Zephyr for dessert
My mother, Mariam, is from Bobruisk. She lost her mother as a teenager. She studied at the Kharkiv Engineering College and there met my dad, Moishe. Before the war, they got married; times were hard, it was not easy to buy and cook food. And no one had taught the young woman how to cook authentic Jewish dishes.
My grandfather Zalman, after the death of his wife, remarried and lived in Belarus. When the Nazis began to bomb Minsk, he miraculously managed to get out of Bobruisk and get to his daughter; then he and my mother were evacuated to Kazakhstan and they returned to Kharkiv after War II. His next wife died, but the grandfather still dreamed of creating a new family. Clara was our new grandmother, and they married and returned to Belarus. Grandfather's wife was a calm and kind woman, cooked good and very tasty dishes, including Jewish dishes. I recall her culinary research, and saliva fills my mouth. It’s unfortunate that my sister and I did not learn how to cook like that!
Grandfather had an only sister named Sarah. For many years she lived alone. The husband died long ago, God did not send children to her. But she baked matzo of very good quality and supplied it to the whole town, receiving small money for that. She was several years older than her brother Zalman.
Therefore, he returned to Bobruisk to be closer to his sister. Grandfather was 72 years old, his health failed a little, but he was a peppy and strong peasant. And then one day, Zalman discovers that Sarah was seriously ill and was in the hospital. After visiting her in the hospital, grandfather was very upset, felt a pain in his heart, and, returning home, died ...
My husband's family also lived in Bobruisk, so we often went there and visited relatives. Aunt Sarah outlived her brother for many years, she still lived in her house, but she no longer worked. She always invited us to visit. And one of these visits was remembered by us forever. My husband and I were students, worked part time, lived modestly and ate.
Before we go to visit Aunt Sarah, we decided not to have a bite to eat. Perhaps, the grandmother will treat something. And that was the right decision!
First, she served us a salad, which we ate with pleasure. After some time, a herring mincemeat appeared on the table, looking very appetizing. It’s clear that we tried it! And then my aunt brings chicken soup with balls of matzo! Well, how not to eat it! The next dish was roast with lamb bone, yummy one! And potato pancakes .I don’t remember what delicacies followed one after another, but our skinny bellies were full to capacity. But not to eat all this was impossible! Cookies with nuts, crackers with vanilla, which they just didn’t serve us with in a Hebrew-compote with cloves! We haven’t been fed like that for a long time! We did not get tired of thanking the hospitable hostess. And at the end of the meal she brings a beautifully packed box of marshmallows into the room! The delicacy looked wonderful and was pale pink. We asked to give us this marshmallow with us, and decided to enjoy the great taste of sweets later when we return home. Aunt Sarah agreed and added that she had been waiting for such an occasion to treat someone. Full and satisfied, we left the grandmother's house.
To our great regret, we were not able to enjoy the taste of marshmallows! Apparently, this box was stored for many years. The marshmallows looked beautiful, but ... as hard as stone!
But that did not spoil our great impression of Sarah's lunch!