Barcelona Beach Days
Posted: June 15, 2013 Filed under: Barcelona | Tags: Barcelona, Beach, La Sagrada Familia, Spain 2 Comments »
Barcelona is perfect for a quick getaway: cute hidden cafes, a cosmopolitan mix of Spanish, Catalan, and English.
Oh, and the BEACH.
I hadn’t been to the beach in something like two years, so it was a welcome return. And a good way to use up the SPF 50 I keep buying.
When we weren’t sunning ourselves, we managed to get a look at the city. As you probably well know, the architecture in Barcelona is super opulent and striking. The art nouveau structures of Gaudí and Montaner dot the city with colour and pattern–like La Sagrada família and Montaner’s Palau de la Música. Impresionante, sí?
I can’t wait to get back, but until then,¡Hasta luego, Barcelona!
In Which I Give Some Life Updates
Posted: May 31, 2013 Filed under: Global, Moscow | Tags: Birthday, Moscow, Summer, Travels 1 Comment »
I’ll miss you, Pokrovskii Bulvar!
Well, my time in Moscow is coming to an end. After almost three years in Northern Europe, first in Estonia, now here, it’s time to go home. But before I do, I’ve got some big travel plans: off to the UK and Spain next week, followed by one more Moscow week, then onwards to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, China, and South Korea. The only thing that remains now is that Chinese visa!…and making a series of hotel reservations…and buying train tickets…and packing up my apartment. But it’s really soon!
Two down, one to go!
Also, I wanted to mention that this blog has been around for almost two years, which really does blow my mind. Time flies, so I’d better get to all the things I want to do, all the things I still want to write about. Happy early birthday, Bloggie. And thanks for visiting, all of you!
Weekend Reading #2
Posted: May 24, 2013 Filed under: Moscow | Tags: books, Links, Moscow, pool bars, Thomas Barrow, weekend reading 1 Comment »
Last weekend’s surprise ride on the museum train of the metro
The rain that we should have had at the beginning of the month is now pouring down on us. But that doesn’t matter; a weekend full of Cafe Pushkin and making this lovely cake await. In the interim, here’s some eye candy:
Indeed. Do you all love Thomas Barrow as much as I do?
If you pack up your things for an ashram in India, are you set to go mad and vanish?
I kind of can’t wait to get back to Canada. Butter tarts!
Another reason: a Miami-style pool bar in Toronto.
Something I learned during my Catholic girls’ school days: female friendships might be the most important relationships you ever have.
The most unimportant relationship will probably be with that fellow you have a date with tonight. I love these dating stories, especially, cruelly, the ones that end badly.
90 years ago next month, Clarissa Dalloway was walking around London, all set to buy the flowers herself. Mrs. Dalloway is still fascinating, these many years on.
We now cross the Atlantic to New York of the 1920s. I saw Gatsby last weekend, which was nice, but it also reminded me why I don’t care much for the book. Daisy, it’s true, is a victim, but she’s just dreadful.
This is good advice if you’re looking to find time to blog. Actually, it’s good advice for making the important things in your life a priority.
And Sangria. For when the weather decides not to look like this:
The coming of the next Flood, or an average rainy day? You decide!
Short Trips from Moscow: Suzdal
Posted: May 16, 2013 Filed under: Suzdal | Tags: Monasteries, Moscow, Orthodox Churches, Summer, Suzdal 4 Comments »
The Convent of the Intercession. It’s still a working convent, so there are signs politely reminding you not to photograph the nuns.
It’s hard to find a stretch of parkland in Moscow that isn’t “developed.” I love Gorky Park and Sokolniki, both gleaming after their respective refurbishments, but they function more as fairgrounds than relaxing nature preserves. Suzdal, around 3.5 hours away from Moscow, fills the need for greenery. Furthermore, after Moscow the atmosphere feels refreshingly simple–no factories, no train station, and an economy that runs on tourism and medovukho production.
Processing out of church at the Euthimiev Monastery. So many bishops.
Suzdal is only one city in the “golden ring” around Moscow (other famous cities include Vladimir, Yaroslavl, and Sergeev Posad). I haven’t been to the others, but Suzdal is said to be among the nicest; it was spared a lot of industrialization during Soviet days, unlike, say, Vladimir.
Euthimiev Monastery. Despite the imposing walls this is not, in fact, the Kremlin
To wrap your head around Suzdal’s geography, most of the major sites run along one street: ulitsa Lenina. At the bottom of the street are the Kremlin and the Museum of Wooden Architecture, and at the top are the Convent of the Intercession and the Euthimiev Monastery, as shown above. The street probably runs a total of 1.5 kilometres, but you can check this map for more information.
Inside the Kremlin! It’s famous for its starry blue onion domes and apparently a very nice restaurant in the basement.
Logistically, I’d recommend taking the 3-hour train or elektrichka (commuter train) to Vladimir, then the 50-minute bus to Suzdal. You can even get on the super-fast Sapsan train to Nizhny Novgorod, which also makes a stop in Vladimir. If it’s a holiday weekend, you may want to reconsider going by car; my friends went to Suzdal the Saturday of the May long weekend, and the trip back to Moscow took nearly seven hours. Consider yourselves warned. There are loads of tours that will take you around the golden ring, but if you speak some Russian, and have the time to stay overnight, you can keep a relaxed pace and really enjoy your city break.
And this stuff! Ginger “Sbiten,” which I have yet to open. Some sort of concentrated sugar syrup drink?
4-Ingredient Chocolate Cookies
Posted: May 14, 2013 Filed under: Cookies | Tags: Chocolate, Cookies, Easy, Gluten-free, Walnuts 6 Comments »
Chocolllllllate
The weather forecast for the rest of the week reads as follows: today, high of 29; tomorrow, high of 27; Thursday, high of 28. After a freezing cold winter, this is bliss. I have spent all my free time in parks recently, and have already consumed about a bazillion ice creams. I don’t really want to be faffing about in the kitchen when it’s hot inside my un-air-conditioned apartment.
But these cookies are so easy; the only trick is to make sure that once they’re in the oven, you watch them carefully (see below for evidence of cookie death). You want the edges crispy and just set. The insides will be chewy, like a meringue-brownie combo. They’re sturdier than they look; fine fare for a picnic. Or an ice cream sandwich, perhaps?
Crispy, Chewy Chocolate Cookies (adapted from 101cookbooks)
- 310g walnut halves, toasted and cooled
- 450g confectioner’s (powdered) sugar
- 60g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 egg whites
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- a drop of vanilla extract
Preheat your oven to 160C and line your baking pans, or your one Soviet roasting tray, as the case may be.
Take the walnuts and chop coarsely. Set them aside. Then mix together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Stir in the walnuts. Then add the egg whites and vanilla, and mix it all well. It may look weird and gloopy at this point, but that’s just fine. OK, then, in about 2-tablespoon amounts, drop the cookie batter onto the baking sheets. Leave lots of room between the cookies, as they’ll spread a lot.
Bake the cookies for between 12-15 minutes, until they’re glossy and crack a bit on top. Once they’re cooked, put them onto a cooling rack and let them cool completely (yeah, right).
Perfection!
Not so much
Weekend Reading
Posted: May 3, 2013 Filed under: Moscow | Tags: Advice, Breakfast, Expats, Gossip, Links, Moscow, weekend reading Leave a comment »
Classic Russian Easter cake, also known as Kulich. In case you’re curious, it doesn’t taste nearly as cute as it looks.
Having just acquired an iphone, I’ve been amusing myself trying out different apps. One of my favourites so far is Instapaper, which lets you download articles to read later, with or without a wifi connection. Simple, but so handy. The app costs something like $3, but with my 3-hour daily commute it’s worth it.
Seeing as I’ve now read so many articles, I thought I’d share a few classics; those of you in Russia may like some light reading for the Orthodox Easter weekend:
- It’s simple: do what you love.
- For expats, new and old. Some great advice, sponsored by HSBC.
- The other side of that coin, and something I’ve been wrestling with recently: after living abroad for a while, will it be too strange to come home?
- My friend Polly, a fellow English teacher, wrote a great article about the Russianisms she has picked up after three years in Moscow. So true: “How are you?” “Thanks, normal!”
- Lindsay Lohan and the making of The Canyons. A wonderfully entertaining read, but also a little depressing.
- I think celebrity gossip is fascinating; luckily, so does Anne Helen Petersen. This article of hers, on Gloria Swanson, is probably my favourite.:
“When I die, my epitaph should read: She Paid the Bills. That’s the story of my private life.” –Gloria Swanson
- Nobody tells a story like Spalding Gray.
- What’s so special about dogs? This is very cute (even though I’m really more of a cat person).
- This family of five lived in complete isolation for decades. It makes a good tie-in with the excellent Werner Herzog doc A Year in the Taiga.
- This argues that the search for pure happiness will lead to failure; it is only by having meaning in our lives that we can find happiness. This article, and the Viktor Frankl text it discusses, are both excellent.
- Good advice for all relationships, romantic and otherwise.
- Breakfasts from around the world; I love seeing what other people are eating–especially for breakfast, my favourite meal.
The days are long, the weather is warm. Have a splendid weekend!
-Sarah
Late Winter Buckwheat Cake
Posted: March 27, 2013 Filed under: Cake | Tags: buckwheat, Cake, French, Spring, Winter 2 Comments »
Toasty, crumbly buckwheat cake
Putting aside for a moment the homemade Snickers bars, this might be the most unhealthy recipe I’ve ever posted; five egg yolks, half a pound of butter, and nearly half a pound of sugar. But since we’re going to be stuck in Moscow winter for all eternity, there’s no need to prepare for swimsuit season.
This cake is based on the traditional French Gâteau Breton, which tells me right away that it will be satisfyingly old-fashioned: butter, flour, sugar and eggs. No leaveners, no stabilisers. In fact, there’s nothing light about this at all.
Couldn’t resist a hot slice of cake.
Buckwheat Cake (adapted from 101cookbooks.com, which was in turn adapted from David Leibovitz’s recipe from The Sweet Life in Paris)
Click here for another buckwheat cake, from almost exactly this time last year
- 140g buckwheat flour
- 140g all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp plus 1/3 tsp sea salt (this is the place to use any fancy salt you have lying around)
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 240g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 175g sugar (any kind will do)
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- seeds of one vanilla pod (alternatively, 3/4 tsp vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp vanilla sugar)
The glaze: 1 large egg yolk and 1 tsp milk
Butter a 9- or 10-inch removable-bottom tart pan or, failing that, use a pie dish as I did. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C.
In a small bowl, mix the buckwheat and all-purpose flower together with 1/2 tsp salt and the cinnamon
In a separate bowl, cream the butter until it’s soft and airy. If you’re too lazy to wait and put the butter in the oven to melt as I did, it won’t be any great harm. Mix in the sugar and cream together until it’s uniform.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the 4 egg yolks and the whole egg. Stir in the vanilla. Give it a few good whisks or a good pass with the electric mixer. Then mix the eggs into the butter and sugar, stirring well. Slowly pour in the flour mixture and stir until it’s just combined. Scrape into your prepared pan and level the top with a spatula.
Mix the glaze together and spread over the top of the cake with a pastry brush or your fingers. Then draw a lattice design over the top by raking your fork across the top in three parallel lines. Then make three parallel lines going diagonally, forming a criss-cross design. Sprinkle the rest of the salt over the top, and put your cake in the oven. The original recipe says it should bake for 45 minutes, but mine took 25. Judge accordingly: you want your cake to be golden and shiny, but not at all dry.
My cake got a little burnt in our manic Soviet oven, but even so I think it looks very pretty with its latticed top and glazed edges. A good cake for staying in while the last of winter plays out. This little guy understands:
