Kenny and I thought it would be appropriate to comment on some of the foods that we have tried or observed here in Nizhniy Novgorod.
Presentation is a major part of food here. Even at the internet café yesterday for lunch, my salad looked beautiful on the saucer that it was served. The two mornings that we have had breakfast, we were equally impressed with the way the oatmeal was presented.
Our hot tea each morning is presented on a cup and saucer with a small folded napkin under the cup, a slice of lemon on the side, and two very large sugar cubes. Kenny’s apple juice is approximately 6 ounces served with a straw.
Oatmeal has probably been our favorite thus far. It is served on a plate, not a bowl. There is no milk or cream served with it. The scoop of oatmeal, which is less than an eight ounce cup, is spread out on a plate, drizzled with a small amount of raspberry syrup and served with five or six different pieces of fresh fruit. The total amount of fruit equals about one-fourth cup. Today, we had a small wedge of banana, slice of strawberry, one-half thin slice of kiwi, two small blueberries, one slice of pear chopped into fine pieces and a half of a walnut surrounding the oatmeal on the plate. It was scrumptious and filling.
French crutons are the comparison of tiny cinnamon buns made with a filo dough. They have walnuts and a small amount of sugar. (Kids, they are nothing like our homemade cinnamon buns!) They were served to us on a plate and drizzled with chocolate.
I previously described the fresh vegetable salad from the internet café yesterday. (See earlier entry.)
Kenny had salmon the other night. He had heartburn afterward, although, he said the salmon was very good. It was served with a piece of cooked red pepper that he readily passed to me. I had a potato mushroom puff served with a celery and pear sauce. Served on a plate in three small portions that were wrapped in filo dough, it tasted ok. It, too, gave me heartburn.
Every menu is filled with some kind of fish or meat. Lamb (sorry Gabby) is a favorite here, too. I have found it difficult to find a vegetarian choice on the menu. During the Lenten season, the restaurants had a special menu. However, now that Lent is passed, they are back to meat as usual!
In the local grocery store, they have a huge tank of fish, similar to the lobster tank at the grocery stores at home. You can pick the fish that you want, assuming it can be scooped out, and the food service worker chops off the head, wraps it, and hands it to you for your dinner to fix at home. Needless to say, we are NOT considering that as an option.
We did have a couple of desserts the other day at the café. Kenny’s cheesecake was “ok.” My carrot cake was nothing like the carrot cake at home, especially the one that Francesca and Gabby made me for my birthday! My cake here was dry and unflavorful. It only looked like the color of carrot cake.
Presentation is a major part of food here. Even at the internet café yesterday for lunch, my salad looked beautiful on the saucer that it was served. The two mornings that we have had breakfast, we were equally impressed with the way the oatmeal was presented.
Our hot tea each morning is presented on a cup and saucer with a small folded napkin under the cup, a slice of lemon on the side, and two very large sugar cubes. Kenny’s apple juice is approximately 6 ounces served with a straw.
Oatmeal has probably been our favorite thus far. It is served on a plate, not a bowl. There is no milk or cream served with it. The scoop of oatmeal, which is less than an eight ounce cup, is spread out on a plate, drizzled with a small amount of raspberry syrup and served with five or six different pieces of fresh fruit. The total amount of fruit equals about one-fourth cup. Today, we had a small wedge of banana, slice of strawberry, one-half thin slice of kiwi, two small blueberries, one slice of pear chopped into fine pieces and a half of a walnut surrounding the oatmeal on the plate. It was scrumptious and filling.
French crutons are the comparison of tiny cinnamon buns made with a filo dough. They have walnuts and a small amount of sugar. (Kids, they are nothing like our homemade cinnamon buns!) They were served to us on a plate and drizzled with chocolate.
I previously described the fresh vegetable salad from the internet café yesterday. (See earlier entry.)
Kenny had salmon the other night. He had heartburn afterward, although, he said the salmon was very good. It was served with a piece of cooked red pepper that he readily passed to me. I had a potato mushroom puff served with a celery and pear sauce. Served on a plate in three small portions that were wrapped in filo dough, it tasted ok. It, too, gave me heartburn.
Every menu is filled with some kind of fish or meat. Lamb (sorry Gabby) is a favorite here, too. I have found it difficult to find a vegetarian choice on the menu. During the Lenten season, the restaurants had a special menu. However, now that Lent is passed, they are back to meat as usual!
In the local grocery store, they have a huge tank of fish, similar to the lobster tank at the grocery stores at home. You can pick the fish that you want, assuming it can be scooped out, and the food service worker chops off the head, wraps it, and hands it to you for your dinner to fix at home. Needless to say, we are NOT considering that as an option.
We did have a couple of desserts the other day at the café. Kenny’s cheesecake was “ok.” My carrot cake was nothing like the carrot cake at home, especially the one that Francesca and Gabby made me for my birthday! My cake here was dry and unflavorful. It only looked like the color of carrot cake.