For Russians New Years is much more important that Christmas, which is a purely religious holiday and since the Russian Orthodox Church runs on the old calendar, takes place on January 7th. But New Years does share some of the same traditions that Americans and most of Western Europe associate with December 25th. As a holiday it combines Christmas traditions that were originally outlawed under Communism, celebratory techniques often used to welcome the New Year, and some things that are just Russian together to make something that at first glance would appear to an American like Christmas, New Years, and the Fourth of July all rolled into one, no make it a couple, of days. 

Now for what is a bit different. There are no stockings, candy canes, or Santa and elves at the mall in the Russian holidays, but many parents do schedule an actual visit from Ded Moroz and Snegurochka. In the days leading up to the 31st parents will schedule some actors to come to their house dressed as Ded Moroz and Snegurochka. The holiday characters bid a Happy New Year to the family and Ded Moroz has his sack of gifts, but before the children receive theirs they must recite a poem they have practiced for the occasion. 

On New Years Eve it is traditional to have a big dinner with ones family, in front of the TV. The menu, of course, changes from family to family, but for most people it will include caviar sandwiches, champagne, clementines or tangerines, and olivier salad, a Russian potato salad. For the adults at the table, like New Years celebrations around the world, the dinner involves a fair amount of drinking. And of course as a Russian celebration it would not be complete without toasts. At the dinner people say goodbye to the year that is coming to a close. 

When midnight strikes, it is time to welcome the New Year and wish luck and new opportunities to friends and family with a glass of champagne and sometimes a sparkler in hand. The President always makes a televised speech and then many people head outside to set off fireworks. I am told that at this point it will sound like a war is taking place. After the pyrotechnics the party continues on until morning with more drinking, eating, toasts, and the television as a constant background. It is not that common anymore, but some people do dress up in costumes and go outside to continue the party, happily greeting everyone they meet. 

On New Years Day the celebrating continues. On this day it is traditionally to eat pelmini, Russian dumplings with meat inside and to continue drinking. Since New Years Day is the start of a 12-day holiday for most of the country people may continue the party for a few days, visiting friends and relatives to welcome the New Year together.

Here in Omsk our holiday festivities will also include the ice sculptures and lights the city puts up in a park downtown. I am not sure if this is a very old custom, but it seems to be popular now. In Moscow they have a full-blown Winter Festival from December 25th-January 5th, which I am sure is more elaborate. Our little winter wonderland will open on December 26th. We went down there today and it is starting to look pretty impressive with huge ice sculptures, a giant New Years tree, and lights being strung everywhere. Here is a preview of one of the sculptures, more photos to come.

The base for this recipe comes from Kath Eat’s Real Food, a great blog that I stumbled upon a couple of years ago. I loved the recipe, healthier version of a classic baked good and tasted better than the original. But even when something is good, occasionally it is nice to change things up, so I did a little experimenting with the recipe.

Experiment number one was to add just a couple tablespoons of ground flax seed to the original recipe (minus the chocolate chunks). This came out great, but you couldn’t really taste the flax and so I felt it could be tweaked a bit more. Experiment number two was to replace a quarter of the flour with ground flax and to replace the eggs with flax eggs. If you think this was going too far, you are correct. These muffins were almost impossible to get done in the middle, although they did rise the normal amount. Once they were finally cooked they still taste pretty good, but they are very dense for muffins.  So finally, experiment number three was to replace a quarter of the flour with ground flax and keep the rest the same. These came out just the way I wanted, fluffy, but chewy, slight flax taste, but still full of banana flavor.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F or 180 C.

2. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.

3. On a plate or in a small bowl mash the banana.

4. In a small bowl beat the eggs.

5. Add the mashed banana, honey, and almond milk to the eggs and mix.

6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

7. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin or individual muffins cups.

8. Bake for 12 minutes.

Notes:

If you are going to add chocolate chunks like Kath’s original recipe (it is amazing this way) I would recommend taking the honey down to a 1/3 cup.

Watch your baking time, I am currently working with an oven that looks like it is from the 50s and has the temperature settings 1, 2, 3, 4, so I can’t promise that my baking times are exact.

My first week at the theater is complete and it was less overwhelming that I expected. There were of course, the general, new girl, worries like where do I fall in the hierarchy of the company, what are the teaching styles of the ballet masters, where to stand at the barre, but heightened by trying to figure it out in a language I am just learning to speak.

Physically it has not been too demanding. Since I had to spend over a month without any ballet classes, while waiting for my paperwork to be finished (plenty of red-tape over here in Russia too) my Director has been kind enough to not throw me straight into rehearsals. So, I have just been going in for company class and then heading home, pretty easy work schedule right?

Company class here is really about warming up for the day and the dancers are given the flexibility to take the amount they feel benefits them. We begin with a warm-up combination facing the barre, the usual rolling through the feet, some tendus, calf stretch, etc. Then plies one side only with both fourths and fifths, followed by one tendu, one degage, one rond de jambe, one fondu, one frappe, one adagio, and one grand battement, and barre is finished. Center is not quite as fast, but still the class is done in 45-50 minutes.

How quick and condensed the class is, is not the only difference. The way they put together combinations is a bit different than what I am used to, so my brain is constantly translating the language and trying to deconstruct the combinations, so that they make sense to my body. I have noticed that I suddenly have a hard time remembering combination that are not that complicated because it is not the order I want the steps to be in. Because of this, I think it is probably very good for my development as a dancer. Just taking class is forcing me out of my comfort zone and making me examine the way I think about the movement.

Of course coming from America and not being Russian trained, there are some stylistic differences. One of my ballet masters has been quick to start addressing them, so we add to the mix changing the hand to be more held, the arabesque arm to be lower, the hands more lifted in fifth en haut, and the feet closer in second position.  So, far it has mostly been my arms and hands that have been different than what my ballet masters want. It is a challenge to try and alter my muscle memory, but I am excited to learn to move my arms like the Russian dancers do, with such grace and elegance.  

Granola bars are one of my favorite snacks to have on hand for after class, in between rehearsals, or while running errands. They are portable, packed with filling and nutritious ingredients, and delicious. For years I would kill hours standing in the grocery store reading and comparing the labels of granola bars, looking for the ones with the least added sugar and processed ingredients. After a while this got old and I stopped buying them altogether and replaced my favorite snack with nuts and dried fruit. But as tasty as trail mix can be it just wasn't as satisfying as a granola bar, so I started making my own. After a few tries, I settled on a recipe I loved and it has once again become a go to snack for the studio. Now that we are in Russia some of my standard ingredients are a bit harder to find and I had almost resigned myself to drastically altering my recipe. However, thanks to my husband's persistent scouring of store aisles I have everything I need. 

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter and honey until creamy and thoroughly mixed.

2. Then add the egg and beat it in, now the batter should be easier to stir.

3. Now add the ground flax, hemp flour, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda and combine thoroughly.

4. Mix in the coconut flakes, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, and raisins.

5. Fold in the oats, one cup at a time, mixing until they are all wet and evenly distributed.

6. Grease a baking pan, a 7x9 works well, and pour the mixture in spreading it until it is even.

7. Bake at 350 F or 180 C for 18 minutes. 

Enjoy as an after workout snack, grab-and-go breakfast, or healthy dessert! This is a very versatile recipe, so feel free to switch the nuts, seeds, and dried fruit to suit your taste. I would just suggest chopping larger nuts like walnuts before adding them.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about my own look, how it has changed over the past few years, and what I would like it to be in the future. As I think about my own look I can’t help but think about fashion today and all the diversity that exists out there. I am not a fashion historian and I have done little research on the subject, but when I think about fashion’s recent past very particular images pop into my head for the latter half of the 1900’s. And whether these “looks” I recall are right or wrong in terms of history, they are also what the fashion industry recalls with its constant reinventing of past decades. When we look back into the past, with a heavy dose of nostalgia, we are presented with are cohesive “looks”, beautiful, wearable statements of where the world was at that moment in time.

Fashion designers today are constantly redoing the 50’s glamour, 60’s mod, 70’s disco, 80’s material girl, and 90’s grunge. Each decade is remembered as having a “look” and it is that “look” we are told to recreate. I am sure in reality there was more room for interpretation in each of these decades, but there was also a way to be in style and everything else was out. Today everything goes, which is liberating, but to me occasionally frustrating. As the world moves faster, we are all constantly connected by the internet, with a million possibilities and responsibilities before us. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a “look”? Sometime I find myself craving the simplicity of a time when there were a few less options, a nostalgia for the perfect images from the past. Instead we have endless stylish options, which constantly include throw backs to the previous decades. This points to a world that is more individualistic, less conventional, but possibly also less discerning. If style is indicative of the self-image we choose to project to the world, what does it say that currently we are a bit haphazard and constantly romanticizing the past? Why didn’t the 00’s create a “look” and why as we approach the halfway mark of the current decade do we still not see a cohesive style? What is it about the past we are so desperate to reclaim that we keep recreating its “looks?”

Women today cannot desire the restrictions women faced in the 50’s, yet they happily romanticize the decade’s glamorous silhouettes. Not many women today are stepping up to participate in political protest, but the 60’s also have a strong grasp on the nostalgic world of fashion. What is it that people today expect to gain from keeping one foot in the past when it comes to choosing what to wear? The world of fashion used to be constantly innovating, creating the next big trend that would force women everywhere to throw out or alter last year’s clothes or be out of vogue. Now it seems to do nothing but recycle past ideas and present them to the public again. So, are we the public less demanding? Do we not care enough to expect something new and truly creative? I worry that the ambiguity of our style might be indicative of a larger loss of direction. We the generation of the 00’s do not know what we stand for and therefore we cannot formulate a “look” to call our own. So, we blithely pick through the past to put together a collage rather than address the issue at hand, our world seems a bit out of control.

So, as I look around on the street, in shops, at magazines, trying to define my own “look”, or how to say who I am with what I wear, I find myself constantly feeling guilty. I want beautiful clothes, well made, and with innovative designs and often when I find a piece like this I choose to ignore how it was made or where it came from. When I go shopping for food or cleaning supplies or cosmetics, I am constantly evaluating what chemicals went into making it and how they might hurt me or the earth, did the company test on animals, are they fair trade, and the list goes on. I will put a product back if it does not pass my scrutiny, but when it comes to clothes this is not the case. Of course I have my list of excuses to pacify that nagging feeling, I don’t buy things often; I take very good care of them so they last; I don’t have very much money to allot to clothes; I don’t want to only wear hemp t-shirts. None of these excuses are enough, if I care about the earth and my health the way I claim to I should act on it.

With this in mind I began doing some research that lead to a series of conversations with a respected friend, who was doing her own research for environmental groups. One of the groups, Green Works, wanted to publish an environmentally friendly list of places to shop for the holidays. You can find the entire list here, but I wanted to highlight some of the brands I am excited about and recommended for this list.

First, to fill the void in fashion, there is Reformation, a women’s clothing brand devoted to using dead stock and vintage fabrics to minimize their foot print. They have some really cute clothes and next time I am updating my wardrobe I plan to try them out. Another favorite of mine is the Honest co. which originally was started to create products its founders felt were safe to use with their babies. It has expanded to include a whole range of household and personal cleaning products. I have not had a product from them I did not like and I especially like their shampoo, conditioner, and healing balm. All of the companies on this list are stepping up to give consumers a better option. And by choosing to buy from companies like these we can take one step in the right direction and away from the past. 

Moving into the future maybe it isn’t important that our decade have a “look,” maybe at this pivotal moment in time our “look” is our consciousness. We can be dressed in an endless variety of styles that showcase individuality, as long as the people underneath them are making mindful decisions for the welfare of the planet and everyone on it. So, that even if our clothes are looking to the past, we are focused on our future. 

Living in America Andrey and I always tried to be conscious about what we were buying to eat and use in our home. Both because we care about what the process of growing food with pesticides or making chemical laden cleaning products does to the earth, but also because we are very concerned with health. In the past this has meant buying organic food whenever we could afford to, researching to choose companies like The Honest Co. to buy our household cleaning and bath products from. I was concerned that moving to Siberia would mean giving up on this lifestyle and Andrey did not have high hopes for finding health-food stores or environmentally conscious brands. Omsk is a mid-size city, but unlike in America it is unusual for people to have the purchasing power to worry about how their soap was made or if their apple has pesticides on it. We realized that taking the time to care about these things is a luxury that may not have made it to this part of the world yet. However, upon arriving we still decided to explore what options might be out there. 

First we found Товары Востока which translates to Goods from the East, a small store focused on new age self-development. In addition to a large book selection, and eastern and Indian objects, they have a selection of spices and plant oils. We were able to find spirulina, which was a happy surprise and coconut oil. After further exploration Andrey stumbled upon Магазин Настоящей Еды or Health Food Store. While pretty small this store has an excellent range of health foods and environmentally conscious products. They have natural soaps, toothpaste, and hair products as well as laundry detergent and dish soap. They have almost every kind of flour you could think of even some I have never seen before like pumpkin seed flour. They have seeds, nuts, grains, dried legumes, raw cacao, herbal teas, and even hemp protein. They also carry some prepared foods like honey based chocolate from a woman here in Omsk and dehydrated bars from a company in Saint Petersburg. Best of all they are soon going to carry a line of natural nut butters, so far I have found one brand of peanut butter here and it is of course not natural and has added sugar. The store is a very exciting find for us and I am so happy to know we will be able to keep at least some of our customs on this subject unaltered. 

As we move forward building a life in Omsk it will be interesting to see what else we can do to maintain the environmental standards we were so used to in the U.S. For instance there is no recycling program here, so people throw everything into the trash. And after years of careful recycling in America, it is very difficult to just throw paper boxes, plastic containers, and all the other things you know could so easily be recycled into the garbage. I guess we will have to try and think of other ways to reduce our waste production. Let me know if you have any suggestions. 

The weather here in Siberia can be pretty rough in the winter. Andrey and I have been holding out for a nice day with some sun to go downtown and walk around, but then we realized we might be waiting until Spring, so we decided to go for it. 

Where I work, The Omsk State Musical Theater, which is home to the ballet, orchestra, and one of the city's two theater companies.

The view from the theater, a park with a very small church in it. There are many churches in town and they range from impressive Cathedrals to tiny ones like this.

The intersection of the Irtysh and Om Rivers. In 1716 Peter the Great sent a military expedition to explore the area and they build their first fortress here. 

This chain covered in locks hangs right below the cannon. There is a tradition for just married couples to come and put a lock here to represent their love and then throw the key in the river.

Walking back along the river, this sweet statue is situated among the trees. Across the river you can see one end of the main street.

The view as we walked across the bridge towards the old center of town, where most of the businesses used to be located. You can still find a good amount of shopping here, but unfortunately the appearance of mega-malls has taken its toll.

Another one of the city's extremely small, but ornate churches. 

Many of these beautiful buildings were homes in the past, sometimes with businesses on the ground floor. 

Omsk State Drama Theater, home to the city's other theater company. 

Dormition Cathedral is one of the largest churches in Siberia. The original church was blown up in 1935, but the Russian Orthodox Church had it rebuilt according to the original design at the beginning of this century. 

While we were out exploring the city we found Skuratov Coffee, a locally owned coffee shop that is a little over a year old. They have two locations one of which is located conveniently close to my work. I am pretty sure we have found our favorite place to hang out in Omsk. It doesn't hurt that it reminds me of New York.

Skuratov is the only coffee shop in Omsk that roasts its own coffee. They also have a few vegan and gluten free options among their baked goods!

Enjoying a coffee break during our day out in the city. 

It is Thanksgiving morning, but here in Siberia I am probably the only person that feels like today is a holiday. When I got up this morning there was a mini blizzard brewing outside the windows, not an unusual sight here, but it did make me feel in solidarity with my family back home, who are experiencing unseasonable snow. But after a few hours the snow and wind just disappeared and I am greeted with an unusual, but very welcome sight, a blue sky.

Part of me is yearning to put on a big Thanksgiving dinner and introduce my husband's family to the holiday, but as we are not yet in our own home I have decided to make do with a few reminders of the holiday. Since I am a vegetarian and have been since childhood, the usual headliners are not what I love about this holiday. I prefer the side dishes like cranberry sauce, roasted vegetables, and anything with pumpkin. 

So, to assuage the slight homesickness I feel today, I have decided to make cranberry sauce and cornbread, both my mother's recipes. I was hoping to make some pumpkin muffins as well, but pumpkin puree has been very difficult to find here. Pumpkin itself is easy to find, but I have cooked with it a couple times and every time I have been surprised at how light the pumpkin taste is. However, I might breakdown and see if I can make a decent pumpkin muffin from it in the future.

Note: We also make this bread when it is not Thanksgiving and it makes a great breakfast with a couple of sunny side up eggs on top.