The Girl from the Hermitage by Molly Gartland #BlogTour

Galina focuses on the study and returns to the day by the lake. The geese are paddling and squawking. Sveta's cheeks glow in the warm sunlight. The oil paints glisten. Boris is nearby, settled on the blanket. The air is tinged with the scent of feathers and mucky soil. Taking a brush loosely between her thumb and index finger, she gently touches the bristles to the palette and lifts it to the canvas.

The Girl from the Hermitage by Molly Gartland (Lightning Books, out 14 September 2020) is a remarkable debut novel set in Leningrad (St Petersburg).
Its plotline spans from 1941 to the late 1970s and to the 21st C. The novel follows a life story of Galina, an artist and teacher at the Leningrad Art Institute.

We first meet 8-year-old Galya, amidst the siege of Leningrad, barely surviving with her father Mikhail, their nearest neighbour Anna and her daughter Vera in cold, unheated apartments.
Citizens of Leningrad are doomed to death from starvation, with a ration of a 125g of sawdust bread a day, and even that is not always available. Food supplies are so scarce, people are eating rats and make soup from the wallpaper.
Galya's Mum Roza stopped eating so that her child would have more. When she dies, her body is left in a stack of corpses outside the block of flats along the other victims of the siege. These are horrifying scenes of the everyday life in the siege.

Galya's father has worked to save the treasures of the Hermitage, pack and ship them away. Anna persuades him to move to live in the cellars of the Hermitage, where the girls could have school lessons, and where they will have some food.

The director of the Hermitage Orbelli tells Mikhail that one of Stalin's officials, Colonel Shishkin, asked him to send him a portrait artist.
Mikhail tries to refuse, saying he's not a portrait artist, but the director Orbelli insists, "You must do this. He's an important man. If he is happy with the portrait, it will be very good for the museum and everyone here".
It's not a request, but more of summons.
Shishkin is an important official, "part of the establishment and could turn Mikhail's life upside down with a single phone call. He is a man who could unexpectedly issue an invitation to the theatre or to prison and neither would be surprising". It is a sensitive task, which Mikhail cannot refuse. So much depends on it.

Mikhail reluctantly agrees to draw the portrait of the colonel's sons as a birthday gift for their mother. While the rest of the city is starving, the officials like Shishkin have plenty of food. Mikhail resents working for the colonel, but he needs this job to survive. He brings little bits of food for little Galya and her friend Vera - priyaniki (spiced biscuits), apples, leftovers of his lunch. This food is stolen from the colonel's house, with the tacit agreement of the lady who works for the family.

Mikhail is a true artist, "as he paints, he forgets about everything he cannot control. He loses himself, the Hermitage, war and hunger in the viscous paint. He creates a rhythm: palette, canvas, palette, canvas. The brushes keep time, dancing between the two. His mind clears, focusing completely on the portrait. As the figures emerge, a warm sensation radiates from his core... he recognises the feeling, so long lost. It is joy, satisfaction, purpose, endeavour all rolled in one".

And as many Russian artists, he has problems with alcohol (when he has access to it). He drinks to forget the horrors around him, both in the present and the past (his brother disappears in the Stalinist purges, and his name is never mentioned again).

People "disappearing" during the Great Terror is one of the sub-plots, which runs through the book. Mikhail's brother, their neighbours from downstairs and their tragic child, Vera's father who's sent to the camps... Relatives never mention their loved ones who were renounced as the enemies of the people.
This fear and paranoia have been a big part of many lives, including my own family (my great grandfather was shot in 1937 as the enemy of the people - to find out more, read a short post on my old blog - Constant heart).

The finished portrait becomes a catalyst for the events which change Galina's life.

Forty years later, Galina is a successful teacher at the Leningrad Art Institute. She is married and has a son. Her husband spends half of the year at their dacha, which has miraculously survived the war. This old dacha becomes a symbol of the remaining link with her dead parents and the unbroken spirit.

During one weekend, where Galina and Vera gather with the family and friends to celebrate the anniversary of their adoptive parent, she makes an unwelcome discovery. That day she begins painting a portrait of their neighbours daughter Sveta. "Sveta, peaceful and innocent, sits with her hands folded on her lap. Galina wants to capture the freshness of childhood, the simplicity of the moment, the promise of the future".

That portrait would represent the big changes to come in Galina's life, as well as the history of the country.

There is a wonderful backstory of the painting which Molly Gartland bought in Moscow in 1999, and which became an inspiration for the book. Read all about The Bird Girl on Molly's website.

This novel has being an emotional roller-coaster for me, bringing back memories of my own childhood in the Soviet Russia in the 1970s, later transition to the market economy of the 1990s and the birth of the new Russians, who have acquired their wealth by criminal ways.

Like my namesake, I grew up, surrounded by people who created art. I remember how prestigious it was to have your own studio, the long midnight talks in the kitchen where the world problems were discussed and "solved", the long queues for food.
My parents didn't have a formal art education, both were self-taught artists. My Mum, who's in her mid-70s, still paints almost every day, because she cannot live without painting. My late Dad was the most talented jewellery artist.
On the other hand,  I have studied art in the art school, took part in exhibitions and sold my artwork, but I haven't done anything art-related for many years.

This novel is also a bitter-sweet account of how Russia has changed. When old Galina says, "I miss being young, moving without aches and pains, having a decent figure. And yes, I suppose there are some things that I miss from Soviet times... Now, everything is about money. I find it... I don't know - shallow? Before, we didn't have much but we were working for something bigger than ourselves", I tend to agree with her.

The book is well-researched. Even minor details (descriptions of interiors, food, books mentioned etc) are true to life. Garland's talent for observation is exceptional.

In school we learnt of the horrors of the siege. We also listened to the stories of survivors, like a husband of my Mum's best friend's from school. He was a little child during the siege, and spent so many days in bed, wrapped in the blankets against the cold, hardly moving to save energy, and barely alive, that when he was rescued, the tights have ingrown into the skin of his legs.

Molly Gartland creates an authentic setting - the bleak Leningrad of the siege, in its desolation, and severe beauty of its architecture, but also the unconquerable spirit of its people. The novel shines a light into the XX (and  early XXI) C history of Russia, its politics, society and culture.

The Girl from the Hermitage is a moving tribute to the courage and sacrifice of the people of Leningrad, a sincere and deep commentary on the Russian way of life.

Historical note: The siege of Leningrad lasted from September 8th, 1941, until January 27th, 1944. At the beginning of the blockade there were around 2.5 million inhabitants, including 400,000 children. During 871 days of the siege about 1.1 million people died, mostly of starvation and cold.

Purchase Link

http://eye-books.com/books/the-girl-from-the-hermitage 20% off with discount code HERMITAGETOUR. Free UK p&p

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-Hermitage-Molly-Gartland-ebook/dp/B087BZSXN5

https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Hermitage-Molly-Gartland-ebook/dp/B087BZSXN5



Author Bio –

Originally from Michigan, Molly Gartland worked in Moscow from 1994 to 2000 and has been fascinated by Russian culture ever since.

She has an MA in Creative Writing from St Mary’s University, Twickenham and lives in London.

The manuscript for her debut novel The Girl from the Hermitage was shortlisted for the Impress Prize and longlisted for the Mslexia Novel Competition, the Bath Novel Award and Grindstone Novel Award.



Social Media Links – @molbobolly on Twitter

Many thanks to Molly Gartland, Lightning Books and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!

Photo diary: weeks 36 and 37, project 365

Last weekend was super hectic, and I haven't had a chance to do a weekly post of photos, so today it's a double portion of our news.

Walking through the flood fields into town, the Sun was bright, stretching its rays like arms towards the Earth.

Last week I had to write two book reviews. One was for Nadine by John Steinberg, a story of the tragic French ballet dancer Nadine (if you fancy reading my review, see the link above).

We finally watched the Endgame on DVD, and enjoyed it very much. Eddie takes all the Marvel business seriously, and watches a lot of YouTube videos on the merits of different characters, actors' insights and gossip on filming the Avengers.

I have an antique carved wooden board for pryaniki (Russian spiced cookies). Ever since reading the proof copy of The girl who speaks Bear by Sophie Anderson, I wanted to bake some old-style Russian spiced cookies. As Thursday was the official publication day of the book, I baked the cookies the day in advance, so that I could make a post to celebrate the event.

I'm a big fan of Sophie Anderson, and loved both of her books, which are inspired by the Russian folklore, but present a completely unique interpretation.
These are the pryaniki (spiced cookies) I baked the day before.

Walking through the fields, and admiring the red colour of hawthorn berries.

Eddie and I were planning to go to the book-signing event with Sophie Anderson at Oxford on Sunday. She saw my spiced cookies online, and I wanted to bake a new batch for her. I bought a bear cookie cutter in Lakeland, and did a template for a girl. The cookie dough was exactly the same as I used for the bird-shaped cookies. I also used cake pens which you can buy in Tesco. 

This was meant to be a surprise gift for Sophie.

Meeting Sophie Anderson was the highlight of my week. She is as charming, sweet and endearing in real life as she is on social media.
The event took place in Blackwell's book shop in Oxford. It was all about myths, retelling of myths and even creating a new one, involving the ideas from the audience. It was such a fun event, and Eddie and I enjoyed it very much.
We met Sophie's family too, including adorable baby Eartha.
Candy Gourlay, the author of Bone Talk, was the second speaker. It was wonderful to watch these two talented creative women who've elevated the banter to the next level.

Monday: Back to school, back to the prose of life. The day was rather dull and grey. I took the photo of the birds resting on the roof in the town centre, as if they were having an important meeting.

We watched too many Marvel movies, and now see "Marvel" symbols and things around us, like this Hawk-Eye's bow and arrow in the sky.

I found this little gem of a book in the charity shop. This copy of Jo's Boys by Louisa M. Alcott was presented to a girl named Margaret Beckley for Arithmetic standard VI by South Oxford Girls' School Council in July 1926. What a splendid colourful dedication!
There were around ten vintage books, signed by Margaret. It's clearly a collection which has been donated to the shop by the family, who doesn't want these much loved books.

We spotted this funny-shaped cloud on the way home from school.
As we watched the Black Panther the evening before, we thought it does look a bit like a panther.

St Mary's Church is my favourite "model". I take its image in all weathers and seasons, and its spire looks like the guardian of Witney.

It's so warm today, it feels like summer. I suppose, it is the Indian summer. My tomatoes in the greenhouse keep giving plenty of fruit, and I've picked a little bowl for dinner today. They're so sweet and smell lovely.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Pryaniki for Yanka (Russian spiced cookies)

Ever since finishing The Girl Who Speaks Bear by Sophie Anderson, I wanted to recreate one of the Russian recipes and foods mentioned in the book.
Inspired by the Russian folk tales about the human-bear child, flying ship, warrior princesses, evil dragons, Baba Yaga, and talking animals, Sophie writes with imagination and mastery.

This is a story about Yanka the Bear, who is big and strong. She lives with Mamochka, who has found Yanka outside the bear cave.
"I love living with Mamochka. She's the best mother I could have wished for, but I often wonder about the bear. I wonder if she remembers me. Maybe even misses me. I wonder about the bear almost as much as I wonder about my real parents. The ones who must have lost me - or left me - in the forest".
One day Yanka wakes up only to find out that she has got bear legs...

It's a magical tale of self-discovery, self-identity, our uniqueness and differentness, of what a family and friendship, and true love mean to us. It's a beautiful story, and a future classic.

Sophie Anderson did it again, she has created a story of perfect balance. She's a true tsarina of the reinvented Russian folk tales.

Sophie's descriptions of the Russian food always "taste" good.
"Mamochka pours Anatoly a cup of tea with lemon and passes him a basket of pryaniki - soft spiced cookies with a glaze as white as the snow outside".

Pryaniki are the Russian honey and spice-based cookies. The word itself pryaniki is derived from pryanyi, i.e. spicy. They are often glazed, with a nice crunch on the outside, but typically soft inside, unlike the British gingerbread (It always amuses me when the judges on the GBBO complain that the gingerbread should snap, as if the soft gingerbread is an anomaly).

This is a festive food, rich and spicy. The authentic pryaniki are made with the rye flour. You might find lots of recipes online for the Russian spiced cookies, and many of them use the standard wheat flour, mixed sometimes with cocoa powder to add the colour. But do try making them with the rye flour, the taste is very special.

Pryaniki medovye (honey spiced cookies)
Ingredients:
220g honey
2tsp+ mixed spices (ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, star anise)
80g caster sugar + water
450g rye flour
80g butter, melted
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2tbsp lemon juice
1tsp baking powder
120g icing sugar + 1 egg white for icing

In a small pan heat up the honey with spices. Set aside.
Make caramel in a small frying pan, stirring caster sugar with a dash of water. The caramel should be liquid and not too thick. Once dark in colour, set the caramel aside.
Mix the honey with caramel in a deep mixing bowl, then add half of the rye flour and mix.
Melt the butter and add to the dough. Once it is cool to touch, beat in the egg and egg yolk, lemon juice, baking powder and add the remaining flour.
Mix the dough, using hands. If the dough is too stiff, squeeze a little bit more of lemon juice.

Roll the dough on a clean working surface to the thickness of 6-7mm.

To create authentic Russian pryaniki, I used a special wooden carved board. You can use either a carved board for shortbread, or a rolling pin with deisgns, and then cut out the shapes. Or just use cookie cutters, like stars.

If using a board with a carved design, place a piece of dough over the carved design (you need to oil the wood first), gently stamp the dough, and use the rolling pin over the dough, then carefully lift the stamped dough.
Cut out the shapes around the stamped image with a knife. This is how the uncooked pryanik looks.

Place the cookies on a big tray, lined with parchment paper. Put the tray in the oven preheated to 180C. Bake for about 12-15 minutes. The cookies should be slightly browned, and will still be soft to touch. If you keep them longer in the oven, they will be crisp.

Unglazed pryanik

Once all the cookies are cool, prepare the glaze, using the icing sugar and the egg white. Mix them gently together, but don't overbeat, you don't want a meringue.

Using a brush, add the glaze over cookies. Let the glaze set. Ideally these cookies should rest for 24 hours, but in our case, they were flying off the cooling tray even before I managed to glaze them all.

They will keep in the tin for a long time. In fact, in the "olden days" pryaniki would be made weeks in advance of all major holidays and feasts. They just need to be kept in a tin or box with a lid.

In this recipe I used a Raw Wild Flower Bulgarian Honey from Whole Foods. It's a delicious honey, rich in vitamins and minerals. "It is made from the nectar of a wide variety of wild, pollen-rich flowers, which is why it has a distinctive and unique herbal flavour".

A few days ago I applied to the Bloggers Required assignment to test some products from the Whole Foods Online range, and this delightful honey was one of the products I agreed to try in a recipe (watch this space for more recipes to come!).
As I wanted to make the Russian pryaniki, I thought this was the most wonderful coincidence.

Happy publication day to The Girl Who Speaks Bear!

Apple semolina cake

By Monday the boiled fruit cake I baked last Friday was a distant memory. To cheer up my guys after school, I baked a simple semolina cake. I haven't baked it for over a year, if not longer, so had to buy a box of semolina (Whitworth's).

Semolina or manka (aka mannaya krupa) in all guises and disguises is a staple ingredient of many Russian dishes, from a semolina porridge for children (standard in nurseries and primary schools, and typically rather awful) to dumplings for stews and soups, from coating to cutlets to all kinds to cakes and bakes.

If you like random facts about world cuisine, you might have heard of the Guriev kasha, which is a dessert made from semolina, with layers of creamy milk skins, walnuts, vanilla, candied fruit and apricot sauce. It's named after Count Guriev, who was the Minister of finance in the early 19C.
The story tells that Guriev has first tasted this dish at some Mayor's house, loved it so much that he bought the chef (a serf) and his family. The chef's name - Zakhar Kuz'min - was forgotten, while the dessert became known as Guriev's kasha (see V.Kovalev, N.Mogil'nyi, Russkaya Kukhnya, 1990).

There are hundreds of semolina cake (or mannik) recipes on the Russian sites and food forums, each cook has their own "secret" ingredient. The recipe below is very much what we'd cook in the Soviet times (minus the apple rings).

Apple semolina cake
Ingredients:
200g semolina
200ml kefir (or milk mixed with a couple of tbsp of soured cream or Greek yogurt)
3 medium eggs
150g caster sugar
zest of 1 lemon
200g self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder
150g butter, melted
60g apple rings, chopped (or raisins, or a grated carrot)

First mix the semolina with kefir (or milk) in a mixing bowl and leave it for half an hour.
Beat in the eggs and sugar, and mix well. Add the lemon zest, sift in the flour (leaving 1tsp to dust the apple pieces), baking powder, and melted butter, mix well.
Slightly dust the chopped apple rings with flour and mix into the cake batter. It will be quite fluffy and thick.
Oil the cake tin with the oil spray of your choice. I like to use the avocado oil spray, as it has a neutral taste, but plain butter will do (that would be more authentic actually).
Scoop the cake batter into the cake tin and place the tin in the oven preheated to 180C.
Bake for 40+ minutes. Check readiness with a wooden toothpick, if it comes out clean, the cake is ready.
Eat warm or cold, slightly dusted with icing sugar.
You could also do a light lemon icing drizzle over the top.

It's a tasty cake, with a fluffy, slightly grainy texture. Perfect with a cup of tea or coffee.

As mentioned above, you could add raisins instead of apples, or grate a carrot. Or leave it plain, without any fruit or veg.

This cake will keep well for a few days, if stored in a tin.

Shchi for Marinka (The House with Chicken Legs #ReadCookEat )

Russian cabbage soup Shchi takes a place of pride in the national cuisine. According to the historians, this dish was known in Rus long before the Christianity was introduced there (source: Russian Cuisine: Traditions and Customs by V.Kovalev and N.Mogilnyi, 1990). Apparently, Ivan the Terrible was a big fan of shchi (not that it's a great endorsement).
To begin with, most of the soups were called shchi, but later mainly the cabbage-based soups were left with the name.
There are some varieties of shchi without cabbage as well in the Russian cuisine - shchi with sorrel, and with nettles.
There are many versions of this soup, they could be cooked with meat, fish, mushrooms, with fresh cabbage or sauerkraut.
Alexander Dumas loved the Russian shchi so much, that he included a recipe in his culinary book.

I don't often cook Russian food, as my family prefer Italian dishes.
Last week I was reading The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson, and got all nostalgic about the Russian dishes which appear on the pages of the novel.
Baba Yaga is a great cook, and as the Guardian of the portal to the other world, it is her duty to guide the spirits of the dead. She celebrates their lives by providing them with the last feast.

Baba pokes her head out and smiles. "Lunch is ready. I've made a feast of shchi and black bagels. Enough for Jack too",
My stomach rumbles as the smell of cabbage soup and freshly baked bread hits my nose...

Baba is stirring a great cauldron of borsch over a roaring fire. She turns and smiles as I enter the room, an excited twinkle in her eyes. "You look lovely, my pchelka. Are you ready?"
...Baba talks to him softly in the language of the dead, as I fill the table. Bowls and spoons, thick black bread, a basket of dill, pots of sour cream and horseradish, mushroom dumplings, as assortment of tiny glasses and a large bottle of spirit trost - a fiery drink for the dead.

Baba has made ukha from tinned catfish and vegetables...
Tonight we'll treat the desert dead to a fish supper". Baba nods at the table and smiles. It's already laid with kvass and glasses, and bowls of food with a decidedly fishy theme: pickled herring with soured cream from the cold pantry, blinis with smoked salmon and dill, salted dried vobla, and mini fish dumplings...

These are just a few foodie quotes from the book.

I don't know which recipe Baba Yaga used to cook shchi for her granddaughter, but I think she would approve of my vegetarian/vegan mushroom-based soup. I prefer to serve it with a big dollop of soured cream. You can use a vegan variety, but somehow a coconut or soy yogurt would not give you an authentic taste.

Shchi with dried mushrooms
Ingredients:
a pack of dried porcini mushrooms (20g)
white cabbage 500g
1 smaller size onion or 1/2 of a big one
4tbsp vegetable oil
1 carrot, grated
1 parsnip
2 cloves of garlic
1-2 tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 big potato, peeled and cubed

Break dried mushrooms into smaller pieces.
Place them in a pan, pour hot boiling water over them (about a pint or 1/2 litre). Let them soak for 15 minutes. You'll get dark liquid, this will be the base stock for soup.
Finely chop half an onion and grate the carrot, fry them with the vegetable oil until the onion gets translucent. Add 2 cloves of garlic and chopped parsnip. Remove the mushrooms from the pan with a slotted spoon and place them in the frying pan, fry for about 5 minutes, stirring.

Put the mushrooms and veg mix back in the pan with stock and bay leaf, add more water, bring to the boil, add the finely chopped cabbage, cook for a few minutes on boiling, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the cubed potato in the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Season with sea salt.
Serve hot, with a good spoonful of soured cream or Greek style yogurt, but this is optional.

In this recipe I used dried Boletus Edulis Borowik Szlachetny also known as porcini. I buy these dried mushrooms in the Polish deli, and they are usually a half of what you'd expect to pay for porcini in supermarkets.

If you liked the sound of the Russian soup shchi, you might like to see the other recipe posts on Russian soups, mentioned in the novel.

Mama's Borscht (meat-based)

Vegetarian borscht

Ukha on a budget (made with a salmon head)

Ukha (fish soup made with tinned fish)

Marinated (pickled) herring

Curd cheese cake with white vanilla chips

When I'm stressed, I bake, it's my way of coping with problems. The last night I couldn't sleep because of the blinking mouse under the bed. I could hear it rustling the papers, and actually saw it running in and out. I managed to nod off around 4am, but by 6am Sasha was already up.
I can't lift the bed, as it's very heavy, it's one of those boxed double beds.
We haven't had mice for a long time, so I need to rethink what to do about the problem. We live in a very old house, and I imagine there's plenty of space between the wooden floor boards and beams where they can live happily ever after.
Sasha is also not in a good mood, as he wanted to go out today. He spread out several picture symbols for me - walk, cafe and books (bookshop), but as his father is not here, I cannot take him out.

Last week I bought a pack of Polish curd/cottage cheese, thinking of baking a cake of some sort.
Curd cheese is a very popular ingredient in Russian cuisine, there are so many cakes and bakes which use it.

Curd cheese cake with white vanilla chips
Ingredients:
400g curd cheese
150g butter, softened
200g caster sugar
1tsp baking powder
zest of 1 lemon
4 medium eggs
2tbsp corn flour
250g self-raising flour
50g vanilla chips (Hershey's Premier white chips, vanilla flavour)
1 pack of cheesecake spice mix (optional)
a bit of vanilla (optional)
4tsp icing sugar + lemon juice for a thin icing

Grate the zest of 1 lemon in a deep mixing bowl.
Beat in the eggs with the caster sugar and softened butter, add curd cheese, baking powder, flour, corn flour, vanilla, spice mix and and mix well. Last end the vanilla chips, and mix them in well.
The cake batter is quite thick. Spoon it carefully in a well oiled cake tin. Put the cake tin in an oven preheated to 180C for 50+ minutes (depending on the size of the tin). Check with a wooden toothpick if it's ready. You might need to lower the temperature and bake it for another 10 minutes, until the skewer comes clean.
Once the cake is cooling out of the oven, mix the icing sugar with lemon juice to reach a not-too-runny consistency, and spread it on the top.
Serve warm or cold. It will keep well for a couple of days in the fridge, wrapped in foil.

In this recipe I used a pack of Polish curd cheese - twarog, which is more grainy in comparison to the British curd cheese brands, and comes as a block rather than in a tub. The one I bought is called Twarog Tlusty (curd cheese, full fat). It is very similar to the Russian type of cottage/curd cheese I remember from my childhood.
The spice mix Kamis Przyprawa Do Sernika I Mas Serowych was another of my recent finds in the local Polish deli. This is the first time I've used it. It is a mix of sugar, vanilla, lemon and orange zest, cardamom and flavoring.
You can easily swap it for a mix of vanilla, cardamom and lemon zest.

Traditional curd cheese cake would include raisins soaked in sweet wine or tea, or/and sometimes dried apricots, also soaked and then chopped. Some cooks like adding mixed peel, or whole almonds.
Again the ratio of curd cheese to flour could vary from 50/50, to almost zero flour (just a couple of tablespoons). I used an almost double amount of cottage cheese to flour.

Vanilla chips are not found in traditional Russian recipes, but my guys do not like raisins in baking very much. Milk chocolate chips could be another possible ingredient.

Frylight Avocado Oil Cooking Spray was one of the products in the latest Degustabox food box. I use this oil, as well as the other in the range - Olive oil and Coconut oil - to spray the cake tins. I find them all useful for baking, as you can coat the inside of the tin evenly. They are particularly great for fancy bundt cake tins.

Since I used the remains of the corn flour and vanilla chips, as well as the jelly decorations, I'm adding this recipe to the #KitchenClearout linky hosted by Cheryl at Madhouse Family Reviews blog.

The house with chicken legs by Sophie Anderson

The Russian folklore and fairy tales have been a source of inspiration for many modern story-tellers. From the recent ones, The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell, Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden, Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter spring to mind.

The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson (Usborne Publishing Ltd) is a captivating magic tale, based on the Russian folklore, and particularly stories of Baba Yaga.

I enjoy reading young adult fiction. Browsing new paperbacks at Waterstone's recently I couldn't resist the beautiful cover with the oh-so-familiar from books and films of my childhood image of the house with chicken legs. Elisa Paganelli's illustrations deserve a special mention, they are an organic part of the book.

This is an inspired re-invention of the Baba Yaga image. Baba Yaga of the Russian tales is an ugly scary old woman, who kidnaps (and eats) children and often tries to mislead the main heroes on their quest. Sometimes she shows a kind side, and shares her wisdom, and even gives a magic gift to the brave hero or heroine who visit her. She lives in a house with chicken legs. Baba Yaga is not your benevolent granny who wants to help you, out of a kindness of her heart.

That's why the re-telling and re-imagining of the Baba Yaga story by Sophie Anderson is intriguing. Her Baba Yaga might look the part, but she is a wise woman, who helps the dead and guides their spirits into the next world.

The story is told by Marinka, Baba Yaga's grand-daughter, a spirited and feisty girl, who dreams of being normal and making friends.
Marinka and her Baba live in the house with chicken legs, which has a mind and soul of its own. It is the house which makes the decisions on when and where to travel next. The house is a live organism which adapts to the wishes and needs of her adopted family.
When the souls of the dead arrive in the night, the house opens the Gate, i.e. the portal to the other world, for them. Baba and Marinka are there to celebrate the lives of those who pass through their house.
When Marinka was little, the house would play tag with her, build dens and playpens for her, tickle and make her laugh.
She knows her destiny is to become the next Guardian, just like her Grandma, but oh boy, how she resents it. She hates the idea of guiding the dead for the rest of her life, and tries to fight her destiny.

Marinka is feeling lonely, despite the love from her Baba, the house and her companion, jackdaw Jack.
She is delighted to meet a boy called Benjamin, and adopts a baby lamb. She craves human interaction, and wants to be friends with two girls, Salma and Lamya, who show her the nasty side of the human beings. And then there is Nina. Nina is dead, and she doesn't want to enter the next world, Can Marinka keep her friendship with the dead soul a secret? Sadly, this secret will bring on a great disaster.

This original story explores the difficult themes, like death and bereavement, and the meaning of life.

Will Marinka be able to break free?

In the last couple of years there's been an explosion of books about women who inspire us and rebel girls. Marinka will easily fit into the rebel girls category. She's a fighter, smart, stubborn, loyal and passionate. An ultimate heroine for modern times.