Russian tribute day

In honor of the Russians (or just out of irony), I ate Russian foods and listened to my favorite Russian composers. Today for lunch, I made my first borscht, which was creamy and the color of rich burgundy. I did not have potatoes (which were supposed to be cooked with the veggies, separated, and then mashed with cream and added to the soup), but I managed to do a similar thing and made a beet mash with heavy cream. The result was a subtle, sweet, slightly salty vegetable soup that was rich in texture, color, and flavor. I enjoy making peasant dishes that only require simple spices like salt and pepper, because you know that the main ingredients are what make the taste so special.



As you can see, the pot was rather large, so I had enough to feed about 15 people. Good thing I have freezer space!



The color is much easier to see in natural lighting.

After eating a delicious lunch, I met Claire and Claudine (one of Florian's friends from Germany who lives in Bourdonnette near Claire) to go downtown for some afternoon shopping. Claire needed some things for her apartment and wanted a good book for her trip to Grenada. I showed them my favorite used bookstore near le Barbare. I bought a biography on Serge Gainsbourg (born to Russian Jewish immigrants), who was a famous French singer in the 60s and 70s, known for his relationship with Brigitte Bardot. There is currently a movie about his life in all the major cinemas.



We returned on the metro with hopes to do something exciting for the evening. There were advertisements everywhere showing the upcoming OSUR (orchestre de la suisse romande) de Genève concert featuring two of my favorites, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovitch. I invited my roommate Sharon to come along with us; it was her first classical concert, and to our delight, we were able to show her a great symphony experience.



It is very rare to find an artist with such passion for his music. This man was one of the most talented and spirited violinists I have ever seen. The group itself was so well connected, and you could see the waves of their bodies moving in unison to the powerful Russian music. If I had known that student tickets to orchestra concerts were cheaper than movie tickets, I would have gone much more often. This will be the start of a beautiful and musical semester.