NAOMI'S DAY . . . and RADISH & GREEN BEAN SALAD

What a charmer! 

 

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Naomi, this salad was such a hit that I just had to blog it:

AMAZING RADISH & GREEN BEAN SALAD

            From The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash

·        Cook ¼ lb green beans for each serving.

·        Slice radishes.

·        Toast pine nuts by stirring them in a hot, dry skillet.

·        Toss green beans and radishes together with a vinaigrette dressing.

·        Garnish with toasted pine nuts.

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the MENU

Radish & Green bean salad

Hutsul Corn Bread

Bohdan Zahny’s Vegetarian Borsch

  

LISA'S DAY and UKRAINIAN CORN BREAD

A Domestic Goddess from a youngster  . . .

Lisa is one of our family’s GREAT COOKS!  Her philosophy:

I consider myself a “foodie”. I love ingredients, I love prepping and cooking, and I love to please my friends and family with tasty, beautifully presented meals (accompanied by the appropriate wines, of course!) Cooking is the one thing that never gets old or stale for me. I have friends who say, “Oh—no, I don’t cook anymore—my family is grown—I’m done.” But for me—there’s always the joy of anticipating how something will taste, looking forward to trying a new technique or improving on an old favourite—I can’t help looking forward to the next meal. Someone once said to me, “Good grief! Does every meal have to be a celebration?!” Well—why not? 

Lisa and Josef in New York

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Lisa, I chose this Ukrainian recipe for your day because it looks so fancy.

HUTSUL CORN BREAD (Malai)

        From Annette Ogrodnik Corona’s The New Ukrainian Cookbook

½ cup sour cream

2 large eggs

2/3 cup buttermilk

2 tbsp softened butter

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 to 1 ½ cups feta cheese

½ cup finely chopped red bell pepper

·        Grease a 9 inch square cake pan.

·        Melt the butter and set aside.

·        In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs.

·        Stir in sour cream, melted butter, and buttermilk.

·        Stir in cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking soda.  Let sit for 15 minutes.

·        Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  (Annette suggests 350 but that wasn’t hot enough for my oven.  Fannie Farmer suggests 425 degrees.)

·        Turn batter into greased cake pan and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.

·        Crumble the feta.  Sprinkle it on top of the hot bread.  Then top with chopped red pepper.

·        Bake for 5 more minutes.

This bread reheats well in the oven.  Serve hot.  J

Happy Birthday to my First Baby!

In St. Paul’s Hospital

With our wonderful Dr. Swanson

At home

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Now, my lovely daughter is all grown up and shares her favorite cookbooks with me.  This recipe comes from Rebar Modern Food Cookbook.

PEROGIES, YAM  (enough filling for one batch of dough)

1 ¼ pounds yams (0.56 kg)

½ tbsp butter

1 smallish leek, mostly white part, chopped OR one small onion, chopped

¼ tsp salt

¼ pound smoked Gouda cheese, grated

1/8 cup minced chives

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/8 tsp caraway seed (optional)

Filling can be prepared one day in advance.

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Scrub yam and poke here & there with a fork.  Place on oiled baking pan.  Add ¼ cup (to 1 cup) water & roast until yam is soft & puffy.
3. Cool to handling temperature.  Peel & mash or puree until smooth.
4. While yams roast, heat butter.  Add leeks (or onion) & salt & sauté until lightly golden & caramelized. 
5. Combine leeks, mashed yams, cheese, & chives.  Season with pepper (& caraway, if using).  Taste for salt.

THIRTY-NINE YEARS!

On the grounds of the Manitoba Legislature

Into the storm

Bryan’s mother, his 3 sisters, and the getaway Datsun

Mom & Dad, at this point, 42 years together

With our Master of Ceremonies

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It was a small wedding.  Bryan and I handwrote all the invitations and Mom and I did all the cooking.  Other than the wedding cake, which Mom made, the main dishes I chose were NOT traditional.  We had  

Sunday Chicken from The I Hate to Cook Book

                                  &

Potatoes in Yogurt from A Taste of India.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

POTATOES in YOGURT

2 pounds potatoes, cooked

2 medium onions or 1 and 1/4 pounds 

2 tbsp vegetable oil

½ tsp cumin

¼ tsp turmeric

2 tsp ground coriander

1 and 1/2  cups yogurt

½ tsp hot chili powder  (for milder potatoes, use ordinary Mexican style chili powder)

1 tsp salt

·        Dice the potatoes and set aside. 

·        Fry the onions in the oil until golden. 

·        Add cumin, turmeric, and coriander,  and fry another minute.

·        Combine yogurt, chili powder, and salt.

·        Stir into the onions.

·        Add potatoes and heat on low heat for 10 minutes.

Mother's Day & MUSHROOM-POTATO PATTIES, Kiev Style

Sporting my Mother’s Day Gift from one daughter . . .

Enjoying an incredible weekend in Vancouver with another daughter . . .

Lucky me!

I have an adorable grandson,

An irresistible grand-dog,

And a second delightful grand-dog!

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How to show my appreciation?  Cooking something amazing, of course!

Kiev Style Mushroom and Potato Patties (Kartoplyani Tovcheniki po Kiyivskomoo)

From Bohdan Zahny’s The Best of Ukrainian Cuisine

Allow lots of time for preparation and you will need these ingredients:

2 lbs potatoes

8 ounces mushrooms

Butter

Flour

Milk

Eggs

Bread crumbs

Vegetable oil

Chopped dill or parsley for garnish

***Mushroom sauce or Sour cream to serve with the potato patties

·        Boil potatoes in salted water and mash them with 2 tbsp butter.

·        Blend 2 tbsp flour (use potato flour, if you have it) with ½ cup cold water.  Stir into the potatoes.

·        Beat 2 eggs and stir into the potatoes.

·       

Cut mushrooms into halves or quarters, depending on size.

·        Bring water to a boil in a kettle.

·        Put mushrooms into a medium saucepan.

·        Cover mushrooms with 2 cups boiling water.  Add ½ tsp salt.  Cook for 15 minutes.  Drain. 

·        Chop mushrooms finely in a food processor.

·        Melt 3 tbsp butter in the saucepan.  Add and brown 3 tbsp flour and ¼ tsp salt.

·        Whisk in 1 cup milk and stir until sauce is thick.

                 

 Stir in chopped boiled mushrooms.

·      

  Fill a half cup measure with the potato mixture.  Turn onto a working surface.  Divide all the potatoes in this way into 10 portions.

·        Make a depression in each of the potato portions. 

Fill the depression with 2 level tablespoons of thick mushroom filling.

·        Pat into an oval shape.  (The mushroom filling is not covered with potato.)

·        Spread out 3 tbsp of flour on a dinner plate.

·        With a lifter, place each potato patty onto the flour and flip it in order to dust both sides with flour. 

·        On another plate spread out ½ cup fine dry breadcrumbs.

·        Beat 2 eggs and pour onto another dinner plate.

·        Dip both sides of each potato patty into the egg and then into the breadcrumbs.

·        Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

·        In a large frying pan, heat 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp vegetable oil over medium heat.

·        Fry the patties in batches until golden on both sides.

·        Put the patties on a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.  (They can stay there for half an hour or more while you get everything else ready.)

·        Sprinkle with chopped dill and serve with Mushroom Sauce or a dollop of Sour Cream.

Be sure to let your guests know that the patties have a surprise in the center!  Otherwise, they may think they are delicious but uncooked in the middle.  J

Mushroom Sauce from Marta Pisetka Farley’s Festive Ukrainian Cooking: 

Yum, Yum, YUM!

KIP and LIVER

News from Aline:

George went and got himself a new puppy; his name is Kip.  He's a pure bred Border collie, of course, 8 weeks old.

Looking forward to meeting you, Kip!

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I never liked liver when I was growing up.  We always had it the day a pig was slaughtered and it was always thoroughly cooked . . . I suppose it had to be . . . since nobody wanted to risk trichinosis. 

Unfortunately, however, well-done liver, of any kind, always tastes bitter.

I don’t remember when I first discovered how delicious calves’ liver could be if you quickly fry it until it’s nicely browned but still slightly pink inside.  And when you serve it with fried or grilled tomatoes and onions, well . . . !

And now I’ve found another exciting recipe –

CALVES’ LIVER with FRESH SAGE and GRAPEFRUIT

            Based on Sal Gilbertie’s Kitchen Herbs:  The Art and Enjoyment of Growing Herbs . . .

¾ pound calves’ liver, thinly sliced

½ cup milk

3 tbsp flour

Salt & pepper

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

14 fresh sage leaves
1 grapefruit

1/3 cup white wine or water

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp canola oil

2 frying pans

·         Cut liver into strips about 1 inch wide. 

·         Soak liver in milk for 15 minutes.

·         Peel and section the grapefruit, removing the membrane.

·         Put flour in a plastic bag. 

·         Drain liver and shake in the bag to coat with flour.  Spread out on a plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

·         Heat 1 tbsp canola oil over medium-high heat in the smaller frying pan.

·         Start browning the onion in this pan.

·         Heat 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil over high heat in your largest frying pan.  Add liver strips and fry without turning for 2 minutes.

·         Turn up heat to high under the onions if they are not browning quickly.

·         Turn liver over, add sage leaves, and brown quickly for 2 minutes. (You may have to turn down the heat now.)

·         Remove liver to serving platter.  Add grapefruit to this frying pan, toss to brown, and then add the wine or water and stir.

·         Pour sauce and grapefruit and onions over the liver and serve.

·        

·         Be sure to eat the sage.  As Sal Gilbertie says, “The sautéed sage leaves become crisp and delicious.”