Lunch Lady Land

One of the best parts of my working days during the week is heading to the university "canteen" for lunch:

(Apologies for the crap-tastic point-and-shoot pics...as soon as this was taken, the lunch ladies were all over me wanting to know what I was going to do with the photos and their reputations...I had to convince them that, yes, I really did like their food and, no, I wasn't some kind of American food spy)!

As Ukrainians don't really go out to eat much (unless it's ethnic food: pizza, Chinese, Japanese, Turkish, McDonald's, etc.) and usually have their grannies at home to prepare delicious and traditional Ukrainian dishes, eating at the canteen is the closest I've come to homemade Ukrainian food!

And, for between US $1.60-$2.50, I usually get a tray that looks like this:

The meal usually consists of a salad:

And ALWAYS includes borscht (hearty soup made with beet-roots) or some other soup (hot and cold varieties):

Along with a main and side dish (usually consisting of some kind of meat or fish, with potatoes, sauerkraut, macaroni, grilled veggies, etc.):

A choice of breads stuffed with sauerkraut, farmers cheese, or apples:

And a dessert (my favorite, syrnyky, a fried fitter made from farmers cheese and served with soured cream...just slightly sweet and oh so yummy):

I'm heading to Ukraine's capital of Kiev in a few weeks where I'll be sure to stock up on the Ukrainian cuisine photos to share with everyone! Until then, you'll find me and my friends down at the ol' canteen!