Monday, February 20, 2012

Maslenitsa - Pancake Week




Painting  Maslenitsa, Boris Kustodiev, 1919 Source



Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Sächsilüüte (Swiss), Fastnacht (German), Fastelavn (Norvegian), Απόκριες (Greek), Masopust (Chech), Maslenitsa (Russian)... What do all this names have in common? Those words are the names of the carnival seasons in the different regions with celebration of a reach and fatty food before the Lent begins.


To honor my husband's ancestors, I decided to surprise him with a traditional, no, wait, a mandatory (!)  food for the Russian version of Fat Tuesday. Actually, in Russia it is a week long celebration and is called   Pancake week or Maslenitsa. Each day of Maslenitsa has it's own activities, one of which is when son-in-law  visits his parents-in-law, and mother-in-law makes Bliny (lace thin pancakes) for her son-in-law.


Bliny are a lace-thin version of a pancakes


Thanks to the Internet ans Skype, we had a virtual visit  from my mother, and she "reminded" me to make some bliny for her son-in-law (she must like him very much if she remembers this details!). 


Making bliny (a thin version of a pancakes) is not a rocket science (shhh! don't tell my brother, who actually is a rocket  scientist, I said that: he hates when we make such comments about anything a little bit more complicated. He always sais that rocket scientist are a normal people ).


I don't have a recipe for the crepes/bliny, but the closest one to what has been done in my family for generations, and how I was taught by my grandma,  is Alton Brown's Crepes.  
It is so  easy to make , that my son learned to cook bliny/crepes when he was just tall enough to hold a pan at the stove.


***
Bliny (crepes) with Mushroom Filling

Ingredients and batter



Here's a list of the ingredients I used:
eggs, flour, water, milk, pinch of salt, and olive oil. I didn't use any butter, which is traditional for bliny. And I never measured the flour, milk and water: it just comes naturally. My son though does use Alton's recipe (without the butter, though) and it comes out just as thin.


1.Batter


2. pour on a skillet


3. and flip!


For the Mushroom filling:




  • 1/2 lb mushrooms (crimini), choped
  • 2-3 shallots, choped
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 hard boiled eggs, diced
  • 2 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp dry dill (or a tbsp of fresh, choped)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oil  in a cust iron or  a stainless still skillet.
Add shallots, add salt, and stir 2-3 minutes until golden-brown.
Add choped mushrooms and cook on a medium-high 5-7 minutes, stirring a few times.
Taste. Adjust the seasoning, add more salt and  pepper, and taste again.
In a ball mix eggs, garlic, dill, and cooked mushroms. Taste to see if more salt and pepper needed.




Place a spoonful of the filling on a midle of each crepe, and wrap it.


My healthy option: without the butter over the top.




I didn't have a chance to bake it in the oven as two hungry men were guarding my each move and totally refused to wait another 30 minutes. I hardly made some pictures of it.


For a dessert we had bliny (again) with a heavenly delicious raspberry-red currant jam and a cup of tea.



Dear Mother, your son-in-law had a pleasent surprise and was happy for the rest of the day. He asked me if we can have more Russian food on the table not just this week. Did his ancestor's genes just woke up and talked to me? Although I am not an expert in the Russian cuisine, I'll give it a try.

Crown of this tree is another "lace", created by mother-nature...


Dear friends! Whatever carnival is closer to your heart, I wish you the best time with a good food, happy dancing and a lot of fun!



Until next time,
Cowboy Country Vegetarian

52 comments:

  1. These sound brilliant! Mushrooms in pancakes is my kind of thing, they are so thin!

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  2. What a lovel ystory along with the pancakes. I really love that the look of that reapberry one, yummy delicious.

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  3. Here in Romania we usually make bliny instead of pancakes... but i love pancakes more :)

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  4. That looks fabulous! My hubby would love this, too! And thanks so much for visiting me today and giving me encouragement! I sure appreciate it! ♥

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    1. You are welcome! And thank you too, your comments are my encouragement, so much needed.

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  5. My husband told me about "Masleniza" today. We remember this holiday from Russia. I love "blinw", have to cook some-)) Thank you!!!

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  6. The opening painting just wowed me - what life there is! Love blinis - haven't thought to make them for quite a while - and this was just a delicious reminder! Fun and fascinating!

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  7. these look amazing and what a great wife your are

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  8. I am so excited to see your blini recipe because I was lucky enough to try blinis that looked just like this and I've been hunting down the recipe ever since. I wonder what the proportions are like though? I wonder if mine will turn out as lovely as yours? :)

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    1. Lorraine, you can use the recipe that I referred to in the post (Alton Brown, link should take you there). If it gets to thik, just add some water to thin it out. Thanks for visiting me!

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  9. These are incredible! As perfect as I've seen anywhere....and your tree photo is stunning!

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    1. Thank you Ann. I am glad you liked it. The tree crown reminded me of lace, and I thought why not to use it too!

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  10. Mmm mushroom pancakes they look delicious! Your blini look so inviting too!

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  11. Loved reading your post. Pancakes seem to exist in almost every culture! Would try your version for sure. thanks for sharing

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    1. I believe they do as the grain was one of the first seeds humans started to cultivate. Thank you for visiting me!

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  12. This is so interesting!I like this version of pancakes. Thanks for sharing it and enjoyed this post. Happy pancake day!

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    1. Happy pancake day to you too! Happy Shrove Tuesday!

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  13. Woops, forgot it was Shrove Tuesday. These look great though, perhaps on the weekend. Its interesting that these are called Blinys, I've always thought they were the small and fat pancakes that are usually served with caviar, not the beautiful crepes you've made here.

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    1. They can be served with fat , butter, caviar, or anything else. And I never liked it with caviar. For me bliny - on one plate, caviar - on the other, please. My favorite fillings for bliny are mushrooms, potatoes, farmer's cheese, and cabbage. I want one now, actually, with some potato filling.

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  14. Well I think you woke up the "Russian Bear" inside your husband lol. But I can undestand that as these blinis look totally delicious!

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  15. Oh WOW! This totally puts me in the mood to celebrate! I need to share this with my husband. Looks like his type of food. You have a cute blog. This is my first time here.

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    1. Thank you April. I am glad you like it. Welcome to my table!

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  16. LOOK at how thin and lacy your pancakes are, they are wonderful! Happy Mardi Gras and thanks for such a wonderful post!
    Karen

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    1. Thank you Karen for your kind words. Happy Shrove Tuesday to you!

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  17. I love pancakes!!! yours look delicious!

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  18. Pancakes are always welcomed. Savory or sweet are equally delicious!

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    1. I agree with you, Efty! I need one savory and one sweet, no, wait, two savory and one sweet! :)

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  19. Wow those look like something I would love- mushrooms and hard boiled eggs all rolled up in a crepe... yum! Found your blog through April's and always excited to learn new veggie recipes. Thanks!

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  20. Happy Pancake Tuesday to you! Thank you so much for the inspiration. It's now harder to decide sweet or savoury. I may need to have both... I think that's the only fair and logical solution... :)

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    1. Thank you Michael. Both savory and sweet, that's how we always have it!

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  21. lovely post and site following you on google friends
    nice to meet you

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  22. Those look fantastic - I love seeing everyones' different pancake recipes today! I didn't find out until really late that it was shrove tuesday/pancake day... I ALWAYS forget :( Well, I don't need a specific day as an excuse to make yummy pancakes - maybe I'll have these as a meal next week!

    Thanks for dropping by my blog earlier! :)

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    1. Thank you Charles! Isn't it amazing how a simple food such as pancake became an universal meal. Happy Shrove Tuesday!

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  23. very nicely done pancakes..appetizing..:)
    lovely writeup..
    Tasty Appetite

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  24. Hi Marina, thank you for visiting my blog, I've been a follower of ur blog for a while and I love your recipes :)

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  25. I love pancakes and yours looks great good!

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  26. The above given recipe is really very nice. It is easy and tastes good. Thanks for such a great recipe.

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Your warm comments put a smile on my heart.