How do you say "Yum" in Russian?

Sunflower fields in full bloom are magnificent.  In Ukraine, they're everywhere.  Graceful stalks of green crowned by yellow-fringed brown orbs wave gently in the breeze, turning their luminous faces toward the light.  I never realized Ukraine grew so many sunflowers, but, apparently, sunflower seeds are considered the national snack.  The plants are also used for producing sunflower oil. 

Ukraine is often considered the bread basket of Europe.  Rich soil readily grows all kinds of produce.  I wasn't in the country long before I knew this first-hand.  Farmer's markets were everywhere.  Fresh produce was abundant.  I tasted some of the best tomatoes, watermelons, cucumbers, potatoes, apricots, corn, plums, and melons while there.

In the last village we visited, multiple apricot trees graced the grounds near the church (which was a bright pink color :)).  The little orange fruits were fully ripe and were falling from the trees, creating a mushy carpet beneath the sprawling limbs. 

Luba, one of the translators, immediately went about collecting in-tact fruit from the ground.  Such an  activity seemed automatic for these people.  It was not the first time I had seen one of our translators reach for fruit from a random village tree.  A few days earlier, my translator, Anna, plucked a petite pair from a tree and handed it to me to enjoy.  It should be the most natural thing in the world to eat fruit right from any ol' tree, but for some reason, I felt hesitant.  It was just a bit foreign to me. 

One of the apricots that had ripened near the pink church was offered to me.  Brushing the dirt off of the fuzzy skin, I sank my teeth into its flesh and was greeted with a burst of flavor.  I had never eaten an apricot that was so tasty!  If you look closely at the photo to the right, you'll see hundreds of apricots in this tree in addition to a village boy who had climbed up high to harvest them.

A couple of the Ukrainian woman with us gathered a huge pail of fruit from the tree and paid the man who owned it.  I was so intrigued!  How fun to be on a little day trip, and, on a whim, harvest enough apricots to make a gallon of apricot jam!  These Ukrainians know how to live!

Another very common sight were grapevines.  Often, there would be a carport-like structure next to a village house.  Growing on the iron skeleton would be luscious grape vines.  Picture-perfect clumps of grapes served not only as a means of food but of decoration as well.  I never had the pleasure of trying these grapes as they were only just beginning to ripen.  That's not to say that I wasn't tempted to reach up and pull them from their shady home. 

Not suprisingly, we had no shortage of amazing food to eat while in Ukraine.  In addition to a wide variety of fresh produce, Ukraine is known for its love affair with borscht, a soup that has many varieties but usually contains beets and other vegetables.  On the three village days that we were fed by local Ukrainian women, we were fed borscht.  I loved it!



One day, our hostess served us huge bowls of the steaming soup.  After putting a dollop of homemade sour cream on top and grabbing a slice of homemade bread, I devoured the goodness.  It tasted even better as we sat outside under the shade of a huge tree and listened to the testimony of the village pastor.  Thinking that was all we would be served, I chowed down on the soup and helped myself to more homemade bread.

When I had finished my bowl, the sweet hostess pulled it from in front of me and returned with a steaming bowl of potatoes and chicken.  The bowl was filled to the top and it was a papa-bear-sized dish.  I felt a bit overwhelmed.  I was nearly full, but I didn't want to disappoint my hostess or give her the wrong impression, so I ate as much as I could.  The food was so fresh and so delicious that I wished for a second stomach.  After eating half the portion, I knew I had to stop the feasting.  Turning to my translator, I asked her to apologize profusely for my inability to finish the portion, but to tell the hostess how much I loved the food. 

I'm pretty sure I gained a few pounds over the week in Ukraine.  The food was so plentiful and mouth-watering and both our Ukrainian and American hosts and hostesses lavished it on us at each meal.  I can give personal testimony to the fact that this land really is the bread basket of Europe.  Yum!