Russian Food

Most of Russia's food consists of beef, pork, potatoes, sour cream, cheese, and more potatoes. There are very few vegetables that the Russians have at a convenient and reasonable price. Since the climate is so harsh in the north it is difficult to grow many lush vegetables. They are also practically land-locked with no main shipping lanes, which makes import a hassle and very costly. The only vegetables they eat somewhat regularly are cabbage and cauliflower.

With these key facts in mind I chose to create a dish with pork, potatoes and mushrooms, a cauliflower casserole and strawberry custard (desserts are really the only dishes that fruit is found in).

First the custard was created since it had to set up in the refrigerator. I began by boiling about two cups of strawberries in four cups of water. After it started to boil, I simmered them for about fifteen minutes until the berries were thoroughly mushy. The aroma by this point was heavenly, yes it was just strawberries, but it smelt amazing.

Then I used a strainer to separate the flesh of the berries and the juice. After a bit of confusion of what to do with the meat, I placed it back into the juice. This seems silly, but in doing so I was able to make the meat of the berries into miniscule pieces while keeping the flavor.  It took a long time to thicken the custard, with many consultations with my mom and many "Is it almost done yet?" Finally with the extra cornstarch added and the heat on medium high for thirty minutes, it started to get slightly thicker. I took it off the heat and began my second dish.

The cauliflower was very simple in comparison to the rest of the meal. Simply cook the vegetable for five minutes in boiling water, make a cream sauce with soymilk, flour, margarine  and diary-free sour cream (one could use the "real" dairy if their diet permits). After the sauce was done and the cauliflower some-what cooked, I placed the vegetable in a baking dish and poured the sauce over the top, sprinkling with dairy-free shredded cheese. It was placed in the oven at four hundred degrees for about thirty minutes.

As the cauliflower went into the oven, the strawberry custard went into the fridge, and the pork chop dish was started. A light spraying of oil in a skillet and barely browning the potatoes was the beginning of the recipe. Then I set the potatoes aside and browned the pork chops for two minutes on each side. After the pork chops were browned about three table spoons of water was added and they cooked for ten minutes. After the time was up, the potatoes and mushrooms went in and the dish was cooked for ten more minutes. Finally, the sour cream (dairy-free) was added and the dish was supposedly done. But, the potatoes were still quite hard so I let it cook until it was soft.

The result was a delicious cauliflower casserole that was filling and creamy. The custard, to my surprise, set up beautifully and was an unusual delicious creamy dessert and mostly healthy (except for the extra sugar we added)! The pork chops tasted okay. I prefer shake-'n-bake and don't think it was worth the trouble. However, the potatoes were tasty. I served with a pitcher of peach tea, because tea is the most common drink in Russia. After two and a half hours in the kitchen, the result was overall impressive. However, the hardest dish was the least exciting. I would make everything again, except the pork chops.