Reporter’s Notebook: TCC students participate and showcase work in the annual art exhibition

Part One: New rules of submission and judges-outsiders proposed Editor’s Note: The review of the TCC Student Art Exhibition 2023 will be a four-part series. Several program entries will be profiled. This is the first review of the series. A selected number of artistic works were on display at the TCC Student Art Exhibition 2023…

Reporter’s notebook: Monarch butterflies become rare. What can we do? 

While I was gathering information about monarch butterflies in Oklahoma, I learned devastating news about their numbers came on the air. The Washington Post, TV stations, and other mass media reported that The International Union for Conservation of Nature had put the migrating monarchs in the category of “endangered.”  Before going into details about the…

Reporter’s Notebook: American fast food brands grow in popularity in Kazakhstan

During the last decade, I traveled to Kazakhstan, a republic of the former USSR. (Kazakhstan has long borders with Russia in the north and with China in the south.) I noticed several American fast food restaurants were increasing in popularity there. I visited some of the restaurants and could see similarities as well as differences…

Reporter’s Notebook: Olad’ya is a babushka’s recipe and a delicious meal for breakfast you need to know

Olad’ya is small size pancake or fritter and a popular breakfast meal in the former Soviet Union. The recipe of olad’ya was passed from babushkas (grandmas) to vnuchkas (grandaughters) in that part of the world for centuries. Olad’ya is usually about two and a half inches long and two inches wide. Here is a recipe…

Reporter’s Notebook: How to cook squash – two delicious recipes from Kazakhstan

Squash is a vegetable and is sold at every supermarket. They are usually green and yellow colors looking like fatty comas. Some shoppers mistake the green squash for cucumbers.      I have not seen squash served too often at parties or restaurants in Oklahoma. I think it is because of the lack of good recipes….

Reporter’s Notebook: A manti restaurant brings The Silk Road ancient taste to visitors in Kazakhstan

The Silk Road was a trade route from Europe to Asia from 300 B.C. to the 16th century.  A part of The Silk Road went through Kazakhstan where my home was. During a summer 2021 trip to central Kazakhstan, my fellow travelers and I stopped at a manti restaurant situated in the corner of a…

Reporter’s Notebook: Russian Non-Alcoholic drinks will keep you cool in summer

In Kazakhstan and other republic of the former Soviet Union, there are popular non-alcoholic drinks, which can greatly satisfy someone’s thirst in the hot summer. These are kvas, lemonade, and kompot. A variety of kvases and lemonades are sold at every supermarket or small shop in the former USSR. They have sweet and sour tastes….