`Foreigners who spend time in Russia soon learn that there are actually two Russias - one public and the other private. The public Russia is typically cold and dark, backward and wary. The private Russia - the Russia of tea at a friend`s kitchen table or of sauteed mushrooms in a village dacha - is almost unfailingly cosy and kind`- From the IntroductionTravel to the author`s Russia on a journey that takes you to a springtime bliny festival and Easter feast, to a small Russian village to discover nature`s bounty, on a mystical quest for autumn mushrooms, and to Red Square for New Year`s and Christmas celebrations. Stop along the way for a vegetarian dinner in a communal apartment, a birthday party, a baptism, a tea party and a Russian wedding. A fascinating behind-the-scenes view of Russia and its people and a quest to rediscover a family`s cultural heritage, Jones reveals how forty of its finest dishes have been preserved and passed down through the feast days of the Russian Orthodox Church and the gentle rhythm of country life.