Ukrainian recipe: Remembrance Borsch (with yellow beets)

This recipe originated with Ukrainians in the United States. By the early 2000s it was becoming part of their Thanksgiving tradition.

This yellow-coloured borsch was intended to be served as the first course of Thanksgiving Day dinner. 

Since then, however, the Saturday after American Thanksgiving (i.e., the fourth Saturday in November) has become an official day of remembrance to commemorate Holodomor. 

This sad commemoration has created a very appropriate, and dedicated, occasion to serve this symbolic dish.

The borsch is always accompanied by a moment of silence. 

This moment of silence is in remembrance of the millions of Ukrainians who died in the Holodomor famine-genocide of 1932-33 and the following Years of Terror at the hands of soviet communists. 

As well, in remembrance and gratitude for those who survived, and for the family's own abundance today. 

The recipe is patterned after the meatless borsch served at Ukrainian Christmas Eve dinner, Sviat Vechir. It varies from family to family, but the one constant is the substitution of yellow beets for the red.

Yellow (also called golden) beets give the broth a golden colour. Yellow is a colour often related to mourning in Ukrainian culture.

To make Remembrance Borsch, start with a mushroom broth. If you can get them, used dried mushroom caps imported from Poland. (These are the closest to those that used to come from Ukraine before Chornobyl.) Otherwise, use a combination of Italian porcinis, Japanese shiitakes, or other flavourful species.

Soak dried mushrooms several hours or overnight. Wash carefully to get rid of any bits of sand or dirt. Strain the dark water through a coffee filter and add it to the salted cooking water for the washed mushrooms. Let it simmer several hours, adding more boiling water as needed.

If you’re pressed for time, the ready-made mushroom broth now available in supermarkets or delis will do.

To the broth, add chopped or shredded beets, chopped potato, carrot, onion, mushrooms, dillweed, a bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper. There are no rules, other than using ingredients that even the poorest peasant would have in his or her bit of garden.

Add your favourite vushka (mushroom-stuffed mini perogie-like dumplings), sprinkle with chopped fresh dill.

If you can’t find yellow beets, use a combination of white turnips and a parsnip (for sweetness). Colour the broth with a few strands of saffron, a pinch of turmeric, or as a last resort, a few drops of yellow food colouring.

If you don’t have the time or skill to make vushka, dried mushroom-filled Italian tortellini are a reasonable facsimile.

Don’t skimp on the fresh dill. (Make sure to use fresh, not dried dill weed or dill seed.) Most supermarkets carry fresh dill year round. As well, it can be chopped and frozen fresh for use later.

Whether or not you are celebrating American Thanksgiving, this is an excellent symbolic borsch to serve during Holodomor Remembrance week wherever you are in the world.

This recipe and the accompanying information came by email from Peter Borisow, of the Hollywood Trident Foundation. 

It has been presented on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio by Judy Hrynenko (here) and the late Sylvia Molnar (here). These features have aired every November for the past several years in honour of Holodomor Remembrance. 

Please feel free to incorporate this ritual dish into your American Thanksgiving and/or Holodomor commenorations, and share the story with others. 

If you would like a proper recipe for Remembrance Borsch, with proportions, I have shared one which was adapted from my award-winning entry in the 2015 Borsch Competition in Victoria. Story and recipe here. 

My Excellent Adventure at the 2015 Borsch Fest in Victoria

Had a wonderful time at the 2015 Borsch Fest in Victoria, BC on Saturday, November 07!

One of the organizers, Maria Koropecky (who was interviewed on the Nov. 4 edition of Nash Holos) challenged me to enter the competition, so I did.

I was honoured (and, quite frankly, astounded) that my entry won the People's Choice Award ... and also Judges' Honourable Mention.

Came home with a cash prize (which covered the cost of ingredients and gas for the drive down to Victoria) for the People's Choice Award. For the Honourable Mention, I received a copy of a great cookbook by one of the judges, Cinda Chavich, The Waste Not, Want Not Cookbook: Save Food, Save Money, and Save the Planet.

The theme of this book is especially poignant, as Ukrainians tend to abhor wasting food, given how often throughout history, especially during the soviet era, it was denied them.

Along with Cinda, the other judges were Lee Aitchison,Hospitality Management Instructor at Camosun College; and Michael Tymchuk, producer of CBC's food show The Main Ingredient.

The borsch I entered was not the typical beet red that most people associate with borsch. That's because it was made with yellow (golden) beets.

It's called Remembrance Borsch, in honour of the Holodomor, the soviet-engineered famine that deliberately starved to death 7-10 million Ukrainians in 1932-33.

The colour yellow is symbolic of mourning in Ukrainian tradition, so that's why this borsch is made with yellow beets. 
  
I've been sharing the story of Remembrance Borsch with listeners of Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio for several years now. If you're not familiar with it, and would like to be, check out this blog post.

For anyone who tasted my Remembrance Borsch at the Borsch Fest and would like to try making it, I am very sorry but there is no recipe proper (as in with proportions). And I am unlikely to ever reproduce the batch I made (with the help of my friend Gerri) as I didn't keep track of the proportions I used.

However, I will share what I remember, to the best of my abillity. The rest is up to you. Which is kind of fitting, because by nature Ukrainians are very individualistic and independent ... and that is in large part why the Soviets tried to wipe them out, by starvation and other gruesome methods.

November is Holodomor Remembrance Month, and the last Saturday of November is set aside as Holodomor Remembrance Day. At sunset, candles are lit in remembrance of those who perished in this heinous, man-made famine. To me, it's very important to make this borsch and remember the millions of innocent victims, so that never again will human beings be starved by the millions merely to promote an ideology. 

This recipe for Remembrance Borsch should create a reasonable facsimile of the one I made for Borsch Fest.

8-10 cups shredded or diced yellow beets
5-6 cups shredded cabbage
3 cups finely chopped onion
1-2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
6 cups diced potatoes
5 cups diced rutabaga
2 cups shredded carrots
2 cups chopped fresh dill
1/4 lb. butter
3 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp black pepper
3 litres mushroom broth
1-2 litres beetroot broth
2-3 Tbsp lemon or lime juice

Saute the mushrooms, onion, half the cabbage, and half the dill in butter until the veggies are a nice golden colour.

Put them in a large stock pot, along with the liquids, seasonings, and the rest of the veggies, except for the beets. Simmer until the potaotes and rutabaga are soft, about 1/2 hour.

Add the shredded beets, and gently simmer for about 1/2 hour.

NB: Make sure the borsch does NOT boil vigorously. Borsch should never be boiled. It makes the beets lose their colour and just does something to the taste that is less than desirable. Keep it at a gentle simmer.

This will make a huge stock pot full, about 10-12 litres, so you might want to cut the ingredients in half. 

A tip for preparing the beets for borsch, especially using red beets: Scrub really well, trim off any blemishes, and put them to simmer, with the skin on. When soft, drain the beets and cool. Reserve the liquid. This will be your beetroot broth. When beets are cool, peel and shred. Adding the beets at the end will keep the beets from going white, so your borsch will have a nice, rich colour.

I hope that some day serving this yellow borsch to commemorate Holodomor Remembrance Day will be part of Ukrainian tradition. We should never forget.

If you decide to try it, I'd love to hear how yours turned out.

Meanwhile, here are some pictures from the 2nd Annual Borsch Fest in Victoria.

If you're interested in Cinda's cookbook, you can get it here:

Borsch is officially a dish of Ukrainian origin

But, apparently, not everyone knows that!

Recently I came across a recipe for borscht [sic], a traditional cold beet soup. It’s from The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden, published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 

The author describes it as a cool sweet-and-sour soup which was particularly popular in Lithuania, and is now one of the great Jewish standbys of the restaurant trade.

She does mention that there are lots of different Russian and Ukrainian versions of borsch (Ukrainians drop the "t").

Still, someone really should enlighten the author to the fact that it’s *our* soup. It even says so in Wikipedia!

As the grandaughter and great-granddaughter of Ukrainian immigrants, I was raised on borsch. Different kinds ... meat, meatless, with cream, cream-less, rhubarb, potluck, you name it. So I consider myself a bit of a connoissuer. And in my experience, borsch was always hot.

The first time I learned there was such a thing as cold borsch was when I was a young adult, still (relatively) fresh off the farm and living in Winnipeg.

I popped in to visit a new friend, who happened to be Jewish. When I rang her doorbell, I caught her noshing on (of all things) cold borsch ... straight out of a Manischewitz jar!

At the time what she was eating seemed as foreign to me as sashimi or goat curry (neither of which I’ve yet acquired a taste for).

For one thing ... who ever heard of store-bought borsch? Never mind cold, but with nothing but beets and broth yet. Not a shred of cabbage or beans or potato to be seen. Let alone chopped dill!

Besides, as far as I was concerned, the only kind of beets that came in a jar was the pickled kind. So ... cold borsch in a jar? That was just plain weird.

I’ve learned (and eaten) much since then, and there’s even a Ukrainian deli in my family now that sells the stuff ... the hot variety of course. (And it is the best borsch you have ever tasted!)

As for the cold variety, Sylvia Pidraziuk Molnar recently shared her recipe for chilled borsch on Nash Holos. It is one of over 200 authentic Ukrainian recipes that Sylvia (a retired Vancouver cook and cooking instructor extraordinaire) has shared with Nash Holos listeners over the years. You can find the recipe here.

Meanwhile, the Jewish version for cold borscht (borsch) that I came across is here. And if you'd like to check out the book, it's available on Amazon. Here's the info and title again: The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York.

Reading this article and the recipe brought back fond memories of my friend Marci, with whom I’ve unfortunately lost touch.

If we ever manage to re-connect I certainly hope that, in addition to the memories and catch-up stories, we will share a bowl of borsch.

Which version ... hot or cold, Jewish or Ukrainian ... well, only the future knows. 

Horseradish - A Ukrainian Easter tradition

Zesty horseradish is a traditional accompaniment for Easter meats such as ham, sausage, pork, and duck.

Horseradish when grated gives off volatile
oils, so whenever grating fresh horseradish
make sure your room is well-ventilated.

Horseradish is grown for its pungent roots, which are generally grated, mixed with vinegar and salt, and used as a condiment or relish. One tablespoon of horseradish has only 2 calories, is low in sodium, and provides dietary fiber.

Although it is not clear when horseradish originates, some scholars believe it is indigenous to Eastern Europe. A traditional Ukrainian Easter condiment, it can be enjoyed any time of year.

Here are two recipes for horseradish sauce, which Sylvia recently shared on Nash Holos:

Horseradish Sauce

6     tbsp    grated fresh horseradish
2     cups    sour cream
2     tsp     salt
2     tbsp    sugar
2     tbsp    vinegar

1. Mix all ingredients in a glass bowl.
2. Adjust seasonings to taste.
3. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before serving so flavours can develop.

Makes about 3 cups.

Easter Horseradish

1     cup     ground horseradish
1     tbsp    butter, softened
1/4   cup     liquid honey
10    eggs    hard-cooked    
 
1. Mix horseradish, butter and honey until smooth.
2. Mash eggs with a fork (or process until fine, or put through a fine sieve).
3. Add to the horseradish mixture.
4. Mix well.

Makes about 3 cups.

Try it ...it's Ukrainian!

Easy Baked Easter Ham

Ham is central to Easter dinner for Ukrainians... along with  kovbasa (Ukrainian garlic sausage), studenetz (headcheese), eggs (of course!), holubtsi (cabbage rolls), noodle casserole, beets & horseradish, and who knows what else!

Natural slow smoked ham and sausages

In the old-country tradition, hams were dried and smoke cured, and required special soaking and cooking.

I vaguely recall this process from my childhood years on the homestead farm just outside of Arran, Saskatchewan.

It was a messy business, especially the soaking in the brine part. But there was always an air of excitement along with the wonderful smell in the air.

The hard work was worth the end result: a delicious shynka (шинка), as ham is called in Ukrainian.

Today’s commercially cured hams are wetter and heavier, and despite the “ready-to-eat” label do require some additional preparation.

Here's Sylvia's recipe which has been featured on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio and on this blog in the past.

This method is ideal for busy cooks preparing an elegant festive meal.

Easy Baked Easter Ham

Hard boiled eggs and horseradish ... traditional
complements for Ukrainian Easter ham

6-8 lb ready-to-serve smoked ham

For glaze:
¼ c prepared mustard
½ c brown sugar

For baking liquid:
1 ½ cups apple cider
2 whole cloves
1 small bay leaf
1 sprinkle of freshly ground pepper

1. Skin the ham and score the fat in diamond shapes so the glaze will soak in and stick to the ham.

2. Mix the mustard and sugar and spread on the ham. (For extra beauty and flavor, place a clove into each diamond of fat.)

3. Place the ham and other ingredients in a large roaster

4. Bake at 350˚ F for 1 – 1 ½ hours, basting three times during the last half hour of baking.

5. Tent with foil and rest for 15 minutes before carving, if serving warm.

6. Serve hot or cold, thinly sliced with beet relish, mayonnaise with horseradish and/or mustard assortment.

Try it ... It's Ukrainian!

Nash Holos recipe: Beet & Mushroom salad

While we're certainly accustomed to beets in soup, pickled, or roasted with other root vegetables, they're also excellent in salads!

In addition to their wonderful taste, beets have outstanding health benefits as well including (among other things) high amounts of beta carotene, vitamin C and iron. Perhaps this is why they're the pagan symbol for love and beauty!

I was introduced to this recipe some time ago by Nash Holos food columnist, the late Sylvia Molnar. I thought it was an unusual (even odd) combination for a salad, but gave it a try ... and it's become one of my favourites.

It's a make-ahead, so on top of being easy to make in the first place, it's one less thing to worry about during meal prep time.

In a pinch, canned beets can be used in this recipe. But I prefer using fresh beets. They have a rich, sweet earthiness that gets lost in the canning process.

Beets can be prepared easily enough. Choose beets in similar size. Wash them well, wrap in foil and roast at 400ºF for about an hour, or until tender when pierced with a thin bladed knife. The skins will slip off easily once they’re cooked.

Less messy than peeling them raw and boiling!

Here's what you'll need for Ukrainian Beet & Mushroom Salad:

New page for Ukrainian recipes and cuisine on Nash Holos blog

It's just occurred to me that the Nash Holos blog turned five this year. How the time flies!

During this time, it's been my goal to post all the yummy Ukrainian recipes that have aired on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio

Ukrainian recipe: Ribbon perogies

Both the story and the recipe are delightful. They aired on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio on June 13, 2010 and come courtesy Judy Hrynenko of Prairie Cottage Perogies in Langley.

********

Does anybody remember ribbon perogies?

It was a family favorite at my home growing up. I seemed that whenever Mom had left-over potatoes she would make this special treat as an accompaniment to pork chops. I had actually forgotten about it until a customer came into the restaurant and asked if I make ribbon pyrohy (the "proper" Ukrainian word for perogies).

Wow, his question sure brought back a lot of memories! I remember coming home from school and there was Mom, rolling dough that she would cut into wide ribbons instead of the usual squares or rounds for perogies.

Then she would cut the ribbons diagonally, and drop them into salted water. When they floated to the top, she scooped them out, drained them and topped them with fried onions and bacon. I thought I died and went to heaven. Forget the pork chops!

For you, I have a time saving adaptation for busy families that love perogies. No fillings to prepare or pinching required with this quick and easy recipe!

For Ribbon Pyrohy (Perogies) you will need:

Blender Dill Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise is as ubiquitous in Ukrainian cusine as any other European culture. It's indispensible when preparing fish, egg and salad dishes, for starters.

There's nothing like homemade mayonnaise, and when you have the time I think it's worth the trouble of making. We're lucky to live in a time when we have the option of buying it when we're pressed for time.

Sylvia's favourite substitute for homemeade mayonnaise is

Old-time Ukrainian favourite: Chicken in Dill Sauce

Dill is an all-time favourite in the Ukrainian kitchen. It is certainly one of my favourite herbs!

The Ukrainian word for dill is кріп (krip). I'm not sure of the Ukrainian etymology, but the English work for dill comes from the Norse word "dilla" which means to lull. It is for this calmative property that dill is best known medicinally.

Dill seeds contain a volatile oil that has a relaxant effect on muscles, especially those of the digestive tract. Teas made with dill seed relieve indigestion and nausea, and produce a lulling effect.

Gripe water is made with dill seed specifically as a remedy for colic in infants.

Even Charlemagne, in the 8th century knew of the curative properties of dill seed. He ordered crystal vial of it placed on his banquet tables to stop the hiccups of guests who ate and drank too much!

Dill is very rich in minerals, vitamin C and flavanoids. The seeds are particularly calcium-rich: 1 tablespoon contains 100 milligrams of calcium ...more than in 1/3 cup of milk!

Dill's soft taste marries well with sweet or sour cream and onion. Here's a delicious recipe for a traditional Ukrainian dish from Sylvia Molnar's collection:

1 frying chicken, cut into serving pieces
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
4 Tbsp. oil or butter (or a mix of both) for frying
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup water or chicken broth
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1 cup whipping cream
2 Tbsp flour

Mix flour, salt and pepper, and coat chicken pieces.

Brown chicken slowly in oil or butter (or mixture). Add the onion and garlic to the chicken and sauté for two minutes.

Add water or broth and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally.

Blend flour with cream, add dill and mix into the chicken. Heat to cook the flour, about five minutes (but do not boil).

Serve with rice, noodles or potatoes. (Serves 4.)

For a variation use sour cream instead of whipping cream, and add one cup of peas (fresh or frozen) and cook another 10 minutes.

Smachnoho!

Update: This recipe and 300+ more from Sylvia Molnar's collection are published (August 2024) and now available on Amazon.  Link here.

The 1929 Ukrainian cookbook of Olha Senatovych

As mentioned in an earlier post, we’re presenting Nash Holos listeners and blog readers with a translation of the cookbook of one Olha Senatovych of Lviv, Ukraine, dating back to 1929.

It's really more of a journal filled with information and cooking tips that Olha gathered and compiled, perhaps with the intention of passing them on to her descendants. The recipes she included are both familiar and exotic to modern cooks who know all about Ukrainian cuisine.

Olha's original “cookbook” is hand-written, in Galician Ukrainian. (Galicia is a province in western Ukraine.) Her grandson in Lviv has kindly provided us with a digitized version — also in Ukrainian.

It all started out as a translation project for a writer’s group that Natalia Buchok (fellow contributor to Kobzar’s Children) and I belong to. A few of the members who are fluent in Ukrainian had a preliminary look-see and decided that it was definitely something worth translating and sharing with the world.

Natalka was fascinated with the book and , in spite of an already insane work and home schedule, decided to take on the translation.

Meanwhile, it occured to me that such an ongoing project would be perfect for Ukrainian Food Flair. Mindful of her crazy schedule, I nonetheless asked Natalka (nothing ventured, nothing gained, eh?) if she would be interested in sharing her translated treasured with Nash Holos listeners.

The "radio bug" bit down hard, and she agreed to host Ukrainian Food Flair on a bi-weekly basis.

Admittedly, it was a huge undertaking, and neither of us really had any idea how Natalia was going to find the time to do both the translation and the radio gig.

Enter another member of our writer’s group to the rescue. 

Mila Komarnisky, a native Ukrainian speaker and first-time published author, is our Angel of Mercy. With her novel, Wretched Land, finally completed and now in print, Mila was ready for another project and offered to help us out.

This frees Natalia up to focus on the radio presentation of the recipes as well as the valuable information and fascinating historical and personal anecdotes in Olha's cookbook.

In addition to the translation, Mila is also creating low-calorie versions of Olha's recipes, much of which rely on larger quantities of ingredients like cream, butter, bacon, and sugar than we’re used to these days. (It was written in the 1920s, after all!)

Many thanks to both Natalka and Mila for undertaking this fascinating project. I’m sure you’ll find our journey of Ukrainian culinary discoveries every bit as enjoyable as we do!

So stay tuned as Natalka presents Olha's recipes and Mila's low-cal adaptations on Ukrainian Food Flair every other week, and posts them here on the Nash Holos blog!

Two perogy suppers in Vancouver this Friday June 24

If you're in the Greater Vancouver area and craving some good old-fashioned stick-to-your-ribs Ukrainian food tonight, you're in luck!

There are two venues to satisfy your cravings:

Ukrainian recipe: Dill Bread Express

Dill is a flavourful and highly nutritious herb common in Ukrainian cuisine, and other Eastern European cuisines.

Image: FreeDigtalPhotos.net

In North America dill is known primarily as a herb to enhance salmon dishes, and a major ingredient of dill pickles. 



But there is so much more to dill! 

A proper Ukrainian borsch contains copious amounts of dill. Combining dill with butter and/or cream results in a most heavenly sauce for potatoes, vegetables, chicken, and/or egg dishes.



It's best fresh, of course, although in a pinch you can use dried dillweed or dill seeds. I've been noticing it more often in supermarkets lately, so if you chop it up and freeze it you can enjoy it fresh year round.

Dill has been around since ancient times, and has some amazing medicinal qualities.

It was mentioned both in the Bible and in ancient Egyptian writings. Ancient Greeks and Romans considered it a sign of wealth and also revered it for its many healing properties. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, used dill in a recipe for cleaning the mouth, and soldiers in ancient times put burnt dill seeds on their wounds to promote healing

During the Medieval period, Europeans used dill to create love potions (!) and also to protect against witchcraft. People would carry a bag of dried dill over the heart as protection against hexes.

In today's world, dill protects against free radicals and carcinogens, and rivals garlic for anti-bacterial properties. It is a good source of dietary fibre, as well as minerals such as calcium, manganese, iron and magnesium.

So don't scimp on the dill! It's a delicious way to eat healthy.

Here's a quick and easy alternative to garlic bread that Sylvia shared recently on Ukrainian Food Flair on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio.

Dill Bread Express

1 loaf of French bread (or Italian)
1/2 cup soft butter
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh dill

Cut the loaf in half lengthwise. Mix dill with soft butter and spread generously on both cut sides. Put both sides together and wrap in foil. Bake at 400ºF for about 15 minutes. Serve warm.

This is a great make-ahead that can be frozen.

Smachnoho!

Ukrainian cuisine: Exploring traditional recipes and cookery from 1929

Оn Sunday May 22 Ukrainian Food Flair co-host, Natalia Buchok of Oakville, Ontario made her radio debut on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio!



A writer who speaks fluent Ukrainian, Natalia has embarked on an ambitious journey, taking Nash Holos listeners on a delicious trip down memory lane as she explores a fascinating piece of Ukrainian culinary history.

The roadmap for this trip comes via the Ukrainian to English translation project of a cookbook dating back to 1929. Entitled Універсальна Галицька Кухня (Universal'na Halytskia Kukhnia), it tramslates into English as Galician Kitchen.

We came across this book through Oleh Iwanusiw, a member of an online writing group that Natalia and I belong to.

Oleh has an acquaintance in Lviv, Ivan Lutchuk, who happens to be the grandson of Olha Senatovych, the book's author. Ivan also happens to actually have in his possession the very hand-written cookbook his grandmother compiled!

Written in the beautiful Galician Ukrainian vernacular of that time, it has traditional recipes for everything from fish dishes to tortes, and even instructions on how to keep your kitchen vermin-free!

Having learned about this incredible treasure, our writer's group decided it was just too wonderful not to share. So with Oleh's and Ivan's permission, Natalka is doing the Ukrainian to English translation, and in the process sharing her culinary discoveries with Nash Holos listeners.

Very little is actually known about the author, however. From photos Ivan sent us, we do know Olha was beautiful and fashionable. She obviously came from an upper or upper middle class family, in Lviv, western Ukraine. 



She lived for a while in Vienna, and was an artist at a time when women were just being officially admitted into the great art schools of the West, such as the Academy Julian and the Ecole des Beaux Arts in France.

And, based on her book, she was no doubt an adventurous cook and highly competent homemaker!

While the 1920s were a time of political instability and upheaval in western Ukraine, they were nonetheless a heady time for kitchens. New inventions and innovations in kitchen design swept Europe (particularly Germany and Austria) and soon made their way to North America.

Presumably Olha had a modern kitchen. It was probably painted Venetian green or Pale Organza. She likely had built in wood cabinets that sat flat on the floor instead of on legs, with a work counter, aluminum drawers with oak bins for storing flour (oak repels meal-worms), and a garbage drawer for scraps.

For appliances, she might have had a Kitchen Aid mixer (they were around by then) and a gas burning stove, although probably without a thermostat on the oven (she doesn't give any temperatures in her recipes). Although refrigerators had already been invented, Olha likely was still using an icebox.

The recipes in her cookbook are quite sophisticated. Many clearly reflect the influence of Vienna, the capital of the Austro Hungarian Empire which had ruled western Ukraine prior to the end of WWI. The Austrian nobility routinely brought in French and Italian chefs to cook for their banquets and celebrations. So the luxury and festive style of the dishes prepared by these foreign chefs soon began to influence Ukrainian dishes - modern variations of which are prepared in Ukrainian homes today.

Natalia will be sharing many of those recipes on Ukrainian Food Flair every other Sunday on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio. So make sure to join her on her exciting culinary journey!

Recipe: Ukrainian Sauerkraut Soup with Buckwheat (Kapusniak)

Buckwheat is very popular in Ukrainian cuisine as well as in Japanese, Jewish and others, but not particularly in North America, where it’s used mainly as flour for pancakes.

This “grain” (which is technically classified a fruit) is chock full of goodness and very low in calories. It’s an excellent source of protein, trace minerals, fiber, amino acids, and vitamins, including the entire B spectrum.

Ukrainian Food Flair is back on Nash Holos!

Vancouver's well-known and beloved foodie Sylvia Pidraziuk Molnar has returned to the airwaves! Her first return feature aired on the May 8, 2011 edition of Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio. 

Sylvia will be alternating weeks with Natalia Buchok, who made her radio debut on Sunday, May 22, 2011.

Goodbye to Ken Kostick, Ukrainian Canadian star of Food Network Canada

I was saddened to read this article today announcing the death of Ukrainian Canadian TV personality chef Ken Kostick at age 58. He died Thursday at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto from complications arising after a battle with acute pancreatitis this past February.

The Winnipeg-born celebrity chef was best known

Sauerkraut Soup (Kapusniak)

Cabbage is considered Ukraine’s national food. Ukrainians eat about seven times as much cabbage as the average North American!

There is historical and botanical evidence that cabbage has been cultivated for more than 4,000 years, and domesticated for over 2,500 years.

Before cole crops (brassica) were domesticated, they were collected from the wild and used primarily as medicinal herbs.

Early cabbage was not the full-bodied head we take for granted today, but rather a loose-leaf variety. Brussels sprouts are the most recent crop, having come into existence less than 500 years ago.

Cabbage was introduced into the Black Sea region by Greek and Roman colonists in the 9th century, so no wonder it has long been a staple in Ukrainian cookery! Whether fresh (sweet) or fermented (sour), this vegetable is ubiquitous.

Here is a traditional Ukrainian for sauerkraut soup (kapusniak), courtesy Judy Hrynenko of Prairie Cottage Perogies . She first shared this recipe on Nash Holos last January.

Kapusniak

2-3 lbs of pork spareribs or pork neck bones
1 pork hock, smoked
8 cups water
1 large onion
3 bay leaves
2 tsp black pepper corns
2 tsp salt
1 jar or large can of sauerkraut

(Tip: purchase smoked pork hocks at any butcher shop. Or use ham, the kind with the bone. )
Wash the meat, place in a soup pot and cover with water.

Bring to a boil, skim off the scum that comes to the top. Turn down and add bay leaves, peppercorns and salt. Simmer until meat is tender — about 1½ hours.

Add sauerkraut and onion, and continue cooking until tender. Add salt to taste.

Remove ribs and pork hock from the pot and separate meat from bones. Discard bones. Cut the meat into bite size pieces, and return to pot to reheat.

Serve with a hearty rye bread, and enjoy!

Smachnoho!

Sour Cherry Cheesecake

Just got a call from a listener requesting this recipe, which aired on Nash Holos June 20.

With cherry season in full swing, this is the time of year to make it! It calls for sour cherries, tho, which aren't as easily found in supermarkets and greengrocers as the sweeter Bing or Rainier varieties.

If you are lucky enough to have a sour cherry tree in your backyard, make sure to try this yummy recipe. If you don't, and can't find a local greengrocer or fruit stand that sells them, you can always get them in a jar at supermarket or East European deli. (They may also be labelled Morello cherries.)

This recipe for Sour Cherry Cheesecake, courtesy Judy Hrynenko of Prairie Cottage Perogies is a modern adaptation of a traditional cheesecake.


As with most traditional Ukrainian cheesecakes, it uses cottage cheese rather than cream cheese. However, the short pastry crust is replaced with one made of a crumb mixture.

Tip: Make sure to use dry cottage cheese and not the creamed variety.

Sour Cherry Cheesecake

3/4 cup graham wafer crumbs
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp soft butter
1 lb dry cottage cheese
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup thick cream
1 tsp grated lemon rind
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour cherries, fresh, frozen or from the jar, cut in half
1/4 cup walnuts

Mix the crumbs with the sugar and cinnamon. Work in the butter. Pat evenly into the bottom and sides of a buttered 8x8" baking pan.

Press the cheese through a sieve or if you have a food processer, just a few pulses will do to make it smooth.

Beat the egg yolks, adding the sugar gradually and beating continually until light and fluffy. Combine with cheese.

Add salt, cream, lemon rind, cornstarch, vanilla and cherries. Mix thoroughly.

Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into the mixture.

Spread over the crumb crust and sprinkle with the chopped nuts.

Bake in a moderate oven (325ºF) for 55 to 60 minutes. When done, open the oven door and leave the cake inside to cool for 1/2 hour.

For an even fuller, richer taste, top with whipped cream.

Smachnoho!

Ukrainian recipe: Cottage cheese dumplings (Halushky)

The term "cottage cheese" was first used in the mid 19th century. It’s a simple cheese made by cottage dwellers from milk left over, after making butter … hence the name.

This soft cheese is the most common in traditional Ukrainian cuisine, unlike the hard cheeses common to other European cultures. In modern-day Ukraine, however, you will find more varieties of cheeses. The Ukrainian word for cheese, btw, is сир (cyr).

Cottage cheese is low in fat and carbohydrates, and high in protein. A four-ounce serving of regular cottage cheese is about 120 calories. A fat-free variety of the same serving size has 80 calories. To compensate for the flavor missing from the fat, low-fat and non-fat ones tend to have more sugar in them.

Cottage cheese is very versatile and can be used to make delicious sweet and savoury dishes. Here is a recipe for a savoury one that aired on Nash Holos April 18, 2010.

Cottage Cheese Halushky (Dumplings)

2 cups of grated raw potatoes, drained
1 cup cold mashed potato
1 beaten egg
1 teaspoon grated onion
½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper, or to taste
½ cup of flour or more.
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup dry cottage cheese

Use a fine grater to grate the potatoes, and make sure to drain them well. The potato pulp should not be watery, but almost dry. (Try grating the potatoes into a sieve lined with cheesecloth.)

After potatoes are grated, gather the ends of the cheesecloth together and squeeze out any remaining moisture. Place in a large mixing bowl.

Next, sieve the cold cooked mashed potatoes and add to the grated potatoes, along with the egg, onion, salt and pepper.

Sift the flour with the baking powder and stir into the potato mixture. For a tasty variation, add some chopped fresh dill, two tablespoons or more.

The mixture should be thick enough to shape. If it’s not, add more flour, about a tablespoon at a time.

Form the mixture into small balls, about an inch in diameter. Flatten each one, and place a teaspoon of the cottage cheese filling on it, bring the edges up and seal them, shaping the ball into an oval. Place the dumplings into a frying pan with oil and fry until golden brown, for about seven to ten minutes.

Drain on a paper towel, then place on a platter. Serve with sour cream and creamed cottage cheese.

Смачного!