What Do You Know, a Post About Salo!

Monday was a monumental day for me here in Ukraine; culturally and culinarily speaking, that is! Despite having eaten it many times this was the first time I bought the national food, salo (сало). For those of you lucky enough to be in the know, сало is pig fat. Yes indeed, a nice (maybe not so healthy) slice of fatback with or without the skin. Of course this sounds terribly disgusting to most non-Slavs but it is the national dish for a reason. It was initially the food of the peasants as it was easy to cure and store for long periods of time.  In times of trouble, and there have been many over here, the people could always survive off of сало. And what made it so great (other than coming from the pig) was that it could be spiced with paprika, garlic, or salt to give it an extra flavor. People could also cook with it, add it to sausages, or make it into a spread to put on bread. There was also firm belief that сало would improve your skin, help ward off heart attacks (!), and dispense of a nasty tooth ache. Over time сало moved beyond the peasant lands to becoming a popular food with the general population. Nowadays the best way to buy сало is to go to the main meat market and choose from a dazzling array of choices. You are encouraged to pierce the сало with a small pointed utensil that is available for use by all. If it is too firm do not buy it, I am told. Once you get your prize how it is up to you how to eat it. For me the best way is to cut a piece, put it on bread and chow down. But don't forget to wash it down with a nice frosty glass of kvass (квас)!

More about Salo - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salo_(food)

Salo...as a delicacy? - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/06/salo-ukraine-national-obsession

 Сало with a touch of Meat

Washed Down with Квас 

Behind the Doors of 'Number One'

How often we walk through our cities and towns, past buildings that display no sign of their purpose. I never ask myself what is behind the door of the yellow house on the corner or the imposing building on the main street. We might actually be surprised or shocked at what goes on behind closed doors and high walls. This is certainly the case with One Lonstsky Street in Lviv.  Starting in 1918 with the Polish and ending in 1991 when the KGB skipped town for good, this nondescript building with the high walls was a prison and, virtually, a death camp for political prisoners. Today, if you know where to go, it is a museum of remembrance for future generations. I was lucky enough to read a few guidebooks and look at some maps so I knew where to find the National Museum and Memorial to the Victims of the Occupation. (http://www.lonckoho.lviv.ua/)

Much like memorials to the Holocaust in Riga, memorials to those killed by the NKVD and its successor, the KGB, are often difficult to find. Whether it's from a conscious decision (http://www.lucorg.com/news.php/news/4554), negligence, or a will NOT to remember, I am unsure. Either way, it took some time to make my way to the museum on a street I had walked upon in January. At that time I was looking for the Cat Cafe but little did I know that the building I was standing beside while waiting for a tram was the same place the NKVD killed between 1,300 and 1,700 political prisoners in late June 1941 as the Germans were preparing to roll into town. Many of these prisoners were Ukrainian nationalists, from religious orders, or people at the wrong place at the wrong time. (http://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/ukraine/lviv-museum-recounts-soviet-nazi-atrocities-66675.html). It's not surprising I didn't identify the place as a museum since there were no markings on the wall besides a wreath adorned with blue and yellow ribbons and flowers. (Clue #1) The real entrance is around a side street where you find an entrance with some printed information and a flag over the door.

When I went to the museum on a Saturday afternoon, I was one of the only people there. It was free of charge and a man in what I took to be a police officer's uniform let me in with a polite greeting. Once inside the place looked as it should, uncared for. The wooden floors creaked and paint was peeling from the walls. I had a feeling that this was intentional as much as for a lack of funds to pay for renovations. Either way, the effect was chilling. There was no doubt this was a prison. Walls were papered over to keep out the sun and cobwebs filled what passed for toilets. Then there was the door leading out to the courtyard. While there were plenty of exhibits in English, many were not. I was trying out my Ukrainian when I was approached by an older woman who appeared to work there. Oksana, as she was called, initial spoke to me in Ukrainian but soon switched to English. As we chatted she offered to show me around. She was a wealth of information and her English was very good despite her objections to the contrary. What she could not explain in English she said in Ukrainian and we split the difference. I was thankfully she offered to show me around as I got to see some places that are not open to the public;  including the basement where the condemned waited to die.

I will not go on and on but it was an important experience on my trip to Lviv. This is a city that has been tossed between the Poles, the Soviets, the Germans, and the Soviets once more. The previous governments still do not seem to want to invest in these types of memorials to events that need to be remembered and discussed. It has been suggested that recent events in Ukraine could have been prevented or altered if discussions about the Soviet past had been taking place. (https://euromaidanberlin.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/kgb-archives-in-ukraine-will-be-open-to-public/) Regardless, this is a place that more people, especially Ukrainians, need to see.

Papered-over Windows - No light in or Out

Door Out to the Courtyard

The Long Hallway

"Luxury" Quarters

From the Photo Room

Inside Looking Out

Bathroom Facilities

Propaganda Room

Sinks and Peeling Paint

Once You Go Out, You Don't Go Back In

In the Cellar

The Padded Room

Solitary

Wall of Death

Квас is Клас! (Kvass is Great!)

This is a post I have been waiting some time to write; summer in fact. The reason I didn't write this post mid-winter is because the квас (kvass) tractors only begin arriving in late May. But what is квас and why am I so excited by its arrival? Excellent question! If you were hot and thirsty and the perfect summer drink rolled up on the corner complete with кваснік (kvass seller) you would truly understand. So, квас is best described as the Russian/Ukrainian answer to Western soft drinks. While Europe and America was busy gulping down carbonated sugared beverages with unknown ingredients, Slavs were likewise drinking this tasty fermentered drink that is a cousin (possibly distant) to beer. While it is not officially alcoholic, the fermentation does give it an alcohol content of around 1.2%. But it is the 'what' that is fermented that gives квас its unique taste: bread. Yup, квас is a fairly straightforward process of fermenting black or rye bread in a jar or vat over a number of days; give or take the addition of fruit, raisins, or berries. It may look gross! It may sound gross! But it is far from. Though it may have a short shelf life it has something that gives it a refreshing kick when the summer weather is at its most extreme. And Ukrainians, Russians, and Eastern Europeans seem to love it. In fact, after Western cola drinks dominated the markets in the 1990s, квас has made a huge comeback in this part of the world. The Baltic States can't get enough of it as квас has continued to ear away at the cola market in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. In Ukraine many people claim not to like it but the carts seem to do swift business. Perhaps it's a bit of nostalgia from the old days. And in the end it is cheaper than soda. I pay five hryvnyas for a cup (twenty cents) and fifteen hryvnyas for one and a half liters (sixty cents). How can you beat that?

So next time you are in this part of the world (you should come) you need to try квас. In the meantime check out the links to recipes and the history of this great beverage. And if you still think it's gross, check out those Pepsi ingredients some time! Cheers!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvass

http://natashaskitchen.com/2012/02/19/angelinas-easy-bread-kvas-recipe/

Here Comes the Квас Truck! 

Bottled and Ready to Drink

Frosty Mug of Kvassy Goodness