Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by Robert Scheer

"Memories of a Russian Kitchen," compiled by Rosalie Sogolow, was a group project of the Jewish Family Service's ESL class at the Jewish Community Center in Los Gatos. From left to right are Rita Gorlin, Sofya Slutsker, Rosalie Sogolow, Grayce Bergman, Raise Volkhover and Inna Eydus.

Book preserves Russian memories

By Michelle Gabriel

"I feel as though I have just given birth!" says longtime Saratoga resident Rosalie Sogolow of her recently published book, Memories From a Russian Kitchen. After over two years of compiling, editing, researching and overseeing the project, Memories From a Russian Kitchen made its debut in January with more than 300 copies presold.

Described as a tapestry of true stories of late 19th- and 20th-century Russian life, the book is a compilation of poignant tales told by 300 senior Russian emigrés enrolled in Jewish Family Service's English as a Second Language program at the Jewish Community Center in Los Gatos. Interspersed among these stories is a collection of favorite Russian recipes handed down from generation to generation.

Want to know how to prepare zakooskis? Check out the black radish appetizer on page 27 or the eggplant caviar on page 37. In the mood for a sweet dish? Look under the category of Sladkiye Blyuda and peruse the mouthwatering recipes for rugelah, raisin-nut cake, Prague's torte, mandel bread and strudel, just a few of the delicacies that, along with the stories, conjure up memories of generations past.

Complementing the collection of true stories and favorite Russian recipes are 12 full-page, black-and-white illustrations by Bonnie Stone, another Saratogan and award-winning artist whose art has been exhibited throughout the United States and abroad for the past 25 years.

Both Sogolow and Stone, who trace their family origins to the shtetls of Eastern Europe, brought their own unique memories and talents to the project.

"This is an intergenerational publication that will never go out of date," Stone says. "You can read and re-read the stories and essays many times, and as far as I know, nothing like this has been done anywhere else."

Sogolow, a longtime teacher of ESL classes through the JFS and principal of their Senior ESL program, says Memories From a Russian Kitchen began as a cookbook and creative teaching project for her students.

"It gradually evolved into a means by which I could preserve their eye-witness account of Russian life and history," she says. "Russian emigrés, although forced to leave behind so many of their lives' most meaningful possessions, brought with them their memories."

Sogolow says she believes her grandparents, who settled in Chicago after emigrating to the United States in the early 1900s, "must be smiling somewhere in heaven right about now, seeing their granddaughter teaching English to Russian emigrés and completing the circle that they began nearly a century before."

In addition to providing an insight into life in the former Soviet Union and serving as a treasury for more than 150 homestyle recipes, Memories From a Russian Kitchen is considered a lifeline for JFS, a nonprofit organization currently facing a $140,000 reduction in funding.

According to JFS Executive Director Carol Gopin, all proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit the organization's ongoing programs and services. "Funds generated from the sale of Memories From a Russian Kitchen will constitute a major source of income for JFS and help narrow the gap caused by the extraordinary cut in funding," Gopin says.

And for the 300 senior emigrés who contributed to the project, Memories From a Russian Kitchen presents a unique opportunity. "Not only have they been able to share their stories and recipes with others," explains Sogolow, "but as a fundraiser for the JFS, the book also enables the emigrés to give something back to the community in which they have felt so warmly welcomed."

Memories From a Russian Kitchen sells for $25 and is available through the JFS temple and synagogue gift shops, as well as local bookstores.

A book-signing will be held Feb. 11 from 2 to 5 p.m. at Chai House, 814 St. Elizabeth Drive, San Jose. The free event provides the public an opportunity to meet Sogolow, Stone and many of the Russian emigrés who contributed their stories and recipes. Russian music and a variety of taste-samples of desserts mentioned in the book will also be part of the afternoon's activities.

For information, call 356-7576.