Ah... Sangria

It's Saturday. I sip ice-cold sangria, and outside it's hot, hot, hot. The heat is so unusual, that the streets of Park Slope and Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn are blissfully empty.

A few passerbys, perilously close to the melting point, saunter on the shady side of the street, looking lost. I wish I could take a long walk and enjoy the uncrowded streets, but alas my Siberian composition is not resilient enough... so, I give up and make sangria.

There are as many recipes for sangria as there are women in Spain. There is no proper, authentic sangria. It is meant to be playful, improvised, lighthearted. Still, it does not always come out well without a recipe. It took a few attempts to get this recipe, which to my taste has the perfect balance of acidity, sweetness, alcohol and refreshment.

Don't wait. Summer will be over before you know it!

Lazy Ravioli with Cheese

It is 95 F today in Boston. Feels like Florida. Even more so since our portable a/c has not arrived yet. So, what's for dinner today?.. Well, something simple with minimum cooking. I happened to have a package of farmers cheese in the fridge, and something lazy came to mind. I have omitted the most time-consuming and boring part of making ravioli, that is making them per se. :) Basically, today's recipe is pasta with farmers cheese and greens. It took me about 30 minutes to prepare, and it  turned out really good.  Here's how I did it.

Okroshka

Okroshka is a traditional cold Russian summer soup that doesn't need to be boiled. It is usually made on hot days when nobody wants to move, let alone cook something serious in the kitchen. This soup contains mostly raw vegetables, boiled eggs, and fermented drink kvas. It makes a quintessential healthy food. This soup is special, and I was not a great fan of it when I was little, but today I was quite satisfied with the outcome. Wanna try something different? Follow me...