No Neon deadly serious. I am not kidding. I have been a bit sidetracked with Marina lately but I am going to get her to write it down. Hopefully the translator software will not butcher it.
My lady (Ella) enjoys salads and lighter forms of meat. I guess Belarus has different tastes.
When I was there in March, we had different soups and salads. The coffee was great, but I like espresso! The tea was weak and a little bitter. The bliny pancakes reminded me of Mexican tacos with no spices. The food was bland.
I wonder how she is going to like Tex-Mex and BarBQ here in Texas. We already agreed that she cooks one night and I cook the next.
I have a recipe how to make something like shashlik on pancake or on grill.
Put pork chops into a pan (about 4 pounds). Add salt, pepper, onion and lemon juice from 1 lemon. Put into refrigerator for 2 hours, then add about cup of mayonnaise. Keep in refrigerator over night.
Fry on the frying pan or on grill. Eat only then it is hot.
Thanks Ms. E--I will try that. BY the way,I always like to put marinated meats in the fridge for quite a while before cooking. ( Overnight for fish I will smoke the next day )
Neon
I wonder if Marina is suffering from what you described earlier. She is so sick right now and I am also sick with only with worry. She has been ill since Staurday and I just called and she is sick in bed and asleep right now. I spoke with her daughter. She told me on Sunday it was the flu but I don't believe it. I think it is food poisoning. It is the leftovers thing and the state of the fridge. We have been together for just over 6 months and she has either caught a cold or been sick at least 6 times in that period maybe more. I think it is the food and lack of vegetables and fruit. I wish she was here so I could look after her. When I lived in England I was always sick too. When I came to live in America my health improved. That was climate not food but same thing. I hate to see her ill and it is killing me that there is nothing I can do.
I will now bow out of the forum again for a bit my presence here has been way too overpowering lately. Time to be quiet and just worry a bit.
That is strange Izifaddag, my girl was sick for a couple days also last week and had to spend a night in bed and a couple of days off of work...maybe those killer bugs???
Is it normal for Russians to cook there meat, chill it and heat it back up? I do that with left overs but to do it as a way to prepare a meal is strange.
A lot of thier food is not inspected like it is here so they catch a lot of bugs. Then if you add in very few controls on the cleanning of the prep people it adds up to problems. Remember not too long ago there were breadlines in the sreets and the shops were bare. Now they are full but the quality is sometimes missing. Add into the problems of corruption and the failure of the legal system to keep up with Westernization things go wrong. The food is good but the qualty varies vastly. The people just accept getting sick regularly.
Izi: Check on Marina regularly and try to stay calm. When a fellow has been through so much as you, he does not want his dreams slidding by with the soured borch!
Bastard_Kid: "Is it normal for Russians to cook there meat, chill it and heat it back up?" it depends on people. For example in my family it is normal to cook for 1 time, so the food is cooked and everything is eaten, so nothing is left. Then the process repeats.
But different families got used to different styles of cooking.
I know that here on markets each morning inspectors come and they check the quality of meat and fish, they do some tests, and if the meat is good they put their stamp, if not the seller looses his license.
Pitchka,
I suspect it changes from city to city, province to province. The left over heating up thing that has been mentioned is very, very valid. That is not a good way to keep food germ free.
Unclebuck is right about hygiene.
I am not worried about the borsch UB it is nothing. I am worried about her being sick about 6 or 7 times in 6 months. I have seen her catch a cold, recover and before she fully gets over it catch another one almost immediately.
Also she has a difficult life and stoically accepts it. To me it is not acceptable and I don't like it when she is sick and I can do nothing to help. If ever I saw a person who needs a break it is her. If we marry she is going to have the first year to lie by the pool, soak up sunshine and just relax and study English. The warmth of that Florida sun and some love and attention can be very healing I think.
No bloody borsch though. She can practice making blinys instead. Yuk!
The Borsch was a joke, the hygene part no joke! It all goes back to how these people had to live before. I've seen lines two blocks long waiting to buy toilet paper in the 80's Things like that change the way people approach the most common things.
Izi, ask her if she is taking any vitamins and how much fruit is she eating. Stress and financial difficulties can affect the body's ability to heal it self. These people are tough minded so she maybe not accepting the whole picture. Send me an E-mail maybe we can get things in line again.
I love to cook a big batch of food then freeze it. I am working 2 jobs now,so eating is becoming less proper and more hurried. I try not to eat at fast food places. Sigh-the demands of work
UB
I know you are joking. 86 the borsch though:))) When I go back I am going to give her a big bottle of vitamins I have. I am taking liquid ones now. The other things you say are right on. Stress and financial worry.
I know the rules but screw it I send money. That and moral support. I think it really helps her that she knows someone cares and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe she will be here for Christmas and her life will turn around 180 degrees. We will see.
Spirit
I do that too. Pasta sauce and stew. I prefer it to fast food.
I cannot speak for your Lugansk. Have never been there. But I think the process of inspectors checking the food on the markets/bazars will probably the same like in Moldova. There also check the quality of food - but, it depends on the payment of a bribe and you can sell old food, too.
On such markets I only buy fruits and vegetables. Stuff like meat I prefer to buy in supermarkets and have a careful eye on shape and colour of the meat.
Often along the moldovan streets you can buy things like mineralwater. But often this are faked products. I know several cases, like izi said, where people got serious health problems becasue of old or faked food/drinks.