Kitchen Epiphanies

KITCHEN epiphanies

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Savory Dishes

Black Sea Fish Soup with Spicy Sauce -Chornomorska Yushka with Salamur

Leave a Comment / Dining & Travel, Savory Dishes, Seafood, Soups, Ukraine /

Fish soup, called yushka or ukha (юшка or уха), is a classic dish, popular throughout Ukraine. This Black Sea Fish Soup, called Chornomorska (Black Sea) yushka, a version prepared along Ukraine’s southern shore where saltwater fish are abundant, can be easily prepared anywhere where fresh saltwater fish are available. Yushka is one of the oldest […]

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Meatball Chili

Leave a Comment / Beef, Dining & Travel, Entrees, Meats, Pork, Savory Dishes, Soups, United States /

This Meatball Chili is my make-ahead-keep-in-reserve dinner this month.  Each December, I focus on baking cookies, breads, and cakes, pickling herring, making pâtés, and curing meats for our traditional Scandinavian and Ukrainian Christmas celebrations. Other meals throughout this month are often thrown together at the last minute from leftovers and pantry ingredients.  This year, I

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Ras el Hanout Cauliflower Wedges with Mashed Chickpeas

Leave a Comment / Dining & Travel, Entrees, Morocco, Savory Dishes, Vegetables /

This Ras el Hanout Cauliflower Wedges with Mashed Chickpeas recipe is this year’s addition to my plant-forward repertoire. It illustrates how seasoning with an unusual spice blend can amplify the flavor of a common vegetable. When I was growing up in Maryland, Mama and other family cooks cooked vegetables they knew. Thus, my vegetable diet

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Poured-Crust Cabbage Pie — and How Ukrainians Celebrate Midsummer

Leave a Comment / Breads, Dining & Travel, pastry, Savory Dishes, Starter, Tarts and Pies, Ukraine /

I first encountered this Poured-Crust Cabbage Pie at a picnic on the eve of Ivana Kupala, Ukraine’s midsummer celebration. Its thin crust enveloped a savory mixture of shredded young cabbage, other vegetables and spices.  It was perfect picnic food:  fresh, flavorful, easy to eat out of hand on a magical midsummer evening, leaving a lasting

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Carrot Oladky – Tender Carrot Pancakes from Ukraine

Leave a Comment / Cheese, Desserts, Dining & Travel, Savory Dishes, Starter, Ukraine /

These Carrot Oladky (morkvyani oladky – морквяні оладки in Ukrainian) are one of many dairy-based dishes eaten during Masnytsia or Syrny Tyzhden (translated as Butter Week or Cheese Week). Masnytsia is Ukrainian carnivale which takes place a week before the start of Lent, which often occurs at the end of February or in the first

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Winter Beet and Dried Plum Salad with Walnut Dressing

Leave a Comment / Dining & Travel, Salads, Savory Dishes, Starter, Ukraine, Vegetables /

My daughter Sophia teases me whenever I choose a beet dish from a restaurant menu, saying, “So Ukrainian of you!”.  But I love the sweetness and earthiness of beets, which have been a part of my diet in soups, main dishes, and salads since childhood.  This Winter Beet and Dried Plum Salad with Walnut Dressing

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Korean Carrot Salad

Leave a Comment / Korea, Salads, Savory Dishes, Ukraine, Vegetables /

I first encountered this Korean Carrot Salad (in Ukrainian морква по-корейськи, корейський салат з моркви; also called morkovcha in transliteration from Russian) when I started to work in Ukraine over two decades ago.  In those days, most fresh vegetables vanished from Ukraine’s markets by the end of October and those that remained were imported and

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Making Summer Last — Salting and Fermenting Vegetables in Ukraine

Leave a Comment / Salads, Savory Dishes, Starter, Ukraine, Uncategorized, Vegetables /

I became curious about salting and fermenting vegetables when I lived in Ukraine and this post summarizes what I learned and provides my adaptation of classic recipes to small batches. The first summer I worked in Ukraine, a female colleague returned to the office with red-stained hands after a weekend in their family village.  When

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