when I like Russia better than America: food

Note: The following blog post has been affected by the (empty) stomach of its writer.

Probably at least once a day here, I think something along the lines of, “Man, I’m going to miss this when I go back to America. I wonder where the closest Russian grocery store is to me.” Or, “Next on the to-buy list: Russian cookbook.” From what I hear, this is abnormal, but I don’t much care. Вот пожалуйста, some things I’m super thrilled about:

1. soup. In Russia, soup is not a cup of flavored water with some cardboard/chicken material and a few soggy noodles floating around in it. It is flavorful and filling, and I can’t say much more beyond (a) I want to continue eating soup for two meals a day, forever, and (b) Hizzy 2014, weekly soup-making parties, who wants in?
2. black bread. There’s this really cheap, really dense, really spongy black bread that is sold absolutely everywhere, and it’s delicious. Especially with soup.
3. dill. To all of you who despise the stuff: I want to understand, but I don’t. They say it’s an acquired taste, but since coming here I have never had a problem with it, and between meals I probably consume 2 tablespoons a day. Whenever I smell dill in the kitchen, and my heart smiles.
4. chocolate. The stuff we eat in America is a stain on the name of chocolate. And that doesn’t just go for regular chocolate bars… the candy here is amazing. There’s this one that is fabled (but I have not yet tried) called Золотая Лилия (Golden Lily), which is nougat smeared with Nutella and then dipped in dark chocolate. These things are possible because the candy market here is not dominated by two companies, as it is in America… so people with good ideas can just go ahead and make their candy. Voila! Deliciousness.
5. pickles. I have never in my whole life enjoyed pickles. There are pictures of me as a small child eating a pickle and making the most revolted face (why did my parents do/document this? good question). But when my host mom put some pickles on my dinner plate, I wasn’t about to toss them, so I tried them… and what do you know, they’re an entirely different vegetable here than in America! I think they use less vinegar.
6. macaroni. Butter and salt, friends. That’s how they serve pasta here. It’s like they know me or something.
7. sour cream. It’s so thick and tasty, and it’s in everything! I absolutely love sour cream. Wow. Of course, maybe drawing a comparison between the lowfat stuff my mom buys and the full-fat health-hazard I’m eating here is unfair.
8. tvorog. There is no good translation for this food. It’s a milk product with a texture sort of like feta and a taste sort of like sweet cheese, but in both aspects better than their American counterparts. It’s amazing. I like it in pastries, with blini, or just scooped in a bowl with sour cream and jam.
9. cutlets. I actually don’t know if this is the right translation for what I’m talking about, because I’ve never had an American cutlet. I do know that my host mom makes these amazing fish cakes, and I want to continue eating them forever. Her meat cakes are also delicious. I don’t know what sort of seasoning she uses, but somehow the texture and the taste just work.
10. sirok. Again, there is no translation. I could have filed sirki under chocolate or tvorog, but they deserve a category of their own. A cirok is basically tvorog-product mixed with anything from chocolate, to coconut, to cream that tastes like donut glaze… and then dipped in chocolate. Words do not describe the beauty of this food. It’s probably my favorite new-thing I’ve tried here.

There we are... I will be attempting to make or buy all of these things next year, so if you're in the mood for Russian food, let me know. We'll try it together.