Tag Archives: Shashlik

R is for…

For April I’m challenging myself to an A-Z photo a day excluding Sundays and in addition to any regular posts that come to be.

Today is Monday April 21st and we are on the letter R.

R is for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ our Redeemer, our Risen Savior!

Our greater family and friends were celebrating Easter from Washington State, California, Texas, Utah, New York and North Carolina. We had such joyous, meaningful, epic celebrations in our church gatherings and in our homes.

There will be a ridiculous amount of photos to document Easter 2025.

I’m starting with First Baptist Colville and our Colville Kids. Our Pastor’s Easter sermon was exceptional, focusing on why the Resurrection is the keystone of Christianity. God is good. The whole service was wonderful.

We were in charge of our continental breakfast between the first and second service on Easter Day.

Canyon Hills in Bothell, Josh and Laura’s church, had an epic service renting Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett so their very large congregation would be able to worship together instead of having many services.

Laura’s family gathered at Josh and Laura’s for their Easter Meal.

We gathered at Dan and Jamie’s after our church services for our meal and for the Easter Egg Hunt!

JJ and Addy posed as bunnies.

We were able to dodge the rain showers for the hunt.

Our Texas Family attended services at Watermark Church and had their Easter meal of Shashlik (Lamb Shish-kebab) and other goodies at our sister’s home.

Lana got creative and formed her Kulich/Paska (Easter Bread) into a tomb with the stone rolled away.

One of the California gatherings with the more traditional Kulich/Paska (Russian Easter Bread) and the Seernaya Paska (sweet cheese spread).

I stole borrowed some of these photos off of the family texts. It was a full day of Rejoicing!

Today, Easter Monday, will be a rest and recuperation day for me.

 

Who’s Fool Are You?

We were at Trader Joe’s in Spokane on Sunday and they had 20 stem bunches of daffodils on sale for just $2.99. We bought 2 bunches! They are such a happy Spring flower. The trumpets announcing that Easter is coming.

Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for our Hodgepodge questions this week.

1. No foolin’! April is here. What’s one fun thing on your April calendar? 

Our grandson’s birthday is in April and we will enjoy his Batman party with family. JJ’s  party is scheduled on our Son-in-law’s birthday so we will have another double party weekend soon.

2. It’s often said, ‘A fool and his money are soon parted’…what’s the last thing you wasted money on? 

Sometimes my impulses get the best of me. I buy before I totally investigate. A dish rack is going into the garage sale pile. Instead of having a tilt and easy flow of water into the sink, it pools the water in the pan under the rack.

3.  April 2nd is National DIY day. Are you a do-it yourself kind of person or maybe you’re married to one?

I am married to a DIY master. When it comes to major projects, I like to leave and come home when they are all done.

We have a fun mini DIY project happening this week. Our old bird bath bit the dust and we found this lovely solid one on Sunday from a store called ‘At Home’. We are choosing the right spot for it and will set it into place soon.

If so, what’s the last thing you DIY-ed. (I’m going with the ‘Royal We’)

Replacing our water heater was probably the last DIY job around here.

If you’re not a DIY-er what’s the most recent job you had to hire someone to complete? 

I hire out the window washing of our home. They come and complete that job in about an hour!

This year we will probably have our Septic serviced…which is a major job. Definitely a hiring out job with a company that have all the necessary equipment.

Our water hydrants both need replacing and that will be a labor intensive job. Digging is the intensive part. This job will be done by Greg and our son.

4. Do you eat lamb? If so do you have a favorite dish that calls for lamb? 

Yes! I was raised eating lamb and Greg enjoys lamb. Greg did not eat lamb growing up but when we married he was introduced to lamb and is happy to eat it. Lamb was the main course for my family’s Easter meal growing up.

Shashlik is a favorite. You can see what that is by clicking here.

Lambsickles (Rack of Lamb) is another favorite and I enjoyed these recently in Dallas.

Butterflied Leg of Lamb is another way we serve lamb on Easter and other occasions.

A properly cooked lamb shank is very good. I ordered this lamb shank at a Mexican restaurant.

5. Do you fit a stereotype in some way? Explain. 

I used to be a stereotypical soccer mom but now I’m more of the benevolent grandmother. This Baba loves her grandchildren and will do all she can for them.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Here is a sampling of Bible verses about the fool and the foolish and the wise.

Psalm 14:1 ~ The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

Proverbs: 10:1 ~ A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

Proverbs 12:15-16 ~ The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult.

Ephesians 5:15-17 ~ Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Titus 3:3 ~ For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others, and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Easter Week Hodgepodge

Happy Easter Week Hodgepodgers and thank you Joyce for the questions. Find Wednesday Hodgepodge here.

1.What would you say is the most difficult task when it comes to spring cleaning? Have you completed that task this year? Any plans to get it done?

I would say that the most difficult task is washing the windows and screens inside and out. We have not completed this task but we have the window washing guy coming on April 26th and I will gladly pay him to do the task.

2. Your favorite pastel color? Favorite thing you own in a pastel shade? 

I really enjoy the combination of pink and green. My Moss Rose dishes by Royal Albert are a favorite thing that I own.

3. Do you like ham? Do you fix ham year round or is it mostly just a ‘holiday food’? Baked ham-ham and eggs-ham and cheese sandwich-scalloped potatoes and ham-Hawaiian pizza….what’s your pleasure? 
I was brought up mostly Kosher because of a religion my family was part up until my teen years. After we left that religion I enjoyed some pork products, mostly bacon. Dear ate some pork products growing up but not much Ham. These days if we eat pork products it’s mostly bacon and Canadian bacon that would be our go to. We really enjoy Eggs Benedict so that is where the nice round thicker Canadian bacon comes into play. Pork Shoulder on the Traeger for Pulled pork sandwiches is something we enjoy, too. We are not fans of pineapple on a pizza.
4. Do you celebrate Easter? 
Easter is my favorite holiday with Christmas coming in a very close second.
What did Easter look like when you were a kid?
A new dress and white patent leather shoes to wear to church on Easter. A wonderful meal of lamb, rice pilaf and cucumber/tomato salad. Hard boiled dyed Easter eggs that we would crack on each other’s heads. Our mom’s delicious Kulich and Seernaya Paska (Russian Easter Bread with a sweet cheese spread) for dessert.
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What are your plans for Easter this year? 
This year like every year we will attend an Easter service. Our church in Colville has an Easter brunch at church before the Easter service so I will be busy with that since I’m in charge. We will go up to our kid’s home after church for a meal and to watch the Grands on an Easter Egg hunt.

5. Something that makes you feel hopeful amidst all the chaos and confusion this world brings? 

The message of Easter, that Jesus conquered the power of sin by His perfect sacrifice and was raised from the dead which is what makes me hopeful no matter what. I’m a sinner. Jesus died on the cross for sinners. I couldn’t pay the price for my sin but Jesus did. “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” Even though God’s justice demands death for sin, His love provided a Savior who paid the penalty and died for sinners. Christ’s death satisfied the demands of God’s justice, and Christ’s perfect life satisfied the demands of God’s holiness, thereby enabling Him to forgive and save those who place their faith in Him.

Even in the chaos God is in control and we know the end of the story. God will bring us through any suffering we have to go through on this earth and our hope is in our eternity in heaven with Him because we put our faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Easter two years ago.

I’ll be gone all day today so I’ll be late in coming around to visit your Hodgepodge posts.

Tuesdays With Moisi

Шашлык ~Shashlik (Barbecued lamb Skewers)

1 leg of lamb de-boned
3 large onions sliced
Juice from 4 lemons mixed with 1/2 cup olive oil and 4 cloves of garlic crushed.
Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and pepper

Cut the lamb in pieces about 1-1/2 inches thick to 2 inches square. Trim off excess fat. Place a layer of onions in a large pot, then a layer of meat, season with Lawry’s and pepper, then sprinkle with lemon juice oil mixture. Repeat layers until all meat is in the pot ending with onions and lemon juice mixture. Cover and let stand in refrigerator for at least 4 hours or better overnight, stirring occasionally to let all the meat marinate thoroughly.

After the meat is done marinating, separate the meat from the onions. Thread the meat onto skewers, and broil outdoors over hot charcoal embers, turning the skewers occasionally to brown the meat on all sides. Now for the modern method you could use those fish cages to put the meat in and BBQ it on your gas grill. This is a lot simpler by far, but some swear by the old school method.

Serve with rice pilaf and a cucumber, tomato, onion salad.

Growing up when we were part of the Russian Molokan Church I remember the annual all church picnics we had at Brookside Park in Pasadena where there were several open grills cooking this wonderfully marinated lamb. So succulent, so yummy. We’d have rice and salads with it. What a highlight of the year those picnics were! For special family gatherings our pop was the one who marinated and barbequed the lamb or other meat.

It was all about the Son and…

…the sun on Easter Day!

We celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s son early on Sunday morning and then came home to prepare for our Easter meal and the sun shone brightly on us.

I walked about the yard and brought in some color from my Forsythia and Lenten Rose.

We had our traditional lamb barbecue (Shashlik) and sides for our meal. We were so happy the weather was perfect for a barbecue.

I have a confession to make. I did not bake our traditional Russian Easter Bread (Kulich/Paska) this year.
When I was in Italy I saw these in all the grocery stores advertised for Easter and decided to buy one to bring home. It worked perfectly with a texture and aroma very close to Paska.
 

 

Lombardians came up with colomba pasquale (literally “Easter dove”) and its popularity spread throughout the country until today it is an unofficial national Easter bread.There are several stories about its origins. (We have to say “of course” again; we’re talking about poetic Italians, after all.) One version has the colomba dating back to 1176, commemorating the Lombardian victory over Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. During the deciding battle, according to this version, two doves representing the Holy Ghost miraculously appeared on the battle standards.

After our meal we headed out into the sunshine to enjoy some much needed Vitamin D!

For us fair skinned people a portable umbrella was needed to shield our skin from the hot rays! It’s a bit too early for our patio covers to go up here in the Northwest. We usually pull out the patio equipment for Mother’s Day weekend or Memorial Day weekend.

Here we are in April and today I’m checking the calendar to see what’s coming up. We have 2 weddings to attend, one local and one that involves travel the end of the month. We are also getting plans finalized for a 90th birthday party for my parents the end of April. How does April look for you?

 

Shashlik ~ Barbecued Lamb Kebobs

 

1 leg of lamb de-boned
3 large onions sliced
Juice from 4 lemons mixed with 1/2 cup olive oil and 4 cloves of garlic crushed.
Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and pepper

Cut the lamb in pieces about 1-1/2 inches thick to 2 inches square. Trim off excess fat. Place a layer of onions in a large pot, then a layer of meat, season with Lawry’s and pepper, then sprinkle with lemon juice oil mixture. Repeat layers until all meat is in the pot ending with onions and lemon juice mixture. Cover and let stand in refrigerator for at least 4 hours or better overnight, stirring occasionally to let all the meat marinate thoroughly.

After the meat is done marinating, separate the meat from the onions. Thread the meat onto skewers, and broil outdoors over hot charcoal embers, turning the skewers occasionally to brown the meat on all sides. Now for the modern method you could use those fish cages to put the meat in and BBQ it on your gas grill. This is a lot simpler by far, but some swear by the old school method.

Serve with rice pilaf and a cucumber, tomato, onion salad.

Growing up when we were part of the Russian Molokan Church I remember the all church picnics we had at Brookside Park in Pasadena where there were several open grills cooking this wonderfully marinated lamb. So suculant, so yummy. We’d have rice and salads with it. What a highlight of the year those picnics were! For special family gatherings my father is the one who marinates and barbeques the lamb.