MoldovAnn

On the drive back to Kyiv from Sofiyivka, we stopped on the side of the road to buy tomatoes from some babushki. At 6 hrivna per kilogram (compared to 20/kg in Kyiv), I was ready to buy everything they had. We settled with 5 kilos, plus a few ears of corn, and had an absolutely delicious but simple dinner of sliced tomatoes and corn once we got home. After eating our fill, I made a huge pot of tomato sauce. Yum yum.

A few weeks ago when we were visiting a village with Dad, he asked a question that I must admit has crossed my mind more than once. Seeing the utter lack of amenities in your average Ukrainian village – no running water, no gas heat, growing most of your own fruit and vegetables and raising your own livestock – Dad was a bit dumbstruck by how much work goes into just simple every day tasks like cooking and washing dishes. He said “It really makes you wonder why people accepted this, why they didn’t demand better.” My response was “If you’ve never known different, it doesn’t seem so hard to you.”

Sunday evening, eating our oh-so-delicious tomatoes, I had a similar thought – How come Americans don’t demand tastier, un-chemicalized food? I guess they don’t know different any more. I love this time of year in Ukraine – it’s the best time to be a vegetarian here! Piles and piles of beautiful, delicious fruits and vegetables. I made a variant of eggplant parmigiana (with squash from the Igor’s parents’ garden and tvorog instead of eggplant and ricotta) with my homemade tomato sauce. Soooo delicious. It’s fun to go to the market now, every few days something else has ripened and appeared at the stands – we had green beans last weekend, and tomatoes, and corn. Someone brought a bag of plums to the office one day. And next week in Crimea I will devour as many grapes as I can get my hands on!

If I ever live in the US again, I am so going to have a garden so I can continue having beautiful, delicious and natural veggies.

We indulged some other food fantasies last weekend, after a trek around Kyiv tracking down the 2 Asian kiosks we know. One we found easily, it’s still at Volodymyrsky market, but the other had moved from Berezniki to Livoberezhny market. Dinner that night included spicy tofu, stir-fry vegetables, and green beans with garlic. Yummmm.

Last night I learned that there is a Middle Eastern shop nearby, disguised by the name “Pizza Express.” They reportedly sell tahini, falafal, baklava, and all others sorts of fabulous Middle Eastern fare. How did I not know this?! I am so going there today.