Memorial Feast Divine: Making Unleavened Bread

We're surrounded by statues here in the former USSR, a salute to people who have survived much, who remember so much, who regularly pause to honor those to whom honor is due. The thing is, while statues do grab our attention, they are big, bulky and expensive. They have their limitations.

Jesus Christ himself asked to be memorialized not in stone carvings but through a memorial feast that He, Himself began.The feast is brilliant in its simplicity, using unleavened bread made from ingredients found in every kitchen, a recipe that hearkens generations back in Hebrew history.  

And so it is that each Sunday, including Resurrection Sunday, in Churches of Christ, we pause and reflect to honor the price our Lord willingly paid to redeem us. 

Christ is Risen! proclaims the embroidery in Russian.

Unleavened bread, part of the memorial feast.

I've been in Donetsk, Ukraine in recent days, living with dear sister Tatyana and her husband who minister for a small congregation. Tanya's Saturday routine includes making unleavened bread for Sunday worship.

Who needs a bowl? Mix the flour and oil right on the table.

Mix, mix, mix. . . using fingertips. They're cooler, you know, that the palm of the hand.

Tanya actually kneads the dough. Surprised me a bit, since that develops gluten and makes it tougher. But  hey,  maybe the Hebrew homemakers did some kneading too. . .

Next, tidy up the table for the next step. Make a nice surface for rolling.

Rolling, rolling. Tanya rolls the dough directly around the rolling pin.  Interesting. . .

So here's the dough. It's not a pie-crust, so no worries about making it round, just get 'er rolled out.

Good news: the dough didn't stick to the table. That's an experienced cook for you.

Now, on to baking tray. These trays are part of typical oven here, a shelf that doubles as a baking pan. (Myself, I'd rather have a 2nd wire oven rack. But who asked me. . .? ha)  Bake this in a medium oven until. . . until it's light brown.

The finished bread, so simple yet profound. Represents the body of our Lord, broken for us.

So, dear Blog-reading Friends, have you ever made unleavened bread? How would you prefer to be memorialized by those who survive you? Would you go for a statue in a park? A nice memorial in a cemetery or some other tangible way?

Wrapping up Maslenitsa Week

It's the final hour of Maslenitsa Week here in Russia, the week when blini, or Russian-style crepes, are cranked out like. . . like hot cakes.No surprise there! ;)

Blini are traditional fare for Maslenitsa for reasons both pagan and religious. As per old Slavic tradition, blinis' being round like the sun makes them perfect for welcoming springtime. Then, with pre-Easter fasting just around the corner - Orthodox Easter being May 5th this year - blini help the home-cook use up milk, eggs and butter which are excluded from a strict Orthodox fast as are meat and fish. In fact, maslenitsa, pronounced MA-slen-ee-tsa, has as its root the word for butter, maslo. 

Last week, I imagined that this would be the maslenitsa that I'd get good at cranking out blini. I have, after all, invested in a special blini skillet and off-set spatula. Alas, the week did not include blini-making.

I did manage, however, to photograph for you the nearby blini kiosk. They crank out blini here, fast food with yummy fillings, so popular with students. I translate the name of this place as Tasty Love and people laugh. . .

The first half of the word means  tasty, the second half means love. To me, that's Tasty Love. But locals would render it, I love (that which is) tasty! The banner hanging there posed another challenge for this language learner.Literally it's: Broad (wide) Maslenitsa!  Friend Herman says it means, Maslenitsa (is) for Everyone! Well that's so nice. . .

Not that the Tasty Love folks have any special menu items for the holiday, I checked just for you. However, fork out 300 rubles for lunch and, surprise, you earn a special maslenitsa magnet. Wonder if those are going like hot cakes?

Zoom on in: Care for Blini Fajitas? Yes, the Russian word there, фахитос is fajitas, transliterated, and it looks like the English plural is being used as singular. Well, okay. . .and for just 98 rubles, that's a bit less than $3, you can have one fresh off the skillet.

These Tasty Love blini are large, about 20-inches in diameter, and in the end, they're folded up rather like a burrito. They're for sale year 'round, of course.

Maslenitsa is only in the spring, just before the time of fasting. Here's more about Maslenitsa.

So dear blog reading friend, are you a blini pro? Have you celebrated Maslenitsa? Please do share!

Welcome March 8th: Black Friday for Russian Florists?

Today is March 8th, a red day, an official holiday, on the Russian calendar. It's International Women's Day, known simply the Eighth of March, the holiday is one of my personal favorites because, unlike Valentine's Day or Mother's Day, a person is honored simply for having been born female. And that suits me just fine!

Men are very busy on the 8th of March, buying flowers and chocolates for the women in their lives, for their wives, mothers, grandmothers, daughters and co-workers. The tradition starts young: Schoolboys take a collection to buy gifts for girls in their homeroom class. And it's a huge holiday: According to Voice of Russia, men in Moscow are spending some $550 million on gifts. And then. . . there's the rest of Russia.

This afternoon I went out to pick up some flowers and shoot some photos. Funny thing, vendors tend to be more willing to be photographed after a sale. But first, a look back at Eight of March posts from recent years. Here are the best photos, taken one morning when the vendors were busiest. Here are such creative floral designs plus the guy who deserves the gold medal for using a crane to deliver flowers. And, ta-da, here's a post with a video I did just for you, interviews with flower vendors on the street. This post has a short video from Russia Today news, a quick history of the holiday. Think you'll enjoy these.


So here's a look at the streets of Rostov-on-Don this afternoon, perhaps a bit subdued compared to the morning's flower rush, but managed to get you some photos, more easily done after buying some flowers.

It's like 4:15 pm, there's no time to waste. These guys are busy making decisions about flowers. Decisions, decision. Oh but let me tell you, they were very decisive about not being photographed close-up. Well all-righty then guys. . . 

Moooving right along. . .

Got talking to this nice fellow, wish I'd gotten his name. Asked him about the mimosa branches, left, which are grown far south of Rostov, in Abhkazia. That's along the Black Sea, even south of Sochi. That's quite a hike from here.

So how did you get all this mimosa from Abkhazia to Rostov? Amazing but true: He, himself, drove down and back, driving for 24 hours. And here he is working all day selling them. Now that's impressive. I didn't buy any flowers from him, my hands were already full, but he was so nice. . .

Here, these are for you, he said. Oh, Really? Glory be, what a nice gesture. These are so fragrant. 

 I was heading to see this dear soul. . .

Our sister Elena Lalaevna. She's a veteran of the World War 2, having served as a nurse. Now 92 years old, she lives by herself and is so grateful for any attention. So that's where I can help out, giving her some TLC from time to time. She loves her hyacinth. 

Say, while we're on the subject, thought you might like a quick look at Eight of March cards. Bought these just for you at the post office.

(Click to enlarge.) Four cards, all so springy, can almost catch the aroma. Let's zoom on in at two favorites.

Card on left: *On the day of the 8th of March, May all wishes and hopes be realized...*

*. . .. and may (they) all be successful and all come true! And may this celebratory day bring a mood (make you feel) that's wonderful, bright and simply spring-like! (And in Russian, it's so poetic!) 

Now for the mimosa card. So surprised, friend Misha stopped by last night with bouquet of these and chocolates. The mimosa has been chosen the official flower of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

*The 8th of March*

(May) a path of golden sunshine glide lightly across (your) cheek, (May) the mimosa branch so luxurious (be) like the sun's reflection in (your) hand. (verse 2) May these days of happiness be full of love and beauty, (May) your mood (or spirits) be good and all your wishes come true!

Dear Blog-reading friends, wishing you a splendid Eighth of March! Have you experienced this holiday in Eastern Europe? Please do share!

February 23rd: Happy Defender's Day!

While it is still February 23rd allow me to say *Congratulations on Men's Day!* Actually, it's Defender's Day, more precisely Defender's of the Fatherland Day, more easily expressed in Russian than in English. 

Originally, 23 February was a day to recognize those who have protected the Fatherland by serving in the military. Now it has evolved so that guys of all ages are honored, even those who have protected nothing more than their toy cars and trucks.

Thought you might enjoy a couple of neat cards. First, a retro-style card. On the front you see an aviator, a soldier and a sailor.

It says, *23 of February. . . (Congratulations) with the Holiday!*  (The congratulations part is understood  from the grammar.) (Click images to enlarge.)

Here's the back, Thought you might like to have a look. I find Soviet-retro art so charming. Oh, and please forgive the marking on the verse. . . my beloved language teacher likes to scribble  mark all over my things in ink to help me understand.

Here's the first verse: Line 1) This day is the holiday for men  2) We traditionally consider for 3) our beloved men 4)  success and kind wishes. Verse 2: Line 1) May optimism help (you) 2) easily to move toward desired goals 3) And may life not stingily give 4) great success in all your favorite activities. (Russian's such a poetic language, you know, this has lovely cadence in the original language.)

Here's the perfect card for a boy. . .

*23rd of February. . . *

Click image. (*Wishing you. . .* is understood and built into the grammar)... Line 1) Decisiveness and courage in everything. 2) Wide horizons, brilliant goals, 3) good luck unchanging -- day after day, 4) Success without fail in everything you do.

And so dear men, young and old alike, CONGRATULATIONS on your holiday! Myself, I didn't give out cards, but did make up a double batch of chocolate zucchini muffins to share with neighbors and guys who work in nearby shops. Hold on, bet there's a picture here handy. . .

It's a fun way to meet neighbors, make new friends and say thank you.. Neighbors have been a major help to me over the years.

We need to show more appreciation to the men in our lives. Congratulations, dear ones!

Aldrich Ames: One Spy's Search for Significance

In February, 1994, Aldrich Ames was arrested and charged with selling secrets to the USSR. In his 30-year career with the CIA, Ames was promoted to chief of counterintelligence for the Soviet Division. He had easy access to the most delicate information of Soviet-American espionage.

In the early 1980's, Ames and his first wife divorced and as part of the settlement, he agreed to pay $46,000 over three years. But with an annual income of $60,000 and new wife who enjoyed the finer things of life, he was facing bankruptcy. Looking for a second source of income, he realized that the information at his fingertips could bring him a nice sum of cash. 

And so it was that Aldrich and Rosario began rather conspicuously to upgrade their standard of living. Stationed in Rome, Ames replaced his thrifty casuals for tailored Italian suits and $600 leather shoes. The new Jaguar in Ames' garage was worth more than his annual income but when zooming north through the Italian Alps and into Switzerland, he imagined himself a James Bond. 

Meanwhile, Russian informants were disappearing. The CIA had become alarmed and assigned a small team to investigate. In the video below, meet the pair accredited with catching Ames.

The list of Russian informants that Aldrich Ames sold to the Soviets included a General Deimitry Polykov who had supplied information for 20 years. One CIA source said that when a package of information arrived from Polykov, it was like Christmas. There was something for everyone. Polykov was described as the crown jewel, the perfect spy. And then he simply disappeared. 

Aldrich Ames is serving a life sentence without parole. He admits, The reasons that I did what I did in April of 1985 were personal, banal, and amounted really to kind of greed and folly. As simple as that.

The most cold-blooded traitor in US history, Ames was also the world's highest paid spy, having received more than 2 million cash with another 2 million dollars in a Moscow bank awaiting his retirement.

What really amazed me about Rick Ames is that I thought he had a feeling of loyalty to the people whom he dealt with and that is the betrayal that I can't understand, said FBI agent R. Patrick Watson.

As I see it, this drama comes down to money and what a person is willing to do in exchange for cash. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. (I Timothy 6:10). Actually, at the root is discontentment, wanting to be more significant, or rather to feel more significant. And believing that significance can be bought. And that it can be purchased with people's lives.

Let us learn to be content. Let us learn that significance is a given, whether or not we feel it.