I have frequently mentioned the people in town that lift my
spirits when I go to the market. The shopkeepers who ask questions beyond “how
are you?” The ones that noticed your neck brace and weeks later ask how the
neck is doing these days. The ones who, when I discuss seeing El are genuinely
happy for me, etc. So, Tanya and Lena are two of these shopkeepers. They are
sisters that work in the same area of the market and both run stalls that sell
things like ground coffee and teabags, spices, and cooking oil. Tanya sells tea
and coffee by the cup to go and Lena sells cheese and butter that Tanya doesn't
have. In that part of the market, these two are always happy to see me and help
me practice my Russian. They have been nothing but good to me and I stop in to
see them even if I don’t need to buy anything that day. With Erin’s recent
departure, I find myself somewhat ovenless. It was always nice to have cookie
or cake making nights with Erin because we could crank out a few batches over a
glass of wine and it worked well every time. Last year I had bought an electric
oven, which I may have mentioned, that causes power failures every time I use
it. So, I have the tool to make the cookies and cakes, but I am frankly a bit
concerned that I can shut down my apartment by using the one appliance (even
when nothing else is plugged in- including the fridge!) I recently had a
revelation and asked Lena if she had an oven. I know Tanya does not live in
town, but Lena does. I thought, maybe I could make a day out of baking at her
apartment if I could get the invite. Lena was more than happy to accommodate
and Tanya said that she would arrange to stay at Lena’s on baking day so that she
could be there too. The agreed day was Saturday. They both work until 1pm and I
planned to have everything purchased by then and ready to leave at 1pm. I made
good on my promise. At this point I should mention that one of the key
components to our baking day was beer. Tanya made it very clear that she was
going to buy beer and we would have a baking and beer afternoon. I didn't
object. With all of my ingredients and tools in tow, and all of their food and
beer purchases, we opted to take a taxi. Not far and not expensive. We were at
Lena’s apartment around 1:30 I suppose. My plan was to bake one pineapple
upside-down cake, two batches of brownies, and two batches of chocolate chip
cookies. I unpacked everything and got ready to start mixing and whisking.
That is all of the counter space. Reminded me of my apartment in NYC.
They
had other plans. First we were going to drink beer. Then they wanted to know about
the recent HIV presentation I made in school and they would tell me things
about their lives. Lena’s 9 year old daughter, also named Tanya, showed me how
to fold origami animals, make scenes out of clay, and comb Barbie hair. When I
felt I could comfortably excuse myself from the table, my plan was at least to
get the cake into the oven, then I could start the brownies while the cake was
baking. What I hadn't
counted on was Tanya wanting to start to cook our evening’s
dinner and Lena wanting to be taught how to cook the cake. After about the
second step, I realized a few things. My Russian (or lack thereof) slows
everything down. I have US measurements on my recipe and Lena needs me to
convert them for her. And, when working in a small kitchen you are unfamiliar
with, there is an added level of unevenness that is experienced. I was also
reminded that every other time I baked, Erin, who also knew the recipes, helped
me. She would do the cake, I would do the brownies and there got to be a line
at the oven waiting for one batch to finish before sliding the next in. We
could wrap out a significant amount of baking in one night. This, I could tell,
was going to be an unrealistic goal. I was finally able to convince Lena that if
I promised to give her the recipe for the cookies and cake, all in Russian, she
would just let me work uninterrupted for a short time. The thing is that after
she put the pen and paper away, there were plenty of other things keeping me
from the preparation of the next batch. Tanya got into full swing with the
dinner and now two of us were trying to work in the small kitchen area (not to
mention she needed the over at one point too). As the time passed, the day
turned to night and they both encouraged me to start the next batch- this time
brownies. Brownies are, generally, very easy to bake and I was able to get the
first batch in. At 8pm, Lena asked what the next cookie was and I thought it
would be chocolate chip. If I wasn't
going to have enough time for five items,
at least I could get in one of each, just to show them what I was trying to do.
Just before I started the cookies, Andreii (Lena’s husband) returned after a
week away at work.
Andreii, Tanya, Lena...and a coconut. That was just a snack and not part of the baking.
He was welcoming and nice to get to know. However, knowing
that chocolate chip cookies are a little more intensive than the other two, I
made the decision to skip them altogether. It was getting late and I felt that
knowing both Lena and Tanya had to work on Sunday that my welcome could be worn
out at any time. I decided to pack up all of my unused ingredients and get my bags
ready to go. I opted, instead of more baking, to sit and enjoy the company.
Here was a family who had invited me into their home and getting to know them
and tell them about me, my family, my work and my impressions of town was
certainly more important than my baking project. Once everything was packed up,
I was able to pull out my computer and show them photos of my family and
friends. While we looked at pictures, everyone had their first ever piece of
pineapple upside-down cake. The cake was a hit with them and my day of baking
was considered a success- even though not much baking was done. Sometimes it’s
more about the camaraderie than the baking. This was one of those times…and I wouldn't
have changed one minute of it.
Tanya and I in the kitchen...the entire kitchen.
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