We're on the left. Elena's on the right. She was in Russia. That's why we went.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
We first met Elena on Thursday, April 28, 2011, after flying through St Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, and into Kotlas. That's exactly two years ago today. Here's what we did two years ago, with some pictures. Two years is a fair chunk of Elena's life, as you might be able to tell from these two pictures, one taken two years ago and one taken yesterday:
Elena, April 28 2011, at the Kotlas baby house.
Elena, April 27 2013, gardening in Detroit.
She's sporting her "I love shopping" T-shirt
And, just for fun, we sort of re-created a scene from Kotlas:
As I've pointed out before, the Kotlas orphanage turned 25 earlier this year. The anniversary hasn't passed unnoticed - I stumbled across an interesting, professionally edited video of Kotlas orphanage as it turns 25.
Even though I don't understand the Russian, the video is actually really interesting for its look at a lot of different places in the orphanage and shots of what kids of all ages do during the day. We get to see some of the things that Elena probably experienced, that we never had a chance to see.
Kasha, in Russian cuisine, is any kind of porridge, and includes porridges made from oats - what we would call "oatmeal" - and wheat - our "Cream of Wheat." But Russians hold a special place in their heart for buckwheat kasha:
Buckwheat kasha
Buckwheat kasha comes in different varieties, depending on how its roasted. It's nuttier and more flavorful than oatmeal, and can be mixed with honey or fruit to make a sweet breakfast dish, or with stock and spices to make a savory side dish (not unlike a rice pilaf, for example).
I was thinking about this yesterday because we made buckwheat kasha for breakfast. The Russian food store near us has a good selection, and it's also available in Polish markets, of which there are a number close by. Teresa often makes kasha for Elena - Elena adores it, and it's a link to her Russian heritage.
It's also a link for us, remembering our trip to Russia. The Sovietskaya hotel we stayed at in Kotlas had a small cafeteria, and during breakfast they'd cook up a pot of kasha. In addition, some of the other hotel guests would cook kasha in their rooms, so every morning the entire hotel smelled of kasha. It's a pretty distinctive smell, and smelling it in our kitchen instantly brings me back to the Sovietskaya cafeteria, eating a hard boiled egg and a bowl of kasha.
And that makes me wonder what memories kasha evokes for Elena. Smell and taste are powerful memory triggers, and Elena would likely have eaten kasha most mornings (if not every morning) in the orphanage. Does she remember her morning kasha? She says she does, but her details are scattered and fleeting, as early memories are.
But she still loves kasha, just as Masha does in the Russian cartoon Маша + каша (Masha and kasha):
