Explore traditional recipes from Russia! Join our Russian feast as we teach our kids about Russian food.
Are you ready to make a new Russian dish?
Around the World in 12 Dishes – Russia
We started our Around the World journey the same way Phileas Fogg did in London, UK, and have now traveled to a country dear to our family’s hearts – RUSSIA.
Exploring Traditional Russian Recipes with Kids
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
- 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.
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES ABOUT RUSSIA FOR KIDS
To learn more about Russian Language and Culture, please visit our other Russian Posts here at The Educators’ Spin On It.
- Seven Ways to use Matroshka Dolls to Teach
- Chalk Replicas of Russian Buildings – a lesson in art, math, and geography
- A Guest Post at Mama Smiles about Russian Food
- Where to find resources to teach Russian
- Russian Books for Kids
- Making Borsht and labeling your fridge
- What environmental print looks like in my home
- How to build a bilingual book collection
- Including traditional toys in play
- Russian Art for Kids
- Exploring Geography – Russia
- A Virtual Field Trip to Izhevsk Russia
How wonderful! I love that you shared your feast with friends!
Such a fun idea! Russia is also very close to our family's heart.: )
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 🙂
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!
Looks delicious! I don't think I've ever made anything Russian and really should try it!
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.
Thanks Terri – they made the evening very special!
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
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!!!
I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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 =)
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!!!!
Mmmmmm I love these gingerbread buns! Ate them a LOT when I was a kid 🙂
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).
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.
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
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!!!
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
Thank you for sharing with kids in the kitchen! gonna try this for sure
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.
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.