Fruit Varenye (Preserves)

Making varenye at home
Boiling Raspberry Varenye...

One of the things that is plentiful in Russia is berries. When in the village it is a pleasure to walk the woods and old village roads and trails. In these areas is always an abundance of berries. Just carry a plastic bag with you and several walks later, you will have enough berries to produce a Winters worth of Jams…

Making and canning your own Varenye (runny style jam) the Russian way is very easy. Just follow the recipe to see how to do it. This works equally well for strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, cranberry, blueberry, boysenberry, dewberry, gooseberry, loganberry, marionberry, peach, plum, damson plum, tayberry, youngberry and etc etc etc. Make by individual fruit or mixing them to make a berry jam…

Lets Make – Raspberry (any fruit will do) Varenye (Jam):

2.27 kg (5 lbs) freshly picked raspberries

1.5kg sugar

Several big jars, sterilized in boiling water (sterilize the lids as well and make sure very dry)

Making:

Clean raspberries. (remove stems and leaves)

Use a large bowl.

Dump the raspberries and pour all the sugar on top and cover all berries.

You may mix lightly but be gentle and not destroy the berries.

Let the mixture sit until the berries begin to produce fluid. This can take anywhere from 4-8 hours.(or longer if too cold)

Put the mixture over a low heat and warm until the sugar dissolves, then raise the heat and bring to a boil for 1-3 minutes. (Do not burn…)

Leave to cool, then transfer into jars. Make sure to wait until the varenye stops steaming. It’s also important that the jars are completely dry, as moisture will cause mold to grow.

Close (seal with lids) the jars and place them into a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes. Make sure that boiling water is over the top of the lids…

Remove from boiling water and set on a towel on the counter…

When the jars cool to the touch, store in a dark, dry place until needed for that sweet tooth. (Most Russians save Varenye for the Winter time to enjoy this treat of the senses…)

Eating:

In Russia, they eat it in a little bowl with hot tea, and many use it a a sweetener in the tea. I eat it on bread and pancakes, but it would also make a good topping for waffles, since the berries are floating in a homemade syrup…

PS: This can be used with apples, lemons, oranges, plums and or any fruit to make a wonderful jam. Store bought is just as good and I make a wonderful Kiwi Jam from the store bought variety. So even those stuck in the big cities can have homemade jams. I was also raised to use paraffin to seal the top with. Mason jars are great but to do it the Russian way just follow the above recipe.  It works for them…

 

Windows to Russia!

In Russia Odd Not Even Number of Flowers…

Remember: Today is the 8th of March…

International Women’s Day…

Remember also that you never send even numbers of flowers…

In Russia, odd numbers of flowers are given for romantic occasions. You should send 11 roses instead of the usual dozen. Really, any odd number is good and the more flowers in the bouquet the more attention is generated. Even numbers of flowers are only given at funerals…

Also don’t forget your woman’s mother and daughter. This is the act is of a true gentleman and is sure to get the hugs and kisses of your woman…

Windows to Russia!

Libya and the Oil Troubles…

Crude oil futures continued to rise toward $107 a barrel as unrest in Libya continues and growing fear unrest could spread to other oil-producing states grew deeper.

Crude prices grew by $2.45 to $106.87 a barrel in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange having earlier hit a day high of $106.98. Futures trading rallied 2.5 percent on March 4, pushing the rise over the past week to 6.4 percent.

Windows to Russia!

Blogging In Russia…

Blogging has become a national hobby in Russia, with Russians among the most enthusiastic users of social networking sites and other new Web 2.0 media.

President Dmitry Medvedev is just one of 642,681 active Twitter users in Russia. The number of bloggers in the Russian LiveJournal segment has exceeded two million, making Russia the second “LiveJournal-addict” country after the United States with its five million bloggers.

With pressure on media to always be the first with news, many wonder whether the rise of blogging is a threat to traditional journalism.

This question was debated by Russian media bosses at a Vedomosti business daily’s annual conference on media business in Moscow on Thursday.

News agencies inevitably lose the battle with bloggers in breaking news first, said Farit Khusnoyarov, development director of Medialogia, which produces and sells online media monitoring to press services of companies, including the Presidential Executive Office.

“Twitter overtook the information agencies while covering the Domodedovo blast,” Khusnoyarov said, referring to the terrorist attack at Moscow’s largest airport on January 24 when 36 people were killed and dozens were injured.

The two leading Russian news agencies, Interfax and RIA Novosti, were delivering the news with almost an hour delay, he said.

The first online reaction to the attack came from a blogger nicknamed laddove, who reported about the attack just five minutes after the initial blast, at 4:37 p.m.

RIA Novosti reported the incident at 4:47, but did not describe it as a terrorist attack, as the origins of the explosion were still unclear.

RIA journalists near the scene of the attack reported “fumes” filling the arrival zone, but “had not rushed to describe it as a terrorist attack as the bloggers did,” RIA Novosti Deputy Editor-in-Chief Valery Levchenko said.

Similarly, Interfax reported at 4:57 p.m. that a “loud bang” had been heard in the airport’s arrival zone.

“In the first Twitter messages people asked where RIA and Interfax were. People were waiting for information to be structured and checked,” said Yury Pogorely, the head of the economics service at Interfax.

Speed versus accuracy is an eternal dilemma for journalists, and citizen journalism together with digital technology has only made it worse. Videos and photos posted online tend to be trusted because “the camera never lies,” although images can be just as misleading as text is if it is misinterpreted.

One factor boosting the media news race is the need to hit top positions in search lists like Google. Being first and grabbing the top positions in search engine results in the number of views is what makes the media attractive for advertisers.

Many media experts think a few minutes’ delay in waiting for an accurate story means little to the average reader. Readers still demand more reliable and in-depth content than a simple blog.

Vedomosti website’s Digital Publisher, Viktor Saxon, said the influence of bloggers on the media market was over-exaggerated. “Bloomberg and Reuters monitor the stock market and no Twitter post can trigger a collapse in a company’s stocks.”

“It is a great myth that in the future there will be no need for journalists since people will write everything themselves,” said Vladimir Sungorkin, editor-in-chief of the popular Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda. “They will not write worth a damn.”

“People are irresponsible, they tend toward wishful thinking…we will not receive any clear information about what happened from ordinary people,” Sungorkin added.

Media experts, like any ordinary journalist, love to argue, make forecasts and calculate profitability, but as long as the number one Russian blogger is the Russian president, citizen journalism will flourish. Many news agencies have already hired dedicated staff to monitor the blogosphere.

MOSCOW, March 5 (RIA Novosti, Anastasia Markitan)

Windows to Russia!

Russian News (03/07/2011)

NATO not to interfere in Libya

from Voice of Russia, News
NATO does not intend to interfere in the Libyan events, though a real civil war is going on there, NATO’s Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says. Still, he adds, any further developments are possible, and NATO countries are getting ready to defend themselves if this turns out to be necessary.

Russian skier wins European Cup

The Russian skier Aleksander Bondar has won the European Cup in freestyle cross-country skiing near Murmansk in northern Russia. There were a total of seven races.He came first in two and was sixth in one. It is the first time that a Russian competitor has won this award.

Russia, Poland mull easier border crossing

Russia and Poland are close to allowing free border crossing to residents of their adjacent border areas. These areas would include the entire Russian region of Kaliningrad. The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told this to the media Monday after discussing the matter with Kaliningrad Governor Nikolai Tsukanov.

Putin’s playing piano, singing in English pays off for hospitals

Sponsors have been found to provide three hospitals with new medical equipment after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin participated in a fundraising event, Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said on Monday.

Russia sets up $10 bln fund to attract foreign investors

Russia is setting up a $10 billion fund to boost investments from foreign companies into the national economy, the Financial Times newspaper reported Monday.

Russia wins women’s European track-and-field championships

Russian girls have won the European track-and-field championships in Paris. The have grabbed five gold medals out of the six, and they boast a total of 15 different medals. The French proved the second-best, with the Germans coming in third.

Russian wins silver at European air gun competition

Alexander Sokolov of Russia has won the silver medal at the European air gun competition in Brescia, Italy. Peter Szidi of Hungary won the competition, with Italian Niccolo Campriani grabbing the bronze medal.

Moscow nightclub shrugs off warnings, throws ‘Putin Party’

A Moscow nightclub has held an event entitled “Putin Party. I want the Prime Minister” regardless of earlier warnings by the prime minister’s press secretary that the government would seek legal advice on the possible illegal use of Putin’s name.

One dead as six cars collide between Moscow and St. Petersburg

One person died and three were injured as six cars collided on the highway linking Russia’s two largest cities.

Europe’s pot of Islamic debate is boiling

from RT by RT
Germany’s new interior minister said Islam “does not belong” in the country. With thousands of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa fleeing the violence in their home countries, Europe is facing a profound…

Despite NATO invitation, Russia still waiting to join Euro missile defense

from RT by RT
Two years ago, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov met in Moscow where they announced a “reset” in relations between their respective nations.
Windows to Russia!

How Is That Reset as Russia Ponders it…

RIA NovostiHillary Clinton and counterpart Sergei Lavrov“Reset” rings hollow after two years, say analysts…

19:24 06/03/2011 Two years on, the “reset” in U.S.-Russian ties has changed the tone of relations, but the “hollow” veneer of its overall success does not mask enduring mistrust between the countries and their different national interests, say analysts.Read More >>>

Windows to Russia!

Breaking Free: I Broke Free to Russia – You can do it – Anywhere in the World…

Breaking Free [FULL] from Matador Network on Vimeo.

Wow what a video! I found this wonderful site Matador Network. The worlds largest independent travel Magazine…

The video is called “Breaking Free” and it may not be about Russia but it is about Expats like me and they talk about Breaking Free… http://matadornetwork.com/

Ditching routine, comfort zones, and their own personal fears, they have sought and found vibrant, purpose-driven lifestyles to inspire viewers of all ages.

Filmed in diverse locations around the world, each hour-long episode investigates how these remarkable people started over, understanding the unique challenges, goals and passion that allowed them to follow their heart.

Windows to Russia!

IKEA’s Broken Reputation and the Smear Campaign on Russia…

The Swedish company (IKEA) says it won’t build more stores outside the Moscow region until local officials stop withholding permission for two outlets in the central cities of Samara and Ufa. After investing US$4-billion in Russia over 10 years, IKEA placed a freeze on expansion in June 2009… (Link)

I got 8 emails from America that point to this fact. People are so sure that Russia is a bribe city. That makes me smile. Then I have to smile when I see companies like IKEA whine and cry. Lately this company has done a lot of crying (literally) trying to cover up their reputation flaws…

Also Notice that IKEA says, “it won’t build more stores outside the Moscow.” Rats I hoped they would not build anymore stores at all…

So they plan on building more stores in Moscow?

The reason the stores aren’t opening is that IKEA is refusing to pay bribes to safety inspectors, said Kirill Kabanov, head of the non-governmental National Anti-Corruption Committee in Moscow…

Sounds like IKEA has internal problems, who thought that they should pay bribes to get business done in Russia. They thought wrong…

Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad, considered one of the wealthiest people in the world, controls the company through a secret foundation worth 100 billion kronor ($15.34 billion), according to a Sveriges Television (SVT) report… (Link)

and how about this for employees: (It takes two to tangle!)

Ikea’s founder Ingvar Kamprad on Friday expressed “distress” over a bribery affair which has led to the firing of the Swedish furniture giant’s two top managers of its Russian division… (Link)

Orders come from the top on such decisions…

Companies like IKEA are despicable and two-faced. Work the smear campaign to save face at the home town front and hope one of its biggest external markets does not catch on and quit buying from them…

I say, “IKEA is going nowhere and will stay in the Russian market, because it is so damn lucrative. IKEA is a corrupt company and will undermine any and all legit countries, trying to get a better deal for themselves…”

But you do not care. If it is anti-Russia then all is good…

Windows to Russia!

Coffee and Spring in Russia…

Life is like a Cup of Coffee...

It is the start of Spring and instead of seeing buds of jonquils and blooms of crocuses emerging from the ground. We have a dropping thermometer and a new foot of snow being laid down, in a furious storm with winds that are drifting the snow into meter high piles. So that cup of coffee is really good this morning…

But my thoughts are really about that Russians are very optimistic about Spring. In my opinion they have developed rituals that promote that optimism:

Maslenitsa 2011: February 28th to March 6…

These rituals have to do with Spring and making sure that Winter goes away and Spring is welcomed… (Except this year Old Man Winter is Cranky!)

It seems that we just go from holiday to holiday at this time of the year starting at the New Year occasion. We just ended Defender of the Father Land on the 23rd of February. Remember we also had 11 days off at the first of the year for Winter Holidays.

Plus we have had several other wonderful holidays. It seems to be the therapy for the super long Winter… 🙂

Now we have International Women’s Day on March 8th. It is sorta like Mothers day and if you treated it that way you would not fail at making women happy. Just act like all women are mothers and you got it. The flower shops are ready and the flowers will be sold. Plus chocolates are a huge favorite with the women in Russia… (Just make sure to carry them upside down as you walk to deliver them…)

Spring In Moscow...

All this is part of what makes Russia what it is. Russia is a world that unless you live here you really can not understand it. Especially if you are from the West…

So we are enjoying our Spring in Moscow. As the snow flies and frostbite nips at your nose. Gotta Love It…

Windows to Russia!

And Now, The Gaddafi Genocide? It Never Happened…

Article by Keith Harmon Snow: (Very Good read!)

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=23481

Claims made by Libyan ‘opposition’ and reported in the western press that Gaddafi is committing genocide against his own people represent the height of western arrogance and hypocrisy. At this very moment the wars being prosecuted by the USA and its allies, including Japan, Europe, Israel, South Africa, Canada and Australia, far dwarf the ‘atrocities’ committed in Libya. While we have no credible reporting about who is killing, who is opposition, how many dead, etc., out of Libya, we have credible report after credible report establishing that the US and its allies have perpetrated massacres, tortures, and other atrocities, in the millions of people, in Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Afghanistan, Iraq and Sudan – for a short list.

The claim of genocide here, akin to the one-sided charges against former Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana, or against Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir, are one more clear example of the Politics of Genocide delineated in great detail by this writer and others. Reports in western media — provided, again, by the FNSL and other western intelligence, covert operations or psychological operations flak organizations — are filled with harsh language and characterizations not seen in reporting on or by western military campaigns. For example, in many western reports we can find, such as Gruesome Footage Proves Libya Using Heavy Arms makes claims that “newspapers obtained shocking footage of corpses with bodies blasted off and several torsos in Libyan hospitals.”

So there are several torsos. That is not quite genocide. Where are the images? If such images of death and destruction do appear it will be in sharp contrast to the complete whiteout on dead bodies in the Pentagon’s other theaters of war, in the eastern Congo or Somalia, or in Afghanistan.

Images of dead bodies can be produced and published but these are easily stripped of context. How do western audiences and propaganda consumers know that these are authentic and not recycled images of protests from Yemen or Bahrain dumped into the western press (with their willing acknowledgment) by Britain’s MI-6, as has been alleged? Al-Jezeera shows its true western colors by not reporting much of anything, and that certainly not critical of western manipulation or involvement.

Read More >>>

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=23481

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