Chapter:
RUSSIAN KITCHEN
Traditional Russian dishes
70th page of the section

Traditional ritual and ceremonial dishes
Ritual cookies
"CROSSES"
"Voznesensky stairs"

Crosses (sacrums) are ritual cookies that were baked by Orthodox Christians for many religious holidays, but they were obligatory on Baptism and the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord, as well as on the Cross Worship Week of Lent.

“...On Saturday of the third week of Lent we bake “crosses”: the Veneration of the Cross is coming up. “Crosses” - special cookies, with almond flavor, crumbly and sweet; where the diameters of the “cross” lie - raspberries from jam are pressed in, as if nailed down with nails. So, from time immemorial, they baked - as a consolation for Lent...” (I. S. Shmelev. Summer of the Lord).

Orthodox Christians also begin their first morning home meal on Epiphany (January 19) with “sacrums,” which were supposed to be washed down with holy water. Special personalized cookies were also baked, which the mother of the family marked with certain signs and symbols known only to her. From such “crosses” taken out of the oven, one could find out what cross of life each family member would bear in the coming year.

A well-baked yellow-pink cross promises health, success and prosperity. Cookies with cracks and breaks promise difficulties and changes in fate. But a burnt or unbaked cross predicts illness and sadness. These latter crosses cannot be eaten; they are usually fed to birds.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour, 300 g honey, 2-3 tbsp. spoon of vegetable oil, 100 g of peeled nuts, 1 teaspoon of spices, 1 lemon, 1 teaspoon of soda, raisins.

Grind the kernels of nuts (walnuts, almonds or hazel) thoroughly or mince them, combine with honey, add vegetable oil, spices and finely grated lemon with zest.
Mix the mixture, add flour mixed with soda and knead the dough.
Roll it out, cut crosses with a notch or a knife, put the raisins on top and bake in the oven.
To flavor cookies, you can use various spices: cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, etc., as well as their mixtures.

Ingredients:
1 kg of flour, 25 g of yeast, 125 g of vegetable oil, 1 glass of sugar, 250 g of water, a pinch of salt.
For lubrication: sweet strong tea.

Prepare lean yeast dough, roll it out and cut out “crosses” with a notch or knife.
At the center of the intersection of the bars, press the raisins into the dough.
Grease the cookies with sweet strong tea and bake in the oven.

Ingredients:
250 g flour, 1 egg, 125 g butter, 2.5 tbsp. spoons of sugar, 1 glass of cognac or rum, salt and vanillin to taste.

Combine all the products, knead the unleavened dough and divide it into several parts.
Roll each part into a rope and place them on top of each other in a cross.
Place the cookies on a greased baking sheet and bake in the oven until golden brown.

"Yeast" from potatoes.
Dissolve 100 g of sugar in 1 liter of water, bring the solution to a boil, add, stirring, 500 g of grated potatoes and heat the mass over medium heat.
The resulting jelly is cooled to a temperature of 28-30°C, about 50 g of yeast is introduced and allowed to rise.
The resulting starter is used to prepare dough (for 100 pies - 250 g of starter).
Store it in the refrigerator. It is not yeast that is introduced into the next portion of the starter, but part of the first starter (100-150 g).

Stairway to Heaven:
Ritual cookies
"Voznesensky stairs"

These traditional cookies were prepared as a symbol of "ascent to heaven":
- on the Ascension of the Lord (40th day after);
- on the day of remembrance of St. John Climacus ();
- on Lazarus Saturday preceding;
- on the 40th day after death to facilitate the ascent of the soul of the deceased to heaven.

According to popular concepts, “ladders” made the road to heaven easier and symbolized the spiritual ascent of the soul of the righteous to heaven. At the Ascension, they were supposed to help Jesus Christ ascend to heaven on the fortieth day after his resurrection.

Sometimes ladder cookies were used in rituals to increase the fertility of the earth and as a holy aid in healing the sick.

Depending on the occasion, cookies can be made from lean or fast dough, wheat or rye.

Ladder cookies are cut in two ways:
- roll the dough into long ropes, cut them into the sides of the ladder and rungs, then fold them on a baking sheet in the shape of a ladder (sometimes the “ladders” are made slightly tapering towards the top);
- the dough is rolled out into a layer (usually about 0.7-1 cm thick), cut into strips, side posts and rungs of the “ladder” are cut from the strips and “ladders” are assembled from them on a baking sheet.
Use a brush or shaving brush to lightly lubricate the places where the parts are applied so that the dough sticks together better and the baked products are strong enough.

The dimensions of the “ladders” can be arbitrary, but in some areas the number of “steps” was standardized:
- or 7 - according to the number of the 7 heavens of the Apocalypse,
- or 23 - according to the number of ordeals of the soul in the next world,
- or 30 - according to the number of 30 chapters of the work of John Climacus “The Ladder of Paradise” (“Spiritual Tablets”), which is a description of the “steps” of virtues along which a Christian must ascend on the path to spiritual perfection.

The symbolism of the number "30" used is explained in the preface to "The Ladder" as follows:
“The venerable father wisely decided by arranging for us an ascent equal to the age of the Lord in the flesh; for at the age of thirty years of the Lord’s coming of age, he divinely depicted a ladder consisting of thirty degrees of spiritual perfection, along which, having reached the fullness of the Lord’s age, we will appear truly righteous and inflexible to fall.”

Usually cookies are made with 7 "steps" or less, because... If the size is too large, the ladder cookies do not have sufficient strength.

Sometimes a small “ladder” was baked on the back of the “lark” (called a “sandpiper” in some areas).

Sometimes, elongated filled pies were placed as “steps” between two dough “racks.” In this case, the “ladder” was made large, covering the entire length of the baking sheet, as a tasty loaf for the holiday table. It turned out to be 2 long loaves of bread with pies between them.

In some places, the “ladder” cookie was given the appearance of an elongated flat cake, on which several strips of dough and crossbars were placed; sometimes the applied dough “slips” on a long flatbread were replaced with transverse cuts with a knife.

An open pie could also serve as a “ladder,” which was filled with cottage cheese, sour cream, potatoes or porridge, jam or poppy seeds, and a flat dough image of a ladder was placed on top.

In some places, “ladders” were baked from various types of sweet butter dough, simply as a tasty treat or for tea (“snack”). In this case, they were made from dough with the addition of honey, raisins, candied fruits and decorated with a sugar pattern.

The work belongs to the category of ascetic literature.

Demetrius of Rostov characterizes John’s work as follows:
“The “Ladder” of St. John is distinguished by deep spiritual experience, which is combined with a deep knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. It is a rare thought that the Ladder expresses without illuminating it with a direct or indirect reference to Holy Scripture. John’s work is written in simple, but pure and living language, - expresses a lot in a few words, and therefore is full of power. That is why the “Ladder” of St. John has always been a reference book for monks living in a hostel.”

The work of John Climacus consists of 30 chapters, representing the “steps” of virtues along which a Christian must ascend on the path to spiritual perfection.

The “steps” can be grouped as follows:

Group	steps
The fight against worldly vanity (steps 1-4)	Renunciation of worldly life Impartiality (putting aside worries and sorrows about the world) Wandering (avoidance from the world) Obedience
Sorrows on the way to true bliss (steps 5-7)	Repentance Memory of death Crying over one's sinfulness
Fight against vices (steps 8-17)	Meekness and freedom from anger Removal of memory malice Foul language Silence Truthfulness Lack of despondency and laziness Fight against gluttony Chastity The fight against the love of money Non-covetousness
Overcoming obstacles in ascetic life (steps 18-26)	Eradicating insensibility Little sleep, zeal for brotherly prayer Body vigil Lack of fear and strengthening in faith Eradicating vanity Lack of pride Meekness, simplicity and kindness Humility Lowering the Passions and Strengthening the Virtues
Soulful world (steps 27-29)	Silence of soul and body Prayer Dispassion
The top of the path is the union of the three main virtues (level 30)	Faith, hope and love

“The Ladder” also includes a “special word for the shepherd,” which, unlike the previous chapters, refers exclusively to mentors.

LADDER OR SPIRITUAL TABLETS
Our Reverend Father JOHN, Abbot of Mount Sinai

Content:
Preface to this book called Spiritual Tablets.
Word 1. On renunciation of worldly life.
Word 2. About impartiality, that is, putting aside worries and sorrow about the world.
Word 3. About wandering, that is, evasion from the world.
Homily 4. On blessed and ever-memorable obedience.
Homily 5. About caring and real repentance and also about the life of the holy condemned men, and about prison.
Word 6. About the memory of death.
Word 7. About joyful crying.
Word 8. About freedom from anger and meekness.
Word 9. About memory malice.
Word 10. About slander and slander.
Word 11. About verbosity and silence.
Word 12. About lies.
Word 13. About despondency and laziness.
Sermon 14. About the beloved and wicked ruler, the womb.
Homily 15. About imperishable purity and chastity, which perishables acquire through labor and sweat.
Word 16. About the love of money.
Word 17. About non-covetousness.
Word 18. About insensibility.
Homily 19. About sleep, about prayer and psalmody in the cathedral of the brethren.
Homily 20. About bodily vigil: how we achieve the spiritual through it, and how it should take place.
Word 21. About cowardice, or insurance.
Word 22. About diverse vanity.
Word 23. About crazy pride.
Homily 24. About meekness, simplicity and gentleness, which do not come from nature, but are acquired through diligence and labor, and about wickedness.
Homily 25. About the eradicator of passions, the highest humility, which occurs in the invisible feeling.
Homily 26. About the reasoning of thoughts and passions, and virtues.
Homily 27. About the sacred silence of soul and body.
Homily 28. About the mother of virtues, sacred and blessed prayer, and about remaining in it with mind and body.
Homily 29. About the earthly heaven, or about God-imitating dispassion and perfection, and the resurrection of the soul before the general resurrection.
Homily 30. About the union of three virtues, that is, about faith, hope and love.
A special word to the shepherd, teaching what a teacher of verbal sheep should be like.

For the full text of this essay, see.

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From the history of traditions and rituals

Epiphany This is one of the biggest holidays of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on January 19 in memory of the baptism of Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan. In all cities and villages where there were churches, water was blessed.

This is the third and last big holiday of the Christmas and New Year period.

The main tradition of the Epiphany holiday is the blessing of water. This tradition existed among other Christian peoples even before the adoption of Christianity in Rus' - for example, it was customary for the Greeks to immerse themselves in water on the feast of Epiphany.

Orthodox Christians have long had the custom of bringing home holy water and storing it carefully. This water is considered healing, they drink it, wash their faces with it, and sprinkle their homes with it.

In ancient times, Epiphany was considered a turning point. That evening we hoped for the best, made plans, made wishes. “On the night of Epiphany the sky opens,” people said.

But the Epiphany holiday is not only about bathing, blessing of water and fortune telling. Our ancestors had to ritual baking.

Ritual cooking, partially preserved to this day, retains echoes the most ancient magical rituals.

Collector of Russian folklore I.P. Sakharov noted: “In some villages, the old custom of preparing... animals from wheat dough has been preserved: cows, bulls, sheep and poultry, as well as figurines of shepherds. Animals were displayed in the windows to be shown to passers-by, they were displayed on the table in the morning for the family and in the evening they were sent as gifts to relatives.”

But this is already the enlightened 19th century. And the first mentions of dough figurines are found in Russian chronicles of the 12th century.

Traditional characters - horse, deer, cow, goat, duck, black grouse with chicks in those days, such ritual figurines of animals or birds were hung in barnyards as amulets; later, in line with the Christian tradition, at Epiphany, soaked figurines were added to livestock feed to keep them healthy and healthy. prolific.

Also traditionally baked at baptism Ritual cookies “Crosses”.

Russian peasants believed that these cookies could contribute to a good harvest and the well-being of the farm and family.

On January 18, housewives traditionally bake these cookies. The first morning meal on January 19 for each member of the household should consist of these cookies, which should be washed down with holy water. So the Siberians believed that eating a “cross” gives a person health.

Special cookies were also baked - personalized ones. The mother of the family, when she rolls out the dough and shapes it, marks the flour products: for herself with a raisin, for her husband with poppy seeds, for her son with anise, for her daughter with cumin, or simply squeezes out the first letter of the name with a knife.

These symbols, taken out of the oven, tell what cross of life all family members will have to bear in the coming year.

If the cross is well baked, yellow-pink, then it will give success, health, and prosperity.
You can then seek sympathy, intercession, and advice from the person who received such cookies for a whole year.
If the “cross” has fractures and cracks, then it predicts changes in fate and difficulties.

Figures

I used brioche dough to bake the figures..

Although it would be more correct to use dough for lean baking.

Figures can be formed from a piece of dough, or they can be “cut out” using a stencil. The stencil for the figures can be taken from children's coloring books.

COOKIES “CROSSES”

Recipe

1 cup wheat flour
2 eggs
150g softened butter
100 g sugar
2 tablespoons rum, cognac (I used balm)
Vanillin
Salt
Cinnamon

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Grind the softened butter until white with sugar. Add beaten eggs, salt, vanillin, cinnamon, alcohol. Then add flour and mix quickly. I usually keep shortbread dough in the refrigerator for at least 3-4 hours. Roll out the resulting dough into a layer 0.5 cm thick. Then use a sharp knife to cut strips 2 cm wide and about 8 cm long. You can choose other sizes.

Place the strips in the form of a cross on top of each other. Decorate with raisins. In order for the raisins to stick well in the dough, I made indentations with the cap of a ballpoint pen at the location of the raisins.
Bake at 200°C for about 12 minutes.

DIFFERENCES

SIGNS FOR BAPTISM

If there is a blizzard, snow or drifting snow on this day, there will be a harvest.

There is little snow on the tree branches - don’t look for mushrooms or berries in the summer.

If the stars shine strongly that night, the bread will be good.

If you can't see the stars, there will be no mushrooms.

If there is a snowstorm on this day, the same will happen on Shrovetide; if there are strong winds from the south, the summer will be thunderous.

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR BAPTISM

On a frosty day at Epiphany
You accept the invitation:
Come to a warm home
Let's have tea with pies!

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I hasten to congratulate you on your Epiphany
And wish you purity
All thoughts and all aspirations,
Health, happiness and love!

Fortune telling for a wish come true

The evening before Epiphany, write twelve of your wishes on pieces of paper and place them under your pillow before going to bed.

When you wake up in the morning, take out three pieces of paper at random, those wishes that will be indicated on these pieces of paper and should come true.

Scatter a handful of small items on the table, such as nuts, seeds, etc.
Make a wish and count the number of items.

If their number is even, the wish will come true, respectively, if the number of objects is odd, the wish will not come true.

Crosses (sacrums) are ritual cookies that were baked by Orthodox Christians for many religious holidays, but they were obligatory on Baptism and the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord, as well as on the Cross Worship Week of Lent. Orthodox Christians also begin their first morning home meal on Epiphany (January 19) with “sacrums,” which were supposed to be washed down with holy water. To make "crosses" I use a recipe for cookies with starch. In principle, you can use any Lenten cookie recipe you like. This is how Ivan Sergeevich Shmelev writes about it in his book “The Summer of the Lord”: “Worship of the Cross” is a sacred week, a strict fast, some kind of special one, “su-lip,” - Gorkin says so, in the church way. If we kept it strictly in the church way, we would have to remain in dry eating, but due to weakness, relief is given: on Wednesday-Friday we will eat without butter - pea soup and vinaigrette, and on other days, which are “variegated”, - an indulgence: you can have caviar mushroom, soup with mushroom ears, stewed cabbage with porridge, cranberry jelly with almond milk, rice cutlets with prune-raisin sauce, with sear, baked potatoes in salt - and for a snack there are always “crosses”: remember “Worship of the Cross”. I put frozen raspberries in the middle, someone puts raisins. There is no need to grease the baking sheet.

The veneration week of Lent 2019 falls in its middle. Each week of Lent has a special name, reminiscent of one or another event associated with the holy great martyrs, metropolitans, miracle workers, Jesus Christ himself, the Mother of God and the Holy Trinity.

The names convey special differences in church services and in who should offer prayer and worship. This is also connected with special spiritual instructions, perceiving which Christians must unite in a single impulse, supporting each other in deed and word, let it be reflected only in prayer.

The name “cross veneration” comes from the fact that in the named week, services in the church are accompanied by bows to the sacred cross on which the Son of God was allegedly crucified (“allegedly” means that Jesus was not crucified on each of the crosses in all churches).

This action - bowing after reading a prayer - occurs four times, starting on Sunday, which is called the Worship of the Cross, and then on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Bowing means tribute to the feat of Christ, the desire to follow him, as well as the acceptance of one’s own burden, one’s destiny, which manifests itself every day in everyday life, such seemingly small deprivations in the form of a reduced portion of food and a complete rejection of worldly entertainment.

The meaning of the Week of the Cross lies on the surface. The people have an expression “carry your cross”; it is directly related to the explanation. During Lent, every Christian tries to bear the burden that lay on the shoulders of Jesus during the days of forty days of abstinence. Everyone experiences their own temptation based on their “weak” point. This means that in the middle of Lent, the Christian already knew “his cross” and fully felt all the temptations that accompany abstinence, against which he raised his spirit. This is a kind of act of recognizing one’s burden as voluntary, desired.

Also, the cross is a symbol of a reminder of the death of Christ and the result of the entire fast, after which comes the sacred resurrection. Thus, on the Week of the Cross, everyone can feel inspired to continue their fast, realizing for what purpose and what result they are holding their will in their fist.

When and how will the Week of Veneration of the Cross take place in 2019?

Lent in 2019 will begin on March 11 and last until April 27. There is a slight confusion with the name of the week of the Worship of the Cross due to differences in data in several sources, which requires clarification.

Many of these sources call the 4th week of Lent the Worship of the Cross, which seems quite logical and memorable, given the clue that it falls exactly in the middle of Lent. However, in fact, the name of the Worship of the Cross moves on for a week from the Sunday of the same name, which ends the 3rd week of Lent. Consequently, the week of the Veneration of the Cross is the third, despite the fact that a greater number of services with veneration of the cross take place in the 4th week.

On the mentioned Sunday, the first service with bows to the cross takes place. The next one takes place on Monday, exactly one day later. Also on Wednesday and Friday evening of the 4th week, the last service of the Cross takes place, after which the cross takes its place in the altar.

The veneration week of Lent in 2019 falls on March 31st. On this day, the traditional removal of the cross to the middle of the temple hall will take place, so that every worshiper can bow to the ground before it and be inspired by the feat done by Jesus to continue the fast.

During the liturgy these days, the prayer to the Most Holy Trinity, which traditionally accompanies the service every day, is replaced by the prayer hymn “We worship Your Cross, O Master, and holyly we glorify Your Resurrection,” after which bows should be made.

If possible, you should visit all 4 services. The single voice of dozens, turned into prayer, can create a miracle, especially if our will has weakened under the pressure of routine.

What is necessary for everyone during the Week of the Cross?

2 weeks after the start of fasting, everyone who did not take it seriously returned to their usual food, way of thinking and life. No wonder, because the test of giving up “pampering”, which you can reach with your hand, is one of the most difficult. However, for those who have managed to control themselves, the Week of the Cross serves as a beacon that shows them to continue the path to purification and the great joy of the Resurrection.

But simply knowing your goal, albeit a great one, is not enough; it is necessary to be aware of the helpers who are always at our disposal, within us. They help us overcome the first, most difficult days of fasting, guide us in the following weeks and do not allow us to indulge in temptations and indulgences. This is what we are talking about:

The week of the Cross is not special in terms of meals. Ordinary people who are not monastics can eat twice and three times a day. You should limit the consumption of oil, spices and the amount of food you eat in general. Desirable foods remain: boiled vegetables, cereals, vegetable soups, various salads without pickles and dressings. Drinks: water, compote, decoction of chamomile, mint or other soothing herbs. On weekends, you can add a little oil and seasonings to your food and drink a bit of Cahors.

The lifestyle should continue to be solitary, with no absences from home other than necessary, watching and listening to worldly broadcasts, festivals and guest receptions.

The best thing for the soul would be to attend church during morning and evening services, spending time in prayer and thoughts directed to God. This will inspire and support us on the path to understanding the mystery of the death and resurrection of the Lord, bring us immeasurably closer to the light emanating from Him, and remind us that we must never retreat from the bright path we have chosen.

Larks on the day of 40 martyrs, crosses, ladders and other Lenten baked goods are not just traditional Orthodox baked goods in your home, but also an opportunity to once again get your family together for an interesting activity, discuss the meaning of the festive event, and bring joy to loved ones. And these are the milestones of Lent that are very memorable for children.

How to bake larks?

On March 22, on the feast of the 40 Martyrs of Sebaste, larks are baked. For larks, roll out a small sausage of dough (see recipe below), grease with vegetable oil, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon if desired, roll into a rope and seal the edges so that the sugar and cinnamon do not spill out. Then fold the flagellum into a knot so that one end of the knot looks out like a bird’s head, the other will be a tail. Form a beak and make a cut with scissors to make it look more like a beak. Make cuts with scissors on the tail (there will be feathers) and on the sides of the bird (there will be wings). Make eyes from the raisin halves. Bake in a preheated oven at 180-200 degrees for no more than 15-20 minutes. Don't overdry!

On the Week of the Cross (in 2019 - March 31), cookies are baked in the shape of crosses, with raisins or nuts pressed into the place of the crossbars. On the week of St. John the Climacus (in 2019 - April 7), you can bake “ladders” with an arbitrary number of steps. When to bake what depending on the year - check the schedule of services.

The simplest thing is to use store-bought puff pastry or regular yeast dough. If you want to make the dough yourself, here are some recipes.

Lenten yeast dough - recipes

Lenten yeast dough with dry yeast

At 2 tbsp. flour - 1 tbsp. warm water, 1 tsp. instant yeast, 3 tbsp. l. vegetable oil, 1 tbsp. l. sugar, a pinch of salt. Mix the ingredients and let the dough rise a little. For sweet pies and products, increase the amount of sugar.

If you are baking a pie, then for an open pie and a medium-sized baking sheet we use 3 cups of flour. This dough is simple and tasty, and even on non-Lent days in our family we often bake pies from this dough.

Lenten dough - 2 (with live yeast)

Ingredients: 1.5 glasses of water (warm); 0.5 sticks of yeast (not dry!); 2 tablespoons sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; 3/4 cup vegetable oil (can be from 0.5 to 1 cup); as much flour as you need (about 5 cups).
Dissolve yeast in warm water with sugar, add salt, add sifted flour gradually and at the same time add vegetable oil. Knead the dough, not too dense, soft enough to come off the utensils and hands. Knead well. Cover with a towel, let stand until it rises properly, knead well again. When it rises a second time, knead again, after which you can roll it out.

Roll out not very thin. Allow pies and buns to rest for about 0.5 hour before baking.

To lubricate larks and other sweet products before placing in the oven, use sweet, strong tea.

Lenten pies

The filling for Lenten pies can be very different: potatoes, potatoes with mushrooms, finely chopped pickled cucumbers and herbs, cabbage, carrots, apples.

Pies are good to serve, for example, on Sunday after the liturgy, to once again please the family and emphasize that today is a special, festive day. Or maybe it was name day time for fasting?

Here are some more simple, quick recipes for Lenten baking from ready-made puff pastry - it is sold frozen in stores, usually in the form of a ready-made layer, does not require rolling - defrost and create.

Sweet fruit bagels made from puff pastry

Cut the puff pastry without yeast into small rectangles. As a filling, use slices of apples, hard pears, and in season - unripe peaches, plums, you can add pieces of nuts. Place a little filling in the middle, pinch 2 opposite ends, bake in a preheated oven at 180-200 degrees until golden brown (about 15 minutes). Sprinkle hot bagels with powdered sugar, you can mix the powder with cinnamon.

Sweet open puff pastry pie

You can bake a large pie from puff pastry dough. Spread the dough on a baking sheet, raise the sides, lay out the fruit filling - everything is like for bagels, you can add banana slices, jam (the sides will not allow it to leak out). The photo shows a pie baked on the Feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, so it is decorated with a “palm branch” made of dough.

Pineapple rings

The option is more complicated. You will need puff pastry without yeast, 1-2 cans of canned pineapple rings (depending on the volume and number of rings) and a little starch. Cut the dough into strips about 1 cm wide so that they fit inside the ring. Dip the rings in starch to prevent the juice from oozing out. Wrap each ring with strips of dough through the middle and bake in a preheated oven at 180-200 degrees for about 15 minutes. In the photo, the rings are decorated with strawberries, but it turns out delicious even without them.