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Structured around a dozen recipes, including an Uzbekistani watermelon salad and Russian pirozhki, it’s a memoir, travelogue and cookbook in which those facets add up to a delicious whole.

Ivan managed to grab some rye bread and fried fish for her, and some pirozhki for himself.

In her living room, she offered me tea and a tray piled with potato-and-mushroom pirozhki.

Russian pop music blared from a small portable speaker and pirozhki, a small oval Russian pie, was served up alongside pizza boxes.

Think of a pirozhki as a tricked out, Russian-made, artisanal hot pocket.