do not have the option to order pizza if it all goes south. I am convinced that Zeus would rather go blind than eat some of the meals I have lovingly and miserably prepared.
Some of my more successful endeavours have been:
garlic and rosemary encrusted rack of lamb with roasted garlic potatoes
spaghetti bolognese with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella di buffalo
herbed chicken breast with salami-wrapped, blanched, baby asparagus
Some of my less successful meals have been:
rosemary chicken and potato casserole (casserole?!! what was I thinking?)
mushroom and shallot meatloaf on a baking sheet (note the state of said baking sheet)
There are no photos of these meals for very good reasons. They did not deserve to be recorded for posterity nor will they ever grace this Earth with their presence ever again. Mr. Unmentionable has been kind, encouraging and very supportive of my efforts, even heartily asking for second helpings of the meatloaf in order to spare me the pain of having to eat it as leftovers the following day. We have pasta with meat sauce and chicken breast quite frequently.
I am anticipating that the quality of our meals will improve dramatically with the arrival of my beloved knives and my All-Clad pots in every shape and size and my bakeware -oh, my bakeware. The KitchenAid will have pride of place on the island and the entire cupboard below will house cookie sheets, pans, molds and tins in every shape and size imaginable. It will be like my very own gourmet kitchen store. It took me years to build the collection and now that I am without it I know that I will appreciate each and every piece all the more.
Just think....Sauces for meat, potatoes roasting in a proper pan, home-made blintzes, borscht steaming hot and ready to eat, scones both savory and sweet, the smell of warm, freshly-baked bread wafting through the air, chocolate chip or maybe peanut butter cookies fresh out of the oven...my mouth is watering just thinking about it all.
Now, back to the problem of slicing the bacon and chopping the garlic for tonight’s simple pasta with olive oil, cracked pepper, garlic and lardons...my queendom for a sharp knife!
I am grateful that there was a “pack up kit” left for us upon our arrival -even unpacked for us, if you can imagine! It served to welcome us to this new city of ours and to soften the blow of not having our own possessions travel and arrive with us. We were allocated 6 place settings of everything (dishes, glassware, cutlery), 2 non-stick frying pans, a couple of non-stick pots (large and small) a non-stick cookie sheet and an aluminum cookie sheet that only fits in the oven with the length facing the sides rather than the traditional way and even then, the edge touches the oven door. The kit also includes among its arsenal of plastic implements 2 long serrated knives (apparently one is a slicer?) and one serrated paring knife. Most of these items come from IKEA which, I have been repeatedly told by advertisers, is Swedish for common sense. Ummmmmm OK. Apparently common sense isn’t so common.
I’m not here to play the “kitchen snob” as I am so often mockingly (yet lovingly) called by Mr. Unmentionable but merely to share my oh-so-heavy burden with you in the hopes that a bit of mirth will serve to alleviate some of the frustration that has been building these past 3 weeks. If you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?
Equipped only with my sub-standard arsenal in hand, I valiantly set forth on a daily basis to create culinary delicacies of a nature that would bring tears to the eyes of Zeus, Himself. I usually hope and pray that it will turn out to be edible with the thought in the back of my mind that I do not have the option to order pizza if it all goes south. I am convinced that Zeus would rather go blind than eat some of the meals I have lovingly and miserably prepared.
Some of my more successful endeavours have been:
garlic and rosemary encrusted rack of lamb with roasted garlic potatoes
spaghetti bolognese with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella di buffalo
herbed chicken breast with salami-wrapped, blanched, baby asparagus
Some of my less successful meals have been:
rosemary chicken and potato casserole (casserole?!! what was I thinking?)
mushroom and shallot meatloaf on a baking sheet (note the state of said baking sheet)
There are no photos of these meals for very good reasons. They did not deserve to be recorded for posterity nor will they ever grace this Earth with their presence ever again. Mr. Unmentionable has been kind, encouraging and very supportive of my efforts, even heartily asking for second helpings of the meatloaf in order to spare me the pain of having to eat it as leftovers the following day. We have pasta with meat sauce and chicken breast quite frequently.
I am anticipating that the quality of our meals will improve dramatically with the arrival of my beloved knives and my All-Clad pots in every shape and size and my bakeware -oh, my bakeware. The KitchenAid will have pride of place on the island and the entire cupboard below will house cookie sheets, pans, molds and tins in every shape and size imaginable. It will be like my very own gourmet kitchen store. It took me years to build the collection and now that I am without it I know that I will appreciate each and every piece all the more.
Just think....Sauces for meat, potatoes roasting in a proper pan, home-made blintzes, borscht steaming hot and ready to eat, scones both savory and sweet, the smell of warm, freshly-baked bread wafting through the air, chocolate chip or maybe peanut butter cookies fresh out of the oven...my mouth is watering just thinking about it all.
Now, back to the problem of slicing the bacon and chopping the garlic for tonight’s simple pasta with olive oil, cracked pepper, garlic and lardons...my queendom for a sharp knife!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Rolling, rolling, rolling on the river...
http://radisson-cruise.ru/index_en.php?page=18
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| Starting point -One of Stalin's "Seven Sisters", now a Radisson hotel. |
Two beer, a vanilla cocktail and 2 1/2 hours later, we witnessed some of the most beautiful sights that Moscow has to behold. Below is a small sample of what we saw. I even pulled out my crayons for a few of the pictures (you know how much of a penchant I have for B&W images).
As you well know, pictures never truly do justice to the real thing. Please enjoy; we sure did.
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| Tourist enjoying the view from our starting point. |
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| British Embassy |
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| The "White House" |
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| Another of the Seven Sisters -The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (recognize the "Jy-Janteek Kol-Yooms" in the foreground?) |
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| Moscow State University housed in yet another of The Sisters |
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| Luzhniki Stadium |
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| Note the details on the building -leftover from the Soviet era |
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| Monument to Peter I -this caused great controversy |
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| Domes of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour |
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| Kremlin |
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| St Basil's Cathedral |
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| The Big "Sister" |
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| my idea of Soviet era architecture/housing |
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| Cathedral of Christ the Saviour |
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| The "beautiful" people (I couldn't help myself...they looked so bored with life). |
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