Octopus's Garden Salad

Today the sun is shining again in Brooklyn. My local wine store put out a sign: "Weather, make up your damn mind!" Indeed, yesterday was windy, menacing and wet, and today Beatles' "Octopus's Garden" comes to mind:

We would be warm below the storm
In our little hideaway beneath the waves

Perhaps due to this association, I suddenly craved some octopus amid a green paradise of green cauliflower, canned peas, pickles, celery, parsley, capers and a few other things. ...Wanna try?

Solyanka - Meat Soup with Pickles

After battling with the snow on our roof and driveway, we had a little break of warmth and sunshine. Not for long! The weekend was disappointingly windy and cold. Our aching bodies begged for a proper fuel...
Browsing through famous Cookbook by Elena Molokhovets, I suddenly remembered this soup: loaded with different meats, cucumbers, olives, cabbage, and mushrooms. Sounds good, doesn't it? So I thought, and made it for the first time in my life. It was just what we needed at this time of winter stress...

Charlotte - Easy Apple Pie

This is a Russian favorite (pronounced Shar-lot-ka), and also probably the easiest cake you will ever bake. It requires hardly any preparation and only the most basic ingredients. And yet... the distinctive pink crust and lovely tartness of the apples make it a perfect home-made companion to tea and coffee.
Ready to try?