In which Amanda learns how to completely wing a recipe :D

Tuesday. 7:11 pm. A fairly normal day of classes (and no homework! Hurrah!) culminates in something far more exciting: Amanda learning to cook! Those who know me back home are well aware of my (not entirely deserved) reputation for the ability to burn a salad. HOWEVER, Lyudmila Afanasyevna is determined to change that before I go home. She’s also not getting home for three hours yet, so I present to you the following challenge:

Blini,
By myself,
From scratch,
On a gas stove,
With no measuring utensils.

Seriously, I can’t find a single measuring cup or spoon in the apartment. But, if my host mother manages it, so can I, right? I have Billy Joel on my computer and some fried potatoes and kielbasa to keep me company, so we’ll see if I can’t surprise Lyudmila Afanasyevna (pleasantly!) when she gets home.

…okay, this may not be happening at all if I can’t find the flour. Rows of vertical storage are very efficient in a small apartment, but good LORD, these cabinets are high! And my host mother is a good two inches shorter than I am! I don’t know how she manages! I have half a mind to call one of my tall guy friends to help me get some of the ingredients down.

Okey dokey! Found the flour. I think. Now, to break out the dictionary and make sure.

I’m completely winging it on the measurements here, but I don’t think that “batter should be thin” meant “batter should be frothy.” More flour!

One down, many to come. Katya warned me that the shape takes a while to get right, which is so true. It’s a little thick, and it doesn’t look like an actual blin, but it tastes like one. Go me!

…lesson to Amanda: cast-iron skillet handles are HOT.

About eight blini into the process, I think I’ve finally figured out the secret to the thickness! Don’t actually measure the batter with a large spoon; pour it into the pan from the larger bowl and spread it around with the spoon. They’re still coming out just a bit brown, but they’re certainly not burnt. Oh, and don’t bother refreshing the vegetable oil until you literally can’t get the blin off the pan. Too much oil means you can’t spread the batter.

It’s snowing! I feel like part of a Thomas Kincaid painting, except for the whole laptop bit.

8:20 pm. Success! From a recipe off the Internet and without measuring anything, I have a plate of nine successful blini, plus two remarkably unsuccessful ones that I’ll eat. Granted, the recipe was supposed to make more, but it took me most of the batch to get the thickness right. I took a few next door to Erica for a second opinion, which was quite positive. I’ll try again later in Maslenitsa. :D

10:00 pm. After a second batch, the ultimate measure of success: Lyudmila Afanasyevna’s approval. :)