The growing season in the Arctic is short. Most people in Nar'yan Mar live in newer apartment buildings and have a place somewhere in the area to grow food. Tatiana Ivanevna kept a garden across town at a garden center.
Russian rye bread is a dense black bread with tiny chunks of raisins, seeds and nuts throughout. Everyday Tatiana Ivanevna brought home a heavy loaf of the stuff. It sat on the counter, face down on the cutting board, uncovered. It was never around long enough to get stale or dry. That bread, and a pot of borscht, was the family staple.
Broth was made from a beef bone boiled with a bit of onion, skin and all. The family grew most of the vegetables in the tundra soil. Huge white cabbages, tiny red potatoes, short fat carrots crusted with dirt, small sweet beets were placed in a storage shed close to the garden for the winter. Only the tomatoes were from a can.
Borscht
Saute in sunflower oil:
1 onion coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Until tender
Stir in 3 carrots, chopped
2 beets, peeled and cubed
Add 2 Tbs tomato paste and let cook for a moment
Add 3 medium red potatoes, peeled and cubed (honestly, I don't peel mine...)
3 cups chopped cabbage
pour in 2-3 quarts beef broth and simmer until vegetables are soft. Serve hot with a dollop of creme fraiche
In a stew again today. The right side of my body feels like I've been working at a cutting table about a foot too low; as it should, because I have been. It's a deep ache in my lumbar and under my shoulder blade, up to my neck. 800 mg of Ibuprofen barely touched it. Gentle yoga helped a bit. Bike riding was a bit troublesome. Need to change my work table and my posture. I'm going to rest this body tonight, if I can.
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