Sweltering Away

This past week we finally got some sunshine in Western Washington and I had a hard time making myself stand by a hot stove and cook, but I did, and I don't think I'm ever going to do it again. Thursday was the worst. I spent the entire evening in the kitchen in 90 degree heat, regretting that I embarked on this cooking adventure. In the end I situated myself on a lawn chair, with a plate full of yummy food, stretched out my legs, and ordered my husband to bring me a glass of cold kvass. Just kidding, I asked nicely, but I did at that point wish I had a house-elf like Harry Potter (btw--I'm on the last book!).

Other than occasionally enjoying the sunshine and roasting myself in the kitchen, I made a quite few phone calls to my mom to ask about recipes. That really made her week, because I absolutely hate talking on the phone and rarely call. Texting, I love, but talking on the phone is like facing a stack of freshmen essays. I blame my parents who made me make phone calls for them all the time because they didn't speak English and I did. In fact, I hate interpreting just as much, which is really inconvenient since I'm trying to decipher the only Russian cook book that I own, and I have to say that it's not really fun. I mean, look at this. The entire recipe is one paragraph and the instructions are so vague I had to guess at every step, and it's not even step-by-step! My mom has an interesting way of going about cooking, too, which doesn't help. I was trying to make some cookies and I asked her how long they need to be in the oven. Her response: "What do you mean how many minutes? I don't look at the minutes. I just look at the cookies. If they look done I take them out." Hmmm. Although the cookies came out pretty good, I'll have to test them again before posting that recipe...

Anyway, this week, I finally busted out the meat grinder my parents gave me for Christmas, ground up some pork and made some pretty tasty kotleti (my mom doesn't trust the ground meat at the grocery store and doesn't think I should either). And I know they were good because my husband said, "I can't stop eating these!" Always a good sign because if he doesn't like something too much he asks for some ketchup or sriracha...

Pork Cutlets (Kotleti)

makes about 30

2 lbs. ground pork

1 cup milk

4 slices white bread

1/2 onion, minced

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 eggs

2 tsp. black pepper

2 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

vegetable oil

1. Soak the bread in the milk for 10 minutes.

2. Combine ground pork, soaked bread, onion, garlic, eggs, salt, and pepper using your hands.

3. Fill frying up with about 1/4 inch of oil (about 3/4 cup) and heat.

4. Shape meat mixture into small patties and place in hot oil. Cook for about 5-6 minutes on each side, or until dark brown. Serve with mashed potatoes, buckwheat, or pasta. Or just eat them with some yummy Russian black bread.

And here's a really simple dessert that was perfect for these hot days when I wanted something sweet, but didn't want to make an effort to bake anything.

Waffles

2 14 oz. cans condensed milk

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 package of waffle sheets (these come in a package of 10 and you can find them at any Russian store)

1. Place unopened cans of condensed milk in stock pot. Add enough water to completely submerge the cans and boil for 3 hours. (You need to watch these though and keep adding water was it evaporates. I've heard stories of exploding cans.... ) Cool condensed milk before using. You can prepare these a day ahead, too.

2. Spoon condensed milk into a mixing bowl. Add melted butter. Stir until all combined and carmely-looking.

3. Divide waffle sheets into two sets of 5 (to make 2 waffle cakes). Generously spread first 4 layers of each cake with condensed milk mixture, layering each sheet on top of the next.

4. Waffle cakes need to absorb the condensed milk so it is best to weigh them down with something heavy (I like to use a teapot full of water). Let them sit like that for at least an hour. Then cut into cubes or rhombuses (rhombi?) and enjoy!