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| My Wife made this for one of our Easters Celebrations |
I remember that I wrote some stories of Easter in a previous blog...but I can't find them...so you get to hear them again...My furthest memories of Easter...of course is candy!!! Easter Candy...all kinds of colors, chocolate, and some hard boiled eggs that we made the night before. We had a tradition that my parents would hide the baskets every year and we had to find our own. Our house wasn't gigantic, so there was only so many places to hide the basket...remember there were five of us...well. six if you count my Dad...he was just as much a kid on Easter as we were. We also had the religious part...after all, wasn't that what Easter is all about? Our meals that I remember had significant meanings...Like the roasted lamb--which was a symbol of Jesus the son of God, the bread...the last supper...the "Easter" bread, known as "Kulich". My Aunt would make it every year. I have a recipe that will probably floor you...there is some much of every ingredient...but remember she would work on getting ready for days, so she could make the dough and bake it all in the same day mostly by herself...she wouldn't trust anyone with her secret recipe LOL...I couldn't believe that she did this until late in her life. She always used old coffee cans, or any metal cans that were available she kept them for years, because they were hard to find, they had to be just the right size for her breads. When she baked them the whole house would smell like a bakery when they made fresh bread...oh...wonderful...if you lived near a bakery like we did...I believed it was Langendorf or something like that yep Lagendorf...but the smell would make you drool. My aunt would bake them and take them out of the oven...after they cooled she would put them on plates. She would then make this sugar coating that was liquid enough to just drip on the top of the bread like the picture...except for a couple of things should would spread with a knife and letters XB which stood for "Christ is Risen". The topping would cool and when we ate it...it was eating clay...it was so hard, but sooo good. I forgot...she would get these small multicolored candy decorations (nonpareilles) that you can buy in the stores by the cookie and cupcake decoration in a grocery store..Would also, have a Cheese form that was made with pot cheese. It was, basically sweet cheese spread called "Paska" with dried raisins or colorful candied fruit...with really "rich" ingredients, (I also have the recipe for that), you need to have a special wooden mold (as shown) and let it stay overnight upside down so the extra liquid in the cheese would drip out to make the cheese drier. It was shaped like a pyramid...The Paska was spread on the Kulich. I remember as a child that we would toast the Easter bread, slather it with butter, let it melt into the bread and slather it again with Paska...my mouth is watering right now... |
| As you can see, the mold came in several pieces, it was like a big wooden puzzle |
In the picture to the left you can see the XB on the Cheese and all of the beautiful tables that were set. The XB on the side of this picture were made, with colorful candied fruit. Also, the picture is of a wealthy Russian family. You can see the Silver Samovar. One of the traditions was if they live near a big city that had a Russian Orthodox Church...They would go to midnight Mass. 
They would have the Priests bless their bread. I remember that everyone would stand...they had no chairs in their churches. I don't know the history behind that. Here I was this little person surrounded by all of these "tall" people...my Mom kept me close to her. They would sing in Russian...it was a great experience...similar to Catholic Mass...but they broke away from the Catholic Church around 900 A.D. (just a few years in my time...LOL)...because they didn't have the same beliefs in their doctrines. I was catholic...so my memory of them was making the sign of the cross on the opposite side..instead of left to right they would cross right to left...also, the crosses in the churches were the same, except there was another additional a (slanted) cross under the main cross, which basically supported Jesus feet while he was nailed on the cross. (it was a terrible practice that was created by the Romans...it prolonged their lives for more suffering...the Romans were the terrorists of their day...I am sure we feel that today), if you go to any cemeteries you can see these crosses up on top of the tombstone or written in the tombstone above the script...Well, enough history...it can be a little upsetting...back to the part of their holidays which...were usually held on another part of the month...usually a week later. So, in other words...I had two Easters. Do you think that I complained? Duh...when we visited my Great Aunt's home they would have a lot of specific traditions. One was for the week of Easter at their individual homes, they would display all of the best China, silver, and crystal. I remember them with the best colorful tables they would have different settings for different meals...first the soup, then the meats and vegetables and last but not least (my favorite) the Desserts...it was quite the show, oh we can't forget the most important events...toasting every 5 minutes with glasses of vodka. The Priest would bless the home and the men of the community would show up at the houses...they would sing and toast and sing and toast...so they were pretty sloshed when they finished their day...that would happen everyday until Saturday...that is the day that the women would be allowed to do the same thing, (basically to show off their own displays), I know that there was a pecking order of the ladder in the Russian Community that my Aunt lived in...I think she was at the top...because the priest would always start at her house. Didn't understand that...but that was the way of "old" Russia...during the times of the Last Tsar. in the time that Russian was Orthodox until early 1900's after the red Army killed the Royal family. When Communism took over the traditions would die out with the older generations. I think now they are bringing back some of the old Religious traditions. The church during the time of communism was just a figurehead for show, no power or wealth (it all belonged to the State)...because the Russian people were steeped in religion...that the ruling party didn't abolish it...it would have caused another turmoil among the "old" Russian people that would have weakened the Russian Government. Enough History...but says the least the Russian people were steeped in traditions. It was very romantic and beautiful. Everyone loved the Holiday because they would have lots of celebrations...mostly Easter...Another tradition was they would make these hand painted Easter Eggs, that were really works of art. They were regular hard boiled eggs and were painted. They would be handled, and kept very carefully for years until the yoke would turn hard and rattle in the egg. My Great Aunt had several of them in her collection, they were beautiful. Like the picture above. Below you can see some of the recipes that I remember...oh the smells and taste of the many memories of my Russian past. First my favorite...
PASKA
Servings
10-12
Ingredients:
4
lbs. friendship farmer cheese
1⁄2
lb. butter
16
ounces sour cream
1
1⁄2 cups sugar
6
eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
2. Stir constantly over a low heat until it looks like loosely scrambled eggs.
3. Remove and cool.
4. In a large size mixing bowl, mix egg mixture with sugar, vanilla and farmer's cheese. Beat well on a low speed.
5. Drape a cheese cloth over a large cheese mold with hole on the bottom. Put weights on top to squeeze out excess water.
6. Refrigerate 24 hours.
7. Unmold.
1/3 cup yeast
1 1/2 cups milk
10 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup butter
2/3 cup raisins
3 Tbls. cognac
3 Tbls. Candied citrus peel
1 tsp. ground cardamom and half a teaspoon ground nutmeg
3-4 tsps. Vanilla sugar
1 pinch salt
2/3 cup Hot water
1 tsp. lemon juice
Dissolve the yeast in another half cup of warm milk. Mix this with 100 g, 3.5 oz of the flour and leave for 10 minutes for the yeast to react. Combine the two mixtures, mix well, cover and leave for about 1 hour, or more, if needed for the mixture to leaven completely. Meanwhile, mix the yolks, whites, sugar and salt, and whisk until white. Add half of the yolk mixture to the yeast mixture, and let it rise over one hour. Then add the rest of the yolk mixture, add 500 g, 17.6 oz of flour and knead the dough until it stops sticking to your hands.
Melt the butter. Slowly add it to the dough, and mix in well. At this stage, preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF.
Add the spices, raisins, candied citrus peel, and cognac. Mix through, then leave the dough to rise again.
Depending on the size you want the kulich to be, divide the dough if you need to and place the dough into the baking container. Remember that the container should only be filled halfway. Sprinkle some raisins and candied citrus peel on the top, and let the dough rise again until it fills about two thirds of the container.
Coat the top of the with egg yolk. Put the dough in the oven for about an hour.
Remove the kulich from the oven when baked. To check if the cake is ready, gently sink a knife into it. It should come out clean. Allow to cool on a wire cooling rack. It can be served without icing, as shown in this image, or you can go one step further and add icing.
Make the icing, if you're using it. Place the sugar into a pan, mix it with the hot water and stir until dissolved. •Bring the mixture to the boil on high heat, without stirring.
When the mixture begins to boil, remove the foam that forms at the top.
Cover the pan and boil until it thickens.
Take the pan off the heat and add the lemon juice.
Get a mechanic whisker and beat the mixture until it becomes white and thick.
2 teaspoons vanilla
Optional: ground almonds (optional) or lemon zest
(optional)
Directions:
1. Melt butter. add sour cream and eggs. 2. Stir constantly over a low heat until it looks like loosely scrambled eggs.
3. Remove and cool.
4. In a large size mixing bowl, mix egg mixture with sugar, vanilla and farmer's cheese. Beat well on a low speed.
5. Drape a cheese cloth over a large cheese mold with hole on the bottom. Put weights on top to squeeze out excess water.
6. Refrigerate 24 hours.
7. Unmold.
Russian Kulich Bread
The
Kulich is a traditional Easter cake sometimes thought of as bread owing the
method by which it's made, it's much more of a cake than bread but it can be
viewed either way. As you know, Kulich is made mainly for Orthodox Easter celebrations and
usually consists of a mixture of dried and candied fruits and spices,
Ingredients:
1/3 cup yeast
1 1/2 cups milk
10 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup butter
2/3 cup raisins
3 Tbls. cognac
3 Tbls. Candied citrus peel
1 tsp. ground cardamom and half a teaspoon ground nutmeg
3-4 tsps. Vanilla sugar
1 pinch salt
For the icing:
2/3 cup Hot water
1 tsp. lemon juice
Directions:
Dissolve the yeast in another half cup of warm milk. Mix this with 100 g, 3.5 oz of the flour and leave for 10 minutes for the yeast to react. Combine the two mixtures, mix well, cover and leave for about 1 hour, or more, if needed for the mixture to leaven completely. Meanwhile, mix the yolks, whites, sugar and salt, and whisk until white. Add half of the yolk mixture to the yeast mixture, and let it rise over one hour. Then add the rest of the yolk mixture, add 500 g, 17.6 oz of flour and knead the dough until it stops sticking to your hands.
Melt the butter. Slowly add it to the dough, and mix in well. At this stage, preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF.
Add the spices, raisins, candied citrus peel, and cognac. Mix through, then leave the dough to rise again.
Depending on the size you want the kulich to be, divide the dough if you need to and place the dough into the baking container. Remember that the container should only be filled halfway. Sprinkle some raisins and candied citrus peel on the top, and let the dough rise again until it fills about two thirds of the container.
Coat the top of the with egg yolk. Put the dough in the oven for about an hour.
Remove the kulich from the oven when baked. To check if the cake is ready, gently sink a knife into it. It should come out clean. Allow to cool on a wire cooling rack. It can be served without icing, as shown in this image, or you can go one step further and add icing.
Make the icing, if you're using it. Place the sugar into a pan, mix it with the hot water and stir until dissolved. •Bring the mixture to the boil on high heat, without stirring.
When the mixture begins to boil, remove the foam that forms at the top.
Cover the pan and boil until it thickens.
Take the pan off the heat and add the lemon juice.
Get a mechanic whisker and beat the mixture until it becomes white and thick.
When
cooled, add the icing. Decorate as wished, see some examples in the photos above.
Tips
•Any
leftover icing should also be kept covered in the fridge.
•Keep
any uneaten cake in the fridge, covered with cellophane or foil.
•Feel
free to experiment. A popular addition is adding 100 g, 3.5 oz of sour cream,
for example.
•The
traditional method of icing a Kulich is to sprinkle the cake with icing
(confectioner's sugar). This is the easiest method, so feel free to use it
if preferred.
•Kulich
is often cut crosswise into slices and served with hard boiled eggs.
 |
| Icons were always in every "old" Russian Home, usually in the corner on a shelf or ledge |
The
tradition of painting icons started in Russia following the conversion of the
Kievan Rus' to Orthodox Christianity in 988 AD. In the Russian Orthodox Church
there is a tradition of believing in the intercession of saints. Every person who
was baptized was named in honor of a specific saint, it is considered that this
saint was a patron for their entire life.
This is so Perfect for Easter...
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