With meal one we placed emphasis on the village of Mooste itself and its sites of production, history, and natural beauty. The food and drink offered at these sites reflected an aspect of their character or offered a kind of counterpoint to them. The six stations served as nodes for movement through the village, so that often the path to get between them was as important as the destination. We utilized the lake where locals fish, the village grocers, an abandoned barn, a tree-lined lane for retirees called "Pensioner's Alley", a deserted Soviet weigh station (evidence of a once-bustling agricultural economy), and a family garden. The journey culminated in a picnic in an apple orchard, where setting, food, and musical activities guided a beautiful sunny day together.
Participants met on the steps to MoKs at 1:00 pm on Thursday, June 18th. The weather was warm and sunny, and after several weeks of rain was a welcome relief (and a good omen). Everyone was given a wreath that was handmade by Emma from local greenery to wear on their head, an envelope with "$/EEK" written on it, and a map of close-in Mooste. The map, hand drawn by Matt, was constructed to be both (essentially) technically accurate, as a way to guide particiapants on their journey, but also as a representation of our experience of Mooste through our explorations on foot, and therefore pictured Mooste as seen through our perspective. Participants were told they had an hour and a half to journey together or alone and to visit the six stations marked on their map with a circle symbol. There would be a pole marker at every station. People were encouraged to visit any or all of the stations. At 2:30 everyone was instructed to meet at the station marked "Orchard."
A: STATIONS (Duration: 2 hours)
1. ABANDONED BARN
In a small, dark barn often used as a hangout by teenagers, we set up a table from tree stumps and an old door found in the area. We poured a mound of dirt on top of the table, and crowned it with a tower of cake. Rhubarb, one of the first signs of spring, is a revered plant in Estonia, common in everyone's garden and transformed into a dazzling array of kissels, compotes and sweets.
RHUBARB CAKE - RABARBERIKOOK
Cream together 1.5 sticks of butter (150 grams/16 Tablespoons) with 1 cup of sugar. When it is light and creamy, add 1 egg. Beat. Add 2 1/3 cups of flour, a pinch of baking powder and salt. Mix with your fingers to combine well. Grease a baking pan and preheat the oven to 350 F/175 C. Press the dough into the pan. Peel as much rhubarb as you can handle (and we can handle a lot) and chop it into small pieces. Lay the rhubarb on top of the dough. Beat six eggs, then add sugar (approx 6-10 Tablespoons), a pinch of flour (or more if you prefer a thicker topping) and some brandy to the mixture. Don’t overwhip the egg mixture. Pour over the rhubarb and dough. Bake for approx 30-40 minutes, or until the cake looks done to you and a toothpick comes out clean. You want the topping to be nice and soft yet the bottom crust to be firm. When it is to your liking, take the cake out and sprinkle powdered sugar over the top, then brush the surface with brandy. Put it back in the oven momentarily to melt into the cake. Repeat this last process if you, like us, are a glutton.
2. MOOSTE LAKE
Mooste Lake is a central geographical feature of the village, and we have enjoyed walking around it, swimming in it, and fishing from it. We set up a fishing station with Emma at the main lake dock with two poles, a worm bucket and a bucket for caught fish. Our trade off for the beautiful day was overexubarant wind - and sadly our two poles were whisked away before fishing began. Luckily, we had brought beer to share, as fishing became more of a spectator sport for us that day...
ESTONIAN BEER
There are so many kinds to choose from and they are all delicious! For the Fishing Station we chose a 2 Litre plastic bottle of Presidente pilsner – après pos for a nice day. Yellow plastic cups make it festive!
3. WEIGHT STATION
In an old Soviet weigh station Matt held a memory booth. Participants could listen to field recordings and special musics from our time in Mooste, make recordings of oral memories of Mooste or draw interpretive maps of Mooste. There was a scent museum filled with: parsley, onion skin, dried oregano, rosemary, orange peel, thyme, hyssop, garlic skin, mint, dill, black pepper, flower, coffee, caraway seeds, star anise, fennel seeds, rye flour, sugar, sea salt, and citric acid.
ESTONIAN CANDY
(Kalev!)
4. HOUSING GARDEN
Mari's mother, like many of the villagers living in the block housing units, has a garden plot within a larger series of plots. Each person tends to their own plot, growing enough vegetables for themselves that produce is hardly necessary to sell at the local grocery stores. Mari stood post at her mother's garden plot, showed visitors around and answered questions about the garden.
MARBLED EGGS
Hard boil eggs. Let them cool a bit then crack the shells all over with the back of a spoon. Reboil the water with a bit of vinegar and a heaping of tumeric (or any other natural colorant). Add the eggs back in for a few minutes once the mixture is well combined.
5. LOCAL STORES
People were instructed in their envelope marked “$/EEK” to buy a specific item to bring with them to the orchard, and given a specified amount of money to do so. Their map showed two places to make this transaction possible, either of the two village stores. This option provided participants with a consumer choice in both location and the specifics of the item to buy.
SHOPPING LIST
Possible items were: Black bread (3 people), butter, "rollmops" aka marinated herring fillets, juice (2 people) and cheese.
6. PENSIONER'S LANE
A trail of candy was left on the ground, leading all from the garden to pensioner's lane, a tree lined path for retirees. Nettle tea was left on a man-made stoop along the path.
NETTLE TEA
Pick nettles (with gloves) as far away from the road or buildings as possible. Wash them well, and remove the leaves from the stems. Boil the nettles in hot water. Serve the liquid hot, or let it chill. Apparently, if you add lemon slices it turns pink! It’s even better if found at the end of an Estonian candy trail…
B. ORCHARD PICNIC
Setup: Suspended white fabrics, handmade pinnents, doilies, chemistry vessels, window frames, rope, tarp and blankets on ground.
Music: Using suspended chemistry vessels, glass bottles tuned with water, and reeds from a reed organ, all were lead in an exploration of the temperament Matt chose for these instruments. A circle game then followed, all continuing until someone "messed up" or laughed and we would start again.
PICNIC FOOD RECIPES:
OPEN FACED SANDWICHES
Open-faced sandwiches are a popular food item in Estonia. We constructed them at the picnic from the supplies people bought at the shops (black bread, cheese, butter, marinated herring fillets, moose sausage we bought in Tartu and...
EGG SALAD
Hard boil eggs. Slice into small wedges and put into a bowl. Grate a generous amount of cold butter over the eggs, a dollop of mayonaisse, and small bit of mustard into the bowl. Mix well. Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper and chopped dill. Butter black bread and put on top.
LOCAL JUICES, NETTLE TEA, BEER
SPRAT AND POTATO GRATIN
(inspired by Anni Arro)
Buy fresh herring at the market (this is probably impossible in the US, so buy tinned ones and go on to the next part). Clean and gut the fish, dry well, and roll in flour. Fry in hot-hot canola oil. Eat with mashed potatoes and wine, if you are lucky.
Use the left over fried herring for the gratin. Thinly slice potatoes and par-boil them. Sautee some onions until they are a bit crispy. Butter a baking dish and put down a layer of potatoes. Stagger layers of the herring, onions and more potatoes until you run out, and a healthy sprinkling of salt. Feel free to add herbs, capers or the like. Top with your last layer of potatoes, and dab butter on them. Mix an egg or two with whipping cream and mix. Pour over the dish. Bake at 350 F/175 C for about an hour.
BEET SALAD
Boil, peel and chill beets. Chop into small wedges. Toss with fresh ricotta (kohupiim), peppermint and parsley. Drizzle lemon juice and olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper.
APPLES AND HONEY
Buy the best of both locally and combine happily.
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