FAMILY HEIRLOOMS

 Front row:  Yulia, Serg, Roman, Yulia’s husband,

Back row:  Maria, Alexsandr, Miroslava

Yulia was Mom’s cousin.  She was tiny as a wren with the heart of an eagle.  Mom corresponded with Yulia and her family for years so it was very exciting to visit her in Ukraine.  As our car pulled up, Yulia's door opened and everyone came out to welcome us -- including the family from next door who insisted that they were also our relatives and we should spend a few minutes with them before leaving the village.  Turns out, the two families LIVING SIDE BY SIDE have feuded for YEARS.  Yulia put her case to me and I could not deny her request that we zoom off at the end without giving the next door relations the time of day!

 Maria was the cousin who visited all of us in the 1990s.  She was Yulia’s daughter, and Roman is her son.

Miroslava is also Yulia’s daughter.  She is married to Alexsandr and they are Serg’s parents.

Serg, Daniela, and Andrew

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This post is about a couple of things that should never be lost –   lovely photos of some of our relatives in Ukraine and a recipe that I worked out in a way to make entertaining easier.

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HONEY GLAZED CARROTS:  6 servings

            Adapted from Helen Vail’s recipe.

2 pounds carrots

Scant ½ tsp salt

1 ½ cups water

2 cinnamon sticks

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground ginger

6 tbsp honey

4 tsp lemon juice

1.     Peel carrots and cut in 2 inch matchsticks.

2.     Fill large mixing bowl with cold water and set aside.

3.     Bring water to a boil with salt in large saucepan.  Add carrots.  Cook 4 minutes.

4.     Drain carrots and reserve the water.  Refresh carrots in cold water and drain.  Set aside.

5.     Return ½ cup of carrot water to the saucepan.  Add the remaining ingredients and cover.

6.     Five or ten minutes before serving time, put carrots into saucepan.

7.     Bring to a boil over high heat and continue boiling until the liquid evaporates.

8.     Stir frequently at the end to coat the carrots in glaze.

These carrots go very well with liver & onions or a pork roast J.