U n I t 6 m e a l s a n d c o o k I n g

Living in Russia one cannot but stick to a Russian diet. Keeping this diet for an Englishman is fatal. The Russians have meals four times a day and their cuisine is quite intricate.

Every person starts his or her day with breakfast. Poor Englishmen are sentenced to either a continental or an English breakfast. From the Russian point of view, when one has it continental it actually means that one has no breakfast at all, because it means drinking a cup of coffee and eating a bun. A month of continental breakfasts for some Russians would mean starving. The English breakfast is a bit better, as it consists of one or two fried eggs, grilled sausages, bacon, tomatoes and mushrooms. The English have tea with milk and toast with butter and marmalade. As a choice one may have cornflakes with milk and sugar or porridge.

In Russia people may have anything for breakfast. Some good-humored individuals even prefer soup, but, of course, sandwiches and coffee are very popular. On can easily understand that in Great Britain by one o’clock people are very much ready for lunch. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. That would be music for a Russian’s ears until he or she learns what lunch really consists of. It may be a meat or fish course with soft drinks followed by a sweet course.

The heart of a Russian person fills with joy when the hands of the clock approach three o’clock. His or her dinner includes three courses. A Russian will have a starter (salad, herring, cheese, etc.), soup, steaks, chops, or fish fillets with garnish, a lot of bread, of course, and something to drink. The more the better. At four or five the Russians may have a bite: waffles, cakes with juice, tea, cocoa, or something of the kind.

In Great Britain they have dinner at five or six. Soup may be served then, but one should not be misled by the word “soup”. British soup is just thin paste and a portion is three times smaller than in Russia. A lot of British prefer to eat out. “Fish and Chips” shops are very popular with their take-away food. The more sophisticated public goes to Chinese, Italian, seafood or other restaurants and experiments with shrimp, inedible vegetables and hot drinks.

Supper in Russia means one more big meal at seven. The table groans with food again. In England it is just a small snack – a glass of milk with biscuits at ten.

Most Russians have never counted calories and they are deeply convinced that their food is healthy. Some housewives may admit that it takes some time to prepare all the stuff, including pickles, home-made preserves and traditional Russian pies and pancakes. But they don’t seem to mind too much and boil, fry, roast, grill, broil, bake and make. Paraphrasing a famous proverb one can say: “What is a Russian man’s meat is a British man’s poison”.

Exercise 1.

Memorize the following words and word combinations.

to stick to a diet выбрать диету

to keep a diet соблюдать диету

to have a meal есть, питаться

cuisine кухня

breakfast завтрак

to drink пить

to eat есть

a cup of coffee/tea чашка кофе, чая

a bun булочка

to starve жить впроголодь

grilled sausages поджаренная колбаса

bacon бекон

ham ветчина

tomatoes помидоры

mushrooms грибы

milk молоко

toast with butter поджаренные хлебцы с маслом

corn flakes кукурузные хлопья

sugar сахар

porridge (овсяная) каша

sandwich бутерброд, сандвич

lunch ленч, второй завтрак

meat мясо

fish course рыбное блюдо

soft drinks прохладительные напитки

a sweet course десерт

starter холодные закуски

herring селёдка

cheese сыр

steak бифштекс

chop котлета

fish fillet рыбное филе

garnish гарнир

to have a bite перекусить

waffles вафли

cakes пирожное, кекс

juice сок

cocoa какао

thin paste лапша-паутинка

portion порция

to eat out питаться вне дома

take-away food еда на вынос

seafood restaurant ресторан морепродуктов

shrimp креветка

inedible несъедобный

the table groans стол ломится

small snack небольшая закуска, перекус

biscuits печенье

to count calories подсчитывать калории

healthy здоровый

pickles соленья, маринады, пикули

home-made preserves домашние заготовки

a pie пирог

a pancake блин

to boil кипятить

to fry поджаривать на сковороде

to roast жарить в жаровне

to grill жарить на рашпере

to broil жарить на открытом огне

to bake печь

to paraphrase перефразировать

poison яд

Exercise 2.

Answer the following questions.

1. When do you have meals?

2. What do usually have for breakfast? For dinner? For supper?

3. What do they serve in the refectory at your university?

4. Can you cook?

5. What dishes can you prepare?

6. Do you make use of the cookery book or do you remember a number of recipes?

7. What typically British food items can you enumerate?

8. What dishes and foodstuffs can be considered typically Russian?

9. Do you often go to the restaurant? What do you order?

10. Why do you think sugar and salt are sometimes called “white death”?

11. What is the shortest way to slimming?

12. What do you prefer for dessert: a hot roll, a chocolate eclaire or a croissant?

13. Do you know table manners and observe them?

14. Do you often visit fast food places?

15. Would you like to lose weight? And to gain weight?

Exercise 3.

Explain the meaning of the following proverbs and sayings.

1. The glutton digs his grave with his teeth.

2. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

3. You can’t eat a cake and have it.

4. The appetite comes with eating.

5. Man does not live by bread alone.

6. Too many cooks spoil the broth.

7. First catch your hare then cook him.

8. You cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs.

9. Enough is as good as a feast.

10. Hunger is the best sauce.

11. Dog does not eat dog.

12. Tastes differ.

13. I don’t live to eat, I eat to live.

14. We are what we eat.

15.Good health is above wealth.

16. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.

17. Hungry stomach has no ears.

18. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

19. It’s a piece of cake!

20. Eat with pleasure, drink with measure.