Ingredients:

Cucumbers

Radishes

Potatoes

Eggs

Sausage (optional)

Herbs (dill, chieves, green onions)

Kefir (but you can also use Kombucha, Buttermilk, or Kvass instead)

Mustard (optional)

Water

Ice cubes (optional, to keep it cool while you eat it)

Preparation:

Boil the potatoes and the eggs

Cook the sausage (if it needs cooking, usually not)

Peel the potatoes and the eggs

Let them cool completely

Chop all the ingredients and put them in a big bowl and mix

Add the liquids in the bowl

Leave in the fridge for 30 minutes, or eat immediately!

Clowntober Day 12

Let's wander a bit away from superstition for a moment and head into folklore.

People the world over all seem to have the same idea. There just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done - and wouldn't it be nice if someone in this house would pitch in and help from time to time! And so, all over the world, you'll find household helpers. The Domovoy is the Slavic answer.

The Domovoy lives behind the stove or under the doorstep in a house and is rarely if ever seen. Which isn't to say that he doesn't make his presence known! This household guardian is responsible for all the quiet noises the house makes during the night, the creaks and groans of the wood floor settling are the sounds of the domovoy finishing off the household chores after everyone has gone to bed. He's a hearth guardian, watching over the banked coals all night long and keeping them alive until morning when they'll be needed. A pleased domovoy will watch after the children of a household and the animals as well, keeping them away from dangers - and keeping dangers away from them. The domovoy also plays a prophetic roll, aware of approaching death, disease or misfortune and warning the family with noises in the night. The domovoy, a creature centered more on family than building, also doesn't like to be left alone for too long and so there's a tradition of, just before you set off on a long journey, sitting quietly near the door for a few minutes in the hopes of tricking the domovoy into thinking you're not really leaving.

This is because the domovoy isn't always helpful or even protective. If it suspects the family is going on a long journey it may steal things and hide them, so the family has to stay to look for something they can't leave on their journey without. The domovoy is also easily angered with slothful house members or the use of foul language and will retaliate with terrifying noises in the night if you're lucky and burning your house down around you if you're not so lucky. A domovoy is best treated with respect then. He should always be referred to, not by name but rather as 'grandfather' or 'himself'. If a family is planning on moving, they should invite their domovoy to go with them and, when they move into the new house, leave the first slice of bread from the first meal the family eats in the house either under the stove or buried in the courtyard to welcome him in. In more extreme cases, its blood the domovoy requires, in the form of a rooster or a hen.

In appearance, domovoy are said to look like little old men, with big grey beards and flashing eyes, dressed either in red or grey. Domovoy can change shape at will as well, all the way from snakes to barnyard animals right up to the head of the family or a dead ancestor.

Speaking of which, tracing back to his early beginning roots, the domovoy was probably once a form of ancestor worship, the belief that a founding member of the family, after death, didn't pass on but rather stayed behind to watch over his progeny and share their joys and pains. He started as a small, personalized household god, one the family appeased and honored in exchange for his goodwill and support against outside forces. There's a female version called the domania as well but oftentimes the domovoy ruled the household alone.