COUSINS visit UKRAINE and TSVITNA KAPUSTA (Cauliflower)

                           Val and Gerald in front of the Opera House in Lviv.  

This  brought back wonderful memories of seeing a spectacular performance there of  Georgian dancing.  The men drummed and stamped their boots, made incredible leaps from a kneeling position, and spun about in the air!

                                              Vern (on the right) in front of a restaurant in Lviv

I had the best Baked Alaska ever in the Grand Hotel in Lviv!  My daughter's description: "a splendid mound of fruit and ice cream on a thin layer of cake buried in a heap of slightly chewy meringue  sprinkled with sugar".

                                               Val, Gerald, & Vern tour the Ancestral Village

                                                  Bukovel

                                                                Karpaty

           and one of  the lovely wooden churches in the Carpathians.

                                               They were guests at this beautiful wedding:

                                           The bride is one of our cousins in Ukraine.

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Arab botanists assigned the origin of cauliflower to Cyprus.

Cauliflower arrived in France in the 16th century via Genoa.

A North American variety was developed in Germany in the 18th century.

Savella Stechishin's Baked Cauliflower is very good. (TRADITIONAL UKRAINIAN COOKERY, page 250)

Savella remarked, "Ukrainian vegetable cookery is very much like that of Canada.  The difference may be found only in the final finishing, sauces, and the garnishes." 

Savella identified browned butter and browned butter crumbs as "the favorite Ukrainian garnish".  

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Bohdan Zahny also has a cauliflower souffle which I used as a springboard for a

UKRAINIAN-STYLE CAULIFLOWER CASSEROLE

         

1 lb cauliflower

1 ½ cups milk

¾ tsp salt (divided)

¼ tsp pepper

3 tbsp Cream of Wheat cereal (or farina)

2 eggs

1 tbsp bread crumbs

*Butter a soufflé dish (5-inch or 13-cm diameter) or small casserole. 

*Cut cauliflower into small pieces.  (Include stems.)

*Simmer cauliflower and ¼ tsp salt in milk for 15 minutes – uncovered. 

*Drain the cauliflower and reserve the milk.

*Chop the cauliflower finely in food processor. 

*Return milk to pan.  Heat and stir in Cream of Wheat cereal.  Stir until thickened (about 3 minutes).  Remove from heat.

*Stir cauliflower into cereal and milk.

45 minutes before serving time, preheat the oven to 350.

   

*Stir ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, and the yolks of two eggs into the cauliflower.

*Beat the egg whites until stiff.

*Fold the cauliflower mixture into the egg whites.

*Turn mixture into soufflé dish. 

*Sprinkle with bread crumbs. 

*Bake for 30 minutes. 

Leftovers make a wonderful lunch.  Spread on toast.  Top with cheese.  Run under broiler or melt in microwave.  YUM!