Cabbage and Noodles

When I was living with my grandma she often stopped at this pierogi place and buy a bag of pre-made cabbage and noodles. It was my favorite. Who knew cabbage and noodles could taste so good. I've been struggling to cook here in Russia because I'm not familiar with a lot of the ingredients and they make a lot of stuff from scratch (like I had to make my own evaporate milk once). I've been trying to find recipes with as few ingredients as possible. Russians love their cabbage and pasta, so it's a bonus if I can find recipes including these items. I stumbled across this really simple cabbage and noodle recipe and was so happy with the results. For just a few ingredients it was very flavorful.

This was the second time I attempted this recipe and both times it turned out great (except the first time I added WAY too much pepper. Check and double check the amount you need to add and don't add 3 teaspoons of pepper like I did).

Lala Tulpan

A lot has been going on lately, and I've been really comfortable where I am at. I really want to start taking my camera with me on a day to day basis and just take random pictures, but I'm still not comfortable yet with my abilities as a photographer to get good "every day" photos. If you follow me on Instagram you'll see I've been eating a lot of sushi and I just saw the Nutcracker. I've also been meeting up with friends. I've made some good friends here, but I was very sad when my friend, Alessia, went back to Italy.

I also have some exciting trips coming up! In less than two weeks I'll be in Madrid and then two days after I come back from Madrid I'm going to St. Petersburg! I'm so excited! I'll definitely be taking pictures, but I can't promise I'll edit them quickly. ;)

December 10, 2015
I met up with some friends for coffee on the 5th and mentioned to my friend Fadwa that I wanted to see Lala Tulpan. It is one of the biggest mosques in Russia, and I think right now it's the biggest one in Bashkortostan. I had visited Victory Park when I first arrived, but we never went to the mosque and I knew at some point I wanted to go back. Fadwa told me it was one of her favorite mosques and promised to take me. We were actually supposed to go on Wednesday, but I had to cover a class for another teacher and so we decided to postpone it a day. I invited my friend Katherine, as well, and it worked out because they actually met each other earlier in the year!

Russian Thanksgiving

Sunday, November 29, 2015

A few months ago Patrick and I decided that we would host a Thanksgiving dinner at our apartment to celebrate the holiday and share it with our new Russian friends. I am so glad we did because I've been very homesick lately. The holidays are my favorite time of year and I just love seeing my family. In the mean time I actually met Katherine, another American, and invited her to our holiday party. She offered to come and help us ahead prepare for the day. We were very thankful for her coming to help us out.

I decided I would make a turkey chili because chili is easy to make, I figured its a pretty American dish, and I didn't trust myself cooking a turkey in our gas oven. I also made apple sauce with the leftover apples from the pie. Patrick made a green bean casserole, apple pie, and mashed potatoes. The day before we went to one of the larger stores and were able to find most things we needed which was a relief! The apple pie actually turned out well too considering it was his first time making it and it was a hassle to get the crust made. I wanted to use more of the Thanksgiving cupcake holders that my mom sent me but it was just easier not to make anything else. Katherine and I ended up just cutting the brownies she bought into little squares and placing them in the holders.

We had a good time hosting everyone. I also have a new appreciation for my grandma's because it was VERY tiring spending all day cooking. We also faced the problem of our sink breaking. We constantly had to shut off our water because the sink would not shut off. It made for a pretty interesting night when people needed to use the bathroom. Also, you never realize how much you use a sink until you can't use it as quickly as you would like.

Although I do prefer the atmosphere of being in America for Thanksgiving I wouldn't trade our Russian Thanksgiving for anything! I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving as well!