An ANCIENT UKRAINIAN SAUCE and a Letter from MARY STADNYK

Nov 30^th 1982   (30 cent stamp on envelope)

We have killed 30 geese, sold only ten so far, perhaps by Christmas time there be more wanting them and sold only four plants so far and no one phones for them, I may have to throw them out.

We were to town today, I tried to give those pillow cases but had no slip for them so they didn’t want to take them so I will have more pillow cases.

Aline was supposed to come last week but so far no one, I guess she’s killing her geese. 

 Today was a funeral for Ukrainian Catholic priest, he died at home, on Friday people found him dead sitting by the table. 

Bill Stadnyk [Dad’s nephew] was to see us on Sunday afternoon.  We were to church Sunday morning.

Diana been writing a lot lately.

It’s been nice for the last three days, it was so cold before.

How is the baby, did she get over the cold?   I am knitting her a scarf but I haven’t made as many mistakes in no knitting as what I have on scarf, I know no one will notice.  But I know where they are.  I am always correcting them.  I only started it yesterday.  When I finish I will be glad, I may have enough yarn to mitts too.  I will be glad when I be knitting mitts.

Dad had a bad cold, he had to see the doctor, now he’s all better. 

The hunting is over I think but only Clayton got one deer, haven’t heard of no one else getting any.  

My brother Wesley was down one day, they saw a lot but didn’t get any.  He took three geese and went home, he said he was never so cold. 

Closing with best wishes for everything and best of health. 

***************

Mom loved soup and boiled chicken.  Personally, I think boiled chicken’s okay, but definitely better with a sauce.  For instance, I LOVED it when Mom creamed the chicken. 

I also like Annette Ogrodnik Corona’s Onion-Honey Sauce for Poached Chicken.  She says that sauces “made sweet and sour with the addition of vinegar and honey are an ancient Ukrainian specialty”.

 

ONION-HONEY SAUCE  based on Annette’s recipe in The New Ukrainian Cookbook

3 tbsp canola oil

2 onions

1 cup chicken stock

2 tbsp honey

4 tbsp apple cider vinegar

½  tsp pepper

Salt to taste (about 1 tsp)

Paprika

·        Thinly slice the onions.

·       Sauté the onions in the oil over low heat for 15 minutes (don’t brown).

·       Add the chicken stock, increase heat to high, and cook for one minute.

·        Add the honey, vinegar, pepper, and salt to taste.

·        Pour over the chicken.  Sprinkle with paprika.

·        If the chicken is cold, put it in the oven (preheated to 350 degrees) and cook, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes.

GREY CUP FOOD at Nestor’s Table

Sometimes, when we go out for dinner,  I forget to take my camera, sometimes I have it but just forget to take pictures, and sometimes I just don’t feel like it.  But Nestor has been serving a series of such incredible dinners that I decided it would be a shame not to have a visual record of at least one.  Just look at what Nestor served us last night!

Rum Cocktail garnished with a delicious salami

Melon cubes wrapped in Parma ham

Fantastic Teriyaki Chicken Wings

Served with Spaghetti Carbonara, Caesar salad, and Sizzling Tomatoes

******

 TOUCHDOWN!!!

Thinking about CHRISTMAS . . . and BORTSCHOK

Christmas preparations are underway.

A Christmas Stocking from my Sewing Room!

It’s even time to think about this year’s menus!  One way to start is by reviewing last year’s J

Dec. 25, 2012

Appetizers :  bison meatballs, puff pastry canapés (all yummy)

Bortschok :  Cordon Bleu Cookery Course Issue #64    (I like this, but I didn't make it tart enough this time so I increased the amount of lemon juice in the recipe below.) 

with Vushka:  Festive Ukrainian Cooking, page 11  (excellent!!!)

Roast Tenderloin:  Savella Stechishin, page 82:  

                        with Bearnaise Sauce and Deglazed Vegetables  (excellent)

Pyrohi with Green Onion Filling and Sour cream:  Savella Stechishin, p. 365

      (These reminded Nestor of Mom's Big Baked Dill Buns.)

Cabbage Salad:  Savella Stechishin, page 283  

      (I didn't like the apples in this but Bryan thought this was good.)

 Dessert:  Chocolate Toffee Tart:  delicious   

**********

Family Albums, old style

 New style:  Facebook 

                                                                    ****************

BORTSCHOK

2 lb beef

10 cups water

2 onions

1 clove

½ tsp thyme

½ tsp basil

½ tsp rosemary

Parsley stalks

1 bayleaf

1 celery stalk, cut into 2 inch pieces

Lemon peel: 3 inches

10 peppercorns

1 tsp salt

3 large beets or 4 medium

3 tbsp lemon juice (or more according to taste)

Sour cream

1.       Put beef into stock pot with 6 cups water.  Quickly bring to boil.  Remove scum as it rises.

2.       Chop the onions and celery. 

3.       When the broth is well-skimmed and boiling, add salt, onions, lemon peel, celery, all the seasonings, and a bunch of parsley stalks.  Lower the heat.

4.       Simmer for 2 ½ hours.

5.       Peel and julienne the beets.

6.       Add the beets, bring back to a boil, and cook another 20 minutes.

7.       Strain the soup.

8.       Add lemon juice and taste for salt and piquancy.  (Add more lemon juice or vinegar if needed.)

9.       Serve with dollops of sour cream or Vushka.    

                                      Vushka are tiny:  a Ukrainian  version of Tortellini.
     

*You can use the beets in a Beet Salad.

LADY VESPER, FRENCH PEAS, and “A Good Woman”

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful,

But the fire is so delightful"

 

"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."

FRENCH PEAS  (serves 4)

          This recipe has intrigued for over 30 years with its combination of cooked lettuce and peas, and I finally tried it out.  Wow!  Tastes way better than this picture looks J

6 tbsp butter

2 cups finely chopped lettuce

3 cups frozen small peas

½ teaspoon salt

¼ tsp pepper

·         Melt butter in saucepan.

·         Add chopped lettuce.

·         Top with frozen peas.

·         Sprinkle with salt & pepper.

·         Cover, reduce heat, and cook over very low heat for 10 minutes.

*******

Make it a really cosy evening with the lovely period movie, “A Good Woman”.     

BULGARIAN SHEEP'S MILK CHEESE-ONION-POTATO PEROGIES . . . for KATHY

The great thing about pictures is how they shake fun memories loose.

Kathy with a crab trap in the 1980s.

Kathy, a  powerhouse at lots of board games, including Scrabble

Kathy’s cake for Mom’s 90^th birthday

 

Kathy’s perogies !!!! at Thanksgiving, 2013

Yep, Kathy does a lot of Ukrainian cooking including borsch and cabbage rolls.  So here’s another recipe for you, Kathy:   

Marta Pisetska Farley’s version of Potato-Cheese filling for Perogies:

2 ½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes

1 ¼ pounds onions

¼ pound butter

8 ounces sheep’s milk cheese (I used Krinos Bulgarian White Sheep’s

 Milk Cheese)

2 tsp salt

2 tsp pepper

·        Boil potatoes with 1 tsp salt until done.  Drain and rice.

·        Chop onions and cook in butter for 10 minutes until just beginning to brown.

·        Crumble the cheese.

·        Mix onions, cheese, salt, and pepper into the potatoes.

·        This amount of filling will be more than enough to make one batch of perogies using Mom’s recipe for dough.  See:

http://eleanorstadnyk.blogspot.com/2012/06/perogiesvarenikipyrohi.html

Happy Birthday, Kathy!

    

UKRAINIAN PORK ROAST with PRUNES & BEETS . . .plus PLAY BALL, POZIR SCHOOL! . . . AWESOME!

  

“Waldymir Stadnyk was playing in the left field position and the batter hit a fly ball over the fence and onto the road.  In most cases this would be a homerun because the fielder could not retrieve the ball soon enough to prevent the runner from reaching home-plate. This did not happen when Waldymir played in the field.  As soon as the ball was hit Waldymir took off for the road, leaped over the three strands of barbed wire fence and threw the ball back in time to stop the runner at third base.”

        From  John Stolarchuk’s memories of teaching:   

The School District of Pozir #2206

Waldymir is one of my many cousins in this picture, but the only one I could spot is George. J   Let me know if you can identify anyone else!  Especially Waldymir!!!

***************

UKRAINIAN PORK ROAST with PRUNES & BEETS  (Babusyna Pechenia)

From Marta Pisetska Farley’s  Festive Ukrainian Cooking

            (Marta says this recipe was recorded in 1930.  Well, I found it just AMAZING!)

4 pound pork roast

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons oil or lard

2 onions

2 teaspoons salt

4 medium beets

12 ounces pitted prunes

1 cup sour cream
1 tsp flour

·        Thinly slice onions.

·        Preheat oven to 350 .

·        Pat meat dry with paper towel, rub with 2 tablespoons flour and salt .

·        Brown meat on all sides in oil or lard in a heavy dutch oven .  Pour off fat.

·        Add onions.   Cover and cook in oven for an hour .

·        Turn roast over and return to oven.  Cook another 30 minutes to an hour or until done.   Then remove and let sit until close to serving time.

   

·        Meanwhile, cook fresh beets in 3 cups water until tender, reserving liquid .

·        Julienne beets like you would for borsch (thick) and add to roast .

·         Add prunes and beet liquid.   Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer for  5 minutes.

·        Mix 1 teaspoon flour with sour cream.

·         Remove roast to platter.

·        Add sour cream to dutch oven and stir.   It makes lots of sauce. 

Serve with broad egg noodles . 

P.S.  Diana wasn't a fan, however.  She said she likes beets in borsch and that's about it for her and beets so no sauce on her pork. :( 

Dining on THE WALL . . .(Game of Thrones) . . . and more GALIANO HIKES

On The Bodega Ridge Trail, we had to go single file along a long cliff  that’s marked Hazardous.

Undaunted, we also took on Mount Galiano.  This hike got me huffing and puffing but saved its real hazards for the gorgeous cliff lookout at the end.

                    There's a sheer drop-off at the edge of this cliff.

The Pebble Beach Trail is much easier, and I loved hearing the waves crashing even before we reached the beach.

                                  Buried treasure?

Grey skies and a good, tired feeling –

 

Medieval Mulled Wine:  George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones:  A feast of Ice & Fire :  Steaming hot – what could be better? . . . 

          More  wine, Medieval Pork Pie, and Red Slaw!

freshly ground pork flavored with dates, currants, honey, & ginger:  better than any tourtiere I’ve ever had!

George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones:  A feast of Ice & Fire

************

RED SLAW

I’ve always hesitated to use Red Cabbage in salads because it’s coarser than regular cabbage, but this recipe has changed my mind.  The trick, according to Louis De Gouy, is to soak shredded cabbage for an hour in salt water before dressing it. 

        From The Ultimate Sandwich Book by Louis De Gouy, et al

2 lbs cabbage

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup sour cream

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1.     Shred cabbage (not finely).

2.   Soak it for an hour in 6 cups of water with 2 ½ teaspoons salt.

3.   Drain and let sit in colander until well-drained.

4.   Mix all the other ingredients and pour over cabbage.

It’s a good idea to make this a day ahead of serving as red cabbage should be well-marinated.    
                                                                        *********

Bide well, Galiano Island!  I'm sure we'll be back again!