But lets go back to breakfast. Kasha (porridge) is another traditional dish for breakfast in Russia. You will find it on the table more often than sirniki or blinchiki because its much simpler to prepare. Not only porridge is popular but also cereal made from other different grains. Usually breakfast is accompanied with a cup of tea. Dinner consists of several courses. From the times of Soviet cafeterias its common to call them first course, second course and third course. First course is a soup. Second course includes meat and garnish. A drink in Russia is called third course. Its usually tea, coffee, juice or compote. Sometimes third course includes a dessert. The official time for dinner at work is usually from noon till 1 oclock PM. At home, for example on the weekend, dinner is usually later – at three or four oclock PM. All family gathers together for supper and this is probably the longest and the nicest meal of the day. Supper usually starts near seven oclock PM and can last for some hours. They discuss the latest events at the table and members of family share their emotions with each other. Guests are usually invited for supper. At supper you have a wonderful opportunity to discover Russian cuisine.

So what do Russians eat? At first shi of course. Shi is a soup made from meat, cabbage, carrot, potatoes, tomatoes and onion. Add some sour- cream to it and youll get a delicious taste. Thats something that helps Russians to warm during the cold winter. Maybe many people havent heard about shi before, but everybody knows borshch. In fact borshch is shi with beet. Thats the main difference between these soups. Borshch is more often related to courses of the Ukrainian cuisine. Another dish of Russian cuisine containing a lot of ingredients, which at first sight dont seem to suit each other, is okroshka. The word okroshka comes from the verb kroshit that in English means to crumble, to cut. So the name of the course speaks for itself because during its preparing many kinds of products are crumbled & cut.

The base of the course is kvass. Kvass is a traditional drink in Russia itself. Depending on what part of the country you visit you have an opportunity to try either dark or light kvass. And the fact that you like dark kvass still doesnt mean that youll like the light one, because it tastes much different. All that you need to do is to add there boiled meat, eggs, potherb, cucumbers, radish, some milk and the soup is ready. Finally you get delicious cold soup which is the favorite dish of many Russian especially in the summer time. But okroshka has a very special taste so foreigners may not like it for the first time. Beside soups, Russians have some other tasty things. Golubci and pelmeni are among them. They are popular in many countries abroad but you should try them in Russia because here they are the best.

Bread plays a very important role in the meal. Russians eat bread with practically all dishes. In Russia they cook light and dark bread. The colour of bread depends on the kind of flour is used for its preperation. In the past bread was baked in special ovens in the country. That bread has a wonderful taste and of course it cant be compared with that bread which shops supply. Unfortunately this tradition is disappearing nowadays, although some elderly people continue baking bread and dont buy it in the shops. Among drinks Russians often like tea and vodka. Perhaps Russian climate which is famous by its cold weather influenced this choice of drinks. But when its warm Russians drink kvass and compote with pleasure.

A creaking gate hangs long on its hinges. Скрипучие ворота долго висят на петлях. A green wound is soon healed. У молодых раны быстро заживают. A hungry belly has no ears. Голодное брюхо ко всему глухо. A hungry man is an angry man. Голодный человек – сердитый человек. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Кто яблоко в день съедает, у того доктор не бывает. A sound mind in a sound body. В здоровом теле – здоровый дух. After dinner sit a while, after supper walk a mile. После обеда посиди, после ужина милю пройди.

Betty and Bob brought back blue balloons from the big bazaar. Betty better butter Brad's bread. Betty Botter bought some butter, "But," she said, "this butter's bitter. If I bake this bitter butter, It will make my batter bitter. But a bit of better butter - That would make my batter better." So she bought a bit of butter, Better than her bitter butter, And she baked it in her batter, And the batter was not bitter. So 'twas better Betty Botter Bought a bit of better butter.