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By Amanda Boyarshinov 21 Comments

A Russian Feast – Sharing Russian Culture and Food with Friends

Around the World in 12 Dishes – Russia

We started our journey the same way Phileas Fogg did in London, UK, and have now traveled to a country dear to our family’s hearts – RUSSIA.
  • United Kingdom – Beautiful Pictures, Books, Crafts and Recipes
  • Sweden – Cooking and Crafts
As we cook Russian food often (Borscht is such a fun dish to make and eat) and Blini is about the yummiest food ever, that we decided to add an even bigger challenge to this month – sharing our culture with friends!  It was SO hard to choose the recipes we wanted to make.  A typical Russian meal would not have so many choices – maybe a main dish and a salad.  Because we just harvested potatoes from our garden, a potato salad was called for!  Salads of all kinds are great ways to get kids in the kitchen and excited about eating healthy.  This salad is called Salad Olivier, and has been made in Russia for many years.  I can make it, thanks to a food blog called Smitten Kitchen!  This is more of a typical winter dish as the main ingredients are root vegetables which can be stored for longer times.  We used frozen peas instead of canned and the addition of fresh herbs gave it a more summery taste to it.  Not only did my 2 year old harvest the potatoes…
He also harvested the fresh herbs, added the chopped vegetables (I pre-cooked, pre-chopped, and pre-measured everything), Added the sauce, mixed everything together, and topped it with the fresh herbs that he ripped into little pieces.  He even insisted upon carrying it to the table. He was so proud.

I also made Golubpsi, or stuffed cabbage and Piroshki, some were stuffed with meat and the others potatoes.  We cheated (is this cheating?) and bought prianki (a gingerbread  bun / cookie) and some Baltika (Russian Beer)!  I would like to try to make the prianki someday =)

Then, to top off our Russian feast – our good friends (and blogging buddy!) came over to enjoy an evening of good food, lots of laughter and an awesome discussion about cultures.
As a kindergarten teacher (pre-babies), my students’ parents would often invite my husband and I over to their homes for dinner.  We ate Chinese, Lebonese, German food and much more.  This was an amazing way to not only learn about other cultures, but also to get a deeper insight into the students I was working with.  It is one thing to read about a culture, but it is more memorable and meaningful when you are able to get a “taste” or a glimpse into that culture.
My kids were able to teach their friends something special about their heritage AND have the importance of their heritage celebrated by their family and friends – now that is some really powerful learning going on!

How to join the fun!

  • Cook a dish from Russia: The goal is to explore this country through FOOD and activities if you wish. Make a typical dish (sweet or savoury) from the country with the kids, take photos and have fun!
  • Typical dishes: Borscht, a beet and cabbage soup, Blini, Pelmeni and Pirozhki (Here is a link for more inspiration: Russian cuisine)
  • Make a craft: you can make a country related craft with the kids [optional – Here is our Russian Pinterest Board with some ideas!]
  • Read a book: We’s like to own “The Littlest Matryoshka” by Corinne Demas Bliss
  • Fun fact: Every day over 9 MILLION passengers ride the Metro, Moscow’s vast underground subway system. In a single day, an average of 9915 trains operate between 5am – 1am, making the New York subway system seem like a miniature child’s toy.

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Filed Under: Cultural Education Tagged With: Amanda, Around the World, Little Hands That Cook, Russian

About Amanda Boyarshinov

K - 12 masters reading teacher, author and mom to 3. Amanda is a National Board Certified teacher with oodles of experience in early childhood education.

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Comments

  1. Terri Thompson says

    May 7, 2012 at 12:35 pm

    How wonderful! I love that you shared your feast with friends!

    Reply
  2. Sheila says

    May 7, 2012 at 1:37 pm

    Such a fun idea! Russia is also very close to our family's heart.: )

    Reply
  3. Valerie @ Glittering Muffins says

    May 7, 2012 at 1:53 pm

    So nice that your 2 yo was able to help and be so proud of himself 🙂
    Love that you shared this with friends as well 🙂

    Reply
  4. Kim @ The Educators Spin On It says

    May 7, 2012 at 2:48 pm

    Thanks Amanda for the authentic Russian feast. We enjoyed it so much and can't wait to host our feast when we travel to India!

    Reply
  5. Toddler Approved says

    May 7, 2012 at 3:29 pm

    Looks delicious! I don't think I've ever made anything Russian and really should try it!

    Reply
  6. Raising a Happy Child says

    May 7, 2012 at 3:51 pm

    You really went all out, and your feast looks amazing. I ate all of these dishes growing up, but my family doesn't care for them.

    Reply
  7. Amanda says

    May 7, 2012 at 3:56 pm

    Thanks Terri – they made the evening very special!

    Reply
  8. Amanda says

    May 7, 2012 at 3:59 pm

    Shelia – it was a ton of fun! Let us know if you bake with your kiddos too! Your Ukranian Eggs are just beautiful!http://exploreandexpress-sheila.blogspot.com/2012/05/pysanky-part-2-with-kids.html

    Reply
  9. Amanda says

    May 7, 2012 at 4:01 pm

    Both my kids enjoy being in the kitchen – sometimes it is a little hard to manage both the 2 and 5 year old, along with dinner and not burning anything. We had help from Papa on this project!!!

    Reply
  10. Amanda says

    May 7, 2012 at 4:01 pm

    I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  11. Amanda says

    May 7, 2012 at 4:03 pm

    You should!!! Salad Olivier is a great starting salad (if you like potato salads!) I don't think I will ever go back to just the plain potato salad as I enjoy having more vegetables in it! We'd love to have you join the challenge =)

    Reply
  12. Amanda says

    May 7, 2012 at 4:05 pm

    You are so sweet! I bet your cooking could show mine up anyday!!! So thankful my family eats almost anything =) It makes cooking for (and with) them so much fun! Any dishes your family will eat? I am always looking for good Russian recipies to try!!!!

    Reply
  13. mermaid says

    May 7, 2012 at 5:17 pm

    Mmmmmm I love these gingerbread buns! Ate them a LOT when I was a kid 🙂

    Reply
  14. Yelena says

    May 7, 2012 at 11:17 pm

    Ah, this is excellent and the food looks delicious, especially the golubtsi and the salad (I'm a sucker for Olivier, but rarely make it myself). I have a huge pot-luck get-together I'm attending this weekend and have thought about making another popular Russian salad, called Vinegret (beet salad).

    Reply
  15. Ticia says

    May 8, 2012 at 9:03 am

    I'm totally amazed you grow your own potatoes! I'm doing good to grow a few herbs, so someone who grows something so helpful always amazes me.

    Reply
  16. Amanda says

    May 8, 2012 at 9:42 am

    The store bought ones were yummy, but did not compare to the fresh bakery ones we get when we are in Russia! They do have a wonderful taste that you cannot find here in the USA =0

    Reply
  17. Amanda says

    May 8, 2012 at 9:45 am

    Yelena that sounds fantastic. I have 10 beets in the garden ready to be harvested and have been looking for something special to make with them, as they are the first ones that have actually grown for me (YIPEE!) If you have the recipie – I would LOVE to try it!!!

    Reply
  18. Amanda says

    May 8, 2012 at 9:48 am

    You are so sweet Ticia! We started growing potatoes with the kids last year so they would know HOW and WHERE their food comes from. They do take up a lot of space and are not the most nutritious per square foot, so we don't plant a lot, but they are FUN! Here is our post on growing potatoes! https://theeducatorsspinonit.com/2012/02/learning-garden-how-to-grow-potatoes.html

    Reply
  19. Kelli Becton says

    May 12, 2012 at 10:33 pm

    Thank you for sharing with kids in the kitchen! gonna try this for sure

    Reply
  20. Larissa Johnson says

    December 8, 2015 at 4:48 pm

    yummy!!!! i have Russian food every week 🙂 my husband is Russian and we love making food from where he is from 🙂
    i have tried all of the food listed there and they are amazingly delicous! spaceba for sharing.

    Reply
  21. Kristofer Van Wagner says

    July 28, 2020 at 12:08 am

    I like that this post mentioned that it is important to ensure we choose the right Russian cuisine. My sister is planning to give Russian cuisine a try and she has been looking at recipes. I will definitely share these tips with my sister so that she knows the texture and taste that she is looking for.

    Reply

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