The Russians are Coming... The Russians are Coming!!!

 

I have always been fascinated by family.  As a child I loved the stories told by my parents and aunts about their parents and the ways in which they arrived in America, where they came from and what traditions they brought with them that were passed on.  Both my husband and I are of Russian descent, and while all four of our parents were first generation Americans, we saw much of our grandparents' culture incorporated into our family traditions. But it is a part of my husband's family story that I will concentrate on  here.  

My husband's paternal grandmother(Bubbe Chenia)  arrived in America some time before the Russian Revolution.  She came here with several of her brothers and a sister, Rochel.  This was a family of great intellectualism and learning...(one brother went on to become Curator of the Yiddish Archives at Columbia University)...  Once the family settled, one brother returned to Russia to collect his family and bring them back to the United States...but at just that time the Revolution erupted and it made emigration impossible. 

                                                                                  
This brother and his family were all but lost to the family in America. 

Tsalke and Dora ...Brother of Bubbe Chenia

Bubbe never spoke of them other than when she told the tale of how she came to America...it was far too painful, and Jews of post Holocaust days were used to  not talking about lost relatives...never knowing what fate had befallen them.  Bubbe lived to know two of my three children and died when I was pregnant with my third...

Fast forward several years from Bubbe's death...it is now the 1970's.  Imagine my shock when one day my phone rang and her voice comes through from the other end!  Bubbe...repeating our name over and over, and my father-in-law's name...same exact voice...same exact accent!  I felt like I was in the dream scene from Fiddler on the Roof!

."Who is this?" I asked.  I heard talking...it seemed like Russian...then a new voice...younger.  She asked if we were related to Chenia...And a whole new part of our family opened up to us. 

Somehow we understood that these were my husband's cousins...the family of the brother who had returned to Russia.  It was at this time large numbers of Jews were finally able to leave  the Soviet Union, and they were among the emigres. They had been settled in Jersey City, New Jersey...about a half hour from South Orange, where we lived.  Without another thought we got into the car and drove there!

 And there they were..."The Russian Cousins"!  Tamara and Edward were the children of the "lost brother".  Tamara, who had her aunt Chenia's (Bubbe) voice and smile, and her daughter Elena lived in Canada but were in the U.S. to see the rest of the family.  Vadim and Olga were Edward's children and Sasha was Olga's fiancee.  Vadim and my daughter bore a very strong family resembelence, with their soulful eyes and dark, good looks. Olga was bright,charming  and lovely looking and her Sasha was a delightful red-head....and Elena simply took your breath away.  Blonde, kittenish and smart, with  exquisite features and great charm, she was  fascinating, indeed.      Elena was the most outgoing.  She was an aspiring actress and one could not help feeling that she would succeed!
  

Elena

 We visited for quite a while that day, thrilled with the prospect of "new"  family.  We immediately loved these lovely, warm, bright, cousins.
   Afterwards, we shared holidays and visits and stories and history.  We pored over photos and in time, loved seeing the great successes that they achieved.  Vadim and Sasha attended university here to supplement the education they had already recieved in the USSR, as did Olga.  Elena attended college in Canada...and they moved on... they moved away to pursue better positions...married...Uncle Edward passed away...and we all lost touch for a while...                 

Tamara, about 5 years ago...looking exactly like her aunt, Chenia

But we are in touch again.  We share news and visits and a short time ago Elena, a success   in  the California movie world, came east and we had the pleasure of meeting her dee-vine husband, Dima,    Vadimnow  lives 10 minutes from my daughter and we had a delightful dinner there.  We met his charming wife and handsome, bright son... Olga is a new grandmother...and now we are in the process of planning a  family get-together hopefully for April!
                                                                                  
 I think Bubbe Chenia would be very pleased, indeed!  


 I have several recipes that recall our Russian roots  ...I had this Stroganoff recipe on my computer and cannot recall where I got it!  Wherever it is from, it is delicious!

Beef Stroganoff                                                                                                             

rice.

                                                                                                                                                                      

• 2 lb. filet of beef cut in 3/4 inch strips
• 1/3 c. butter
• 2 medium size onions, diced
• 1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms
• 1 1/3 c. beef broth
• 1 tsp. salt 
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 3/4 c.  cream  (or 1 c. sour cream)

Cut steak into 1/4-inch thick diagonal slices. Heat large skillet until very hot. Add 1 T. butter and saute steak strips, a few at a time, adding more butter as needed. Remove from skillet and reserve

Add remaining butter and cook onions and mushrooms for 5 minutes. 

Add broth and salt; then simmer.

 Stir flour into  cream; blend in about 1 c. hot mixture and return  cream mixture to skillet, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Do not boil. Add beef strips. Serve over rice or broad noodles

                                                               
                                                           Easy Cold Borsht

1 extra  large jar of beet borsht (store bought is far easier than cooking it from scratch and the vegetableshere     are the whole show!)
4 radishes sliced thinly
3 scallions chopped
1 large cucumber peeled and sliced into rounds
dill for garnish
sour cream

Divide the vegetables in bowls, ladle chilled borsht over them, put a huge dollop of sour cream on top  and garnish with dill                       
                                                              Наслаждайтесь