A map

This is a map showing where Rezina and Ribnita (Ribnitsa) are in location to one another. They are very close to one another, just a river separates the two.  Rezina was Romania and Ribnita was Russia.

The beginning...

Going to Babashka's for a Sunday lunch is always nutty.  People screaming, arguing, talking about inappropriate subjects is the norm.  However, I am happy to say we finally began asking Babashka about her life, and she began from the beginning.  Here is the transcript thus far (translated into English as best as i can).  Also, it gets confusing at times and I tried my best to edit a bit in order to make it more clear.  There was a lot of chatter, interrupting, and the usual.

Babashka: My mother's last name was Katashiner and her three brothers moved to America when they were young boys, 1912 or 1914, before the first world war.  They came to America and all the boys went to America so they didn't have to go away to the army.  And they came to America, last name Katashiner, it's a long last name.  They became Kushner in America, an American name.  (Then family goes on to discuss all of their friends whose names were changed once they came to America)

Mom: tell us about the war
Jessica: from the beginning, day 1
Babashka: let me finish my Borsht!
Jessica: how old were you..
Babashka: let me eat

[Babashka finishes her Borsht and I ask many questions.  Much interrupting ensues]

[First day].... I wasn't home.  We were on vacation in Ribnetsu.  There is Rezina and Ribnetsu.  One side there is Romania (Rezina) and another side was Russia (Ribnetsa).  Ribnetsa was Russia and the border was closed because they freed us (Ribnetsa) 1940 before the war.  The Russians came and freed us, our part of Romania from the Romanian bad guys.  You were not allowed to go from Rezina to Ribnetsu, but you were allowed to go to Ribnetsu to Rezina. 


We lived in a house and had our own store with a toilet in the backyard.  We went to banya to shower and get clean.  I don't know what our parents did.  Eating there was better than what we had in America, all organic food.  So when there was vacation after school, our relative came and he lived in Ribnitsa.  He (my great uncle) came and took me and my brother, my brothers grandfather.  So we went there on vacation and were in Ribnitsa relaxing, playing.  There were lots of kids like us there. 


And then all of a sudden I heard, I was 10 years old, they were saying "war, war" and I didn't understand what that meant.  There was no radio then.  People were just saying that they announced a war.  So then planes were flying and there were bomb,  and shooting happened and everyone was crying and screaming and I went....there were boats and right when they announced the war, they closed the border and didn't allow people from Ribnitsu to Rezina.  We lived closer to Germany and there was a bridge that went from Ribnitsa to Rezina, we wanted someone to take us and bring us to the other side, but no one let us, no one would help us.  I remembered how hard I was crying and thought I would never see my mother again, and now I understood that a war was really bad.  And lots of people were crying and screaming and I just wanted to go home but I couldn't go home.  I remember going to people walking around and saying in Yiddish, "I want to go home" and crying and asking and no one would take us.


And after, my cousin who lives in Philadelphia now, she lived in Rezina with my parents and her boyfriend worked in Rezina, and was able to go to Ribnitsa.  So he was able to come take us and bring us home.  So he took us home, Fima, and we didn't sleep at home anymore.  This happened like two days after they announced a war.  When we came home, over the bridge, our whole village was on fire.  Like in a movie.  And we had grapes that we were growing, and our parents took us and we slept and hid in the grape vines.  The next day we came home, everything is on fire, bombs flying, mother took some shamta and threw it in a bag.  And we went to the border and an evacuation began and they opened the border and we were allowed to go through Ribnitsa to go to Russia (from Romania). 


And we moved there, and my sister's father lived there (aunt Miriam).  She lived there all her life and my dad never saw her for 22 years and he didn't see her because he lived in Romania and she lived in Russia.  He lived in Russia because he was a soldier when there was the czar's army.  [She talks about Russian history in relation to the Czar time and leningrad and how Romania was part of Russia at one point, etc.] My relatives lived in Russia and when the war started we went there, she lived in a village-Kolhoz (and she was killed by the Germans later on). 


We went on a horse and got there at night, bombs flying, rain pouring, thunder.  We didn't know if it was thunder or bombs, it was all together happening at once. We thought after two or three days ....everyone ran away with anyone they could run away with.  One of our friends went on a soldier's tank and got out that way.  Some people walked, on trains, people just ran away from the Germans anyway they could.  And we thought we would only stay two to three days and the war would be over, we had no idea it would be 5 years.  And we got there at night and my aunt was crying, "My favorite brother..i have not seen you in 22 years".  So many tears, they didn't know if one another was alive all that time.  We were there for 3-4 days and ran further away. 


They (my aunt) didn't run because they didn't understand, they thought the Germans would not touch them.  They were older and were in a ghetto, and their son and them survived, they didn't really kill Romanians then.  The Russian army helped them escape, my aunt said Ukrainians saved them, they helped them hide.  Her son, Alosha, was sick with Teef (tifus).  Many people were dying from this.  They wanted to kill him since he was basically dead and were taking out all the dead people.  The Ukrainians put him with the dead and were able to get him out to escape that way, and he survived. 


The older son was on the army front, and he was able to become a general, and he got through the entire war and when they finally freed Odessa he found out his sister, Gita, they had a lot of kids... there the Germans killed Gita and tortured her.  When the general returned to Odessa he wanted to know who killed his sister.  After the war, he was a General and they told him that there were such evil Ukrainian guys and they were the ones who killed her, and he just took out his gun and shot a bunch of Ukrainians.  They sued him, but he never went to prison because he was a general.  He would come to us to Lviv.  Many generals were Jews during the war.  They didn't say so, but after in America you found out how many generals were actually Jews in the war.

[And then Dedashka goes on to discuss Purim and what it is about]  

So we left off at Babashka, escaping from her aunt and uncle.  There is a lot more of the story to be heard...

Syrnaki (farm-cheese pancakes)

These are like the mother of Oladashkee. They are comforting, voluptuous, tender, and filling. Too much of them and you may feel nauseous. I love these cheesy sweet pancake type thinga-majigers. They are good for breakfast or as a snack. With some jam or sour cream on them or plane is good, too. I remember my grandma bringing these to the beach wrapped in paper towls, whether cold or hot they were always scrumptious. Biting into the soft cheesy texture feels very comforting, just like a mother :)               

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 contained of farmers cheese (or cottage cheese)
• 1 egg
• 1 tspn sugar
• pinch of vanilla
• 2 tablespoons of flour
• handful or yellow or brown raisins (if you want added sweetness)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix all ingredients together
2. Form balls of the batter (tablespoon size, 1/2 inch thick)
3. place balls on medium heat and fry on lightly coated pan (with vegetable oil)
4. when one side is golden brown (3-4 minutes), flip and repeat

My Babashka

This is my Babashka. Her name is Charna, last name Kaplan. Before it was Roitman (I think i spelled that right). Anyway, her life is beyond fascinating and not always in the happy fascinating type of way. But her life was real and everything she underwent was mind boggling. What's even more gripping is her memory. Her translucent long term memory is a trait to desire. She remembers absolutely everything, and I mean the specifics of every interaction, room, clothing, smells. You get the point. Therefore, I will use her memory to describe her stories, her life. This will be the medium she uses to tell her stories, her life....

I think this was me at like 12 at her apartment? maybe? Digging those glasses and braces.

Us at my college graduation

Russian Pancakes- Oladushki

I remember eating these ever since I could remember anything in my life. I would eat these anywhere and everywhere. My boldest memory is my grandma shlepping a container of these little pancakes to the beach. After swimming in the ocean and running around, these were the perfect little snack I needed. These remind me of summer so much because every since I was 2 I would spend my summer's in Brighton Beach eating these delicious pretty golden pancakes. I could eat 5 in under a minute-I devoured them. They are light, fluffy, and fruity pancakes that have a refreshing aspect to them-very different than your IHOP version. They don't weigh you down nor do they make you feel like a slob. They may be similar to the American counterpart, but for some reason taste and feel so different to me. For me, I smile and feel as if I am a little kid when I eat them, they bring back my Russian summers.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup of plain yogurt or greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 egg
  
• pinch of vanilla
• 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
• 1 apple, chopped
• 1/2 cup of buttermilk

DIRECTIONS:
1) Mix 1 cup of yogurt, egg, sugar, and vanilla
2) Add 2 teaspoons of flour and 1/2 cup of buttermilk and mix to "sour cream" consistency
3) Put apple in and mix
4) Coat pan with oil and take 1 tablespoon and put on the pan
5) Put a few pancakes on pan at one time
5) Cook on low and flip once side is golden brown
6) serve with sour cream, applesauce, or jam

Sweet and Sour Eggplant Salad (Seen-een-kee)

I can eat a whole jar of this. Seen-een-kee, at least that's what my babashka calls it. It tastes like Morocco in my mouth. Slime like-yet full of texture, tomatoey-yet an explosion of flavors in my mouth, comfortey-yet I can eat this on a sweltering summer night. So when I called my babashka to retrieve this "recipe" she quickly uttered, "no way will you be able to make this". Of course I stubbornly replied, "yes i will-just give me the recipe." Looking back I realize why she believed I would fail at replicating this dish. There is no recipe! During our conversation, she frequently stressed that she eyeballs everything and has no idea of exact serving size, ingredients, portions, etc. I had a conundrum-how would I be able to make mine taste like hers if there was no recipe? Well this is what I got out of her for now...I'm sure when I decide to tackle this recipe, I will need to alter it in order taste like hers. But here it is: Babashka's infamous Seen-een-kee that I always BEG her to make and always am happy to take home (unlike other foods).

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large eggplant or 2 smaller eggplants, chopped into medallions
• 1 onion slivered
• about 1 tspn sugar
• about 1 tspn sour salt (never heard of this in my life)
• 1 can of tomato juice (small?)
• all purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:
1) Sliver onion and place into frying pan lightly coated with olive oil. Saute the onions. (low heat)
2) Chop eggplant and add a pinch of salt
3) Coat each side with flour (lightly)
4) In a pot, fry the eggplant on lightly coated pan with olive oil (low heat)
5) Mix the onion with the eggplant
6) Put salt and sour salt into tomato juice. Flavor to your liking of sweat and sour.
7) Pour tomato juice into pan and cover the pan.
8) Mix veggies periodically in order to not burn
9) Cook until soft and let it simmer

Babka (kugel)

My grandma has always called it "Babka". However, it is also called Kugel-its Jewish twin moniker. I have always loved eating this at my grandma's. I was never one to complain eating dessert for dinner. It's a sweet luscious gob of mushy noodles swimming in your mouth. I always lust for more..

INGREDIENTS

• Package of egg noodles or vermicelli (Vermisheli in russian)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon butter or soft cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• handful of raisins

DIRECTIONS

1) Boil water, add a pinch of salt
2) Cook noodles until soft
3) Drain noodles
4) In a bowl-mix egg, noodles, cinnamon, sugar, cream cheese/butter, raisins
5) coat thinly frying pan with vegetable oil
6) poor noodle mixture in and cook on low for 5-10 minutes
7) To flip place a plate on pan and flip, put other side on frying pan
8) cook 2nd side for 5-10 minutes