Cabbage Rolls, Rice Holubtsi for Christmas Eve

Another dish that is prepared for Christmas Eve is Cabbage rolls or Holubtsi.  The recipe that I prepare is how my Mom prepared them for this meatless supper.  My grandmother would not have used butter as her meal was dairy less and meatless.  Some still follow this tradition of what would now be considered a vegan diet.  

Cut out the core of the cabbage so that it steams and is easier to pull of the leaves without the leaves tearing.  You can also freeze the whole cabbage and when unthawed the leaves are also pliable and easy to remove, but this means having the cabbage thawed before you make the cabbage rolls.  I prefer to steam the leaves.

Place the head of cabbage into a pot to steam with the core down.

Use two forks to carefully remove the pliable leaves. Being careful not to burn yourself!

The stack of leaves ready to be rolled. 

The steamed leaves are cooling before being rolled.  Yes, the house has a pungent aroma! 

  

Cut out the hard spine of the leave or cut down the spine so that you can still roll the leave.. The larger leaves you can cut out four pieces to roll.  The leaves become smaller as you come to the end.  I make small rolls without tucking in the ends.

Place a tablespoon of cooked rice in the leaf and roll!  Place the seam down into a prepared pan. The enamel roaster that are used for larger group, are usually layered with the outer covering leaves of the cabbage.  My aunt uses tinfoil to cover her enamel roaster. Yes, she still does roasters of  cabbage rolls at the age of ninety five. 

The sauce for the casserole is a can of good quality tomato soup, pour over the rolls and grate frozen butter on top, wrap in tin foil and freeze until ready to bake at 350 for one hour or until the cabbage leaves are cooked.

Fall Supper 2017 in Calgary

This was my plate from The Fall Supper last weekend.  This was the eighth annual Knights of Columbus fundraiser fall supper.

Fall suppers were popular in Regina and Winnipeg when we lived there, but I don't remember them growing up in the country.  In fact there are web pages listing Fall suppers in Winnipeg and another for Manitoba..  

Instead of the long tables that where used in Regina, the rounds tables were covered in tablecloths and set for10 to a table.  Tickets went quickly and in fact the tickets were over sold by 20 tickets. 

A live band played during the evening!

The long tables were used for the roasters of food with servers for the homemade pyrohy, cabbage rolls and chicken.  One could help themselves to Buns, Peas and Carrots, Meatballs, Caesar salad and Mashed potatoes. 

Homemade Pyrohy tossed in Caramelized Onions and Butter! 

These homemade Cabbage Rolls in tomato sauce were delicious.

The Meatballs were floating in a creamy Dill Mushroom sauce.  I was must anxious to taste these as this was one of my favourite dishes that my Mom used to make. However, the meat had been pulsed through the food processor and the dense meatballs did not soak up the sauce like hand made meatballs.   The eight year old at my table thought they were the best so he gladly took my meatballs. His father however did tell him that his Baba's homemade meatballs, who was sitting at our table, were the best, as he winked at his Mom in law!

Breaded Baked Chicken was also popular! 

This was a great feast and everyone enjoyed the food, the live band and socializing! Not to mention I did win the 50 -50 draw!  

Wedding in Ukraine

A distant cousin who lives in Kyvi posted these pictures of a wedding she attended in Khmelnytskyi which is located in the Western part of Ukraine and crossed by one of the longest rivers in Ukraine.

This recent wedding in Ukraine is filled with Ukrainian color, traditions, customs and food!

The pictures taken by my cousin beautifully showcase this wedding.  

Braided bread called Koroval has remained part of the wedding tradition in Ukraine. I have only seen one  Koroval in Calgary at a family wedding, which was mainly covered with tiny birds.   The Braided bread has symbolic meaning and is covered in flowers, pinecones, birds.  

This is a picture of a Koroval made for my Cousin's son wedding in 2003. In this case the little birds are made separately from the baked braided bread.

These beautiful breads were placed on the head table and some were used to decorate the Wedding cake table. According to my cousin, "there used to be no cakes in the old times and this Art Bread used to be the main dessert".

Tables lavishly set for 350 guests!  

Colorful Ukrainian dancers greeted the guests!

Grilled sardines and crawfish!  According to Wikipedia, in Ukraine, crayfish (раки, sing. рак) are a traditional seasonal appetizer that is used as an accompaniment to beer and liquor. 

The whole suckling pig that appears to be on each of the tables brought back memories of one of my cousin telling me that weddings in Canada were always held in the fall, after harvest, when a pig would be butchered and a jug of moonshine was available!  

Pickled mushroom, cold cuts, salad and holodet's made out of pork.  I am familiar with Hushka, (Studinetz) a jellied dish that I have make out of pork shoulder and pork hocks. The pig is served as whole but is cut on the request. 

Plates of Stuffed Bell Peppers, Shashlik (Pork Kebabs), Cabbage Rolls (Holopchi), assortment of breads.  Where did one start? 

Check out this Dessert Table!

Cabbage Rolls, Holopchi

Cabbage Rolls, Holopchi is one of the Traditional dishes for Christmas Eve Dinner

Christmas is fast approaching and I am reducing the work list I have written for the Christmas Eve dinner.   As I prepare for this feast, I also marvel at how skilled my Mom was in preparing and carrying out this festive meal.  I 'learned' the following recipe as a child by observing my mother making holopchi before Christmas and at other times.  She seldom had need of recipes and cooked by look, feel and touch.

I started early in the morning by steaming a head of cabbage on a steaming rack in a large stock pot. The core of the cabbage was first cut out with a sharp knife to make it easier to steam.

The wilted leaves are cut at the core then carefully pulled off the head of cabbage and set aside to cool.

Since my Mom liked her cabbage rolls to be small, the leaf is cut in half.  The heavy centre vein of the  leaf is cut away with a sharp knife.  This dense vein can also be cut down so that the whole leaf can be used for one roll if it is a small leaf.

Rice filling

I use my rice steamer and cook 2 cups of rice.
I added  2 Tbsp to the cooked rice.  You can also add chopped caramelized onions for additional flavour.  My sister does, but I don't.


Place a spoonful of the rice filling on the prepared leaf which has been trimmed on the edges to make a straight line. Roll gently.

Place the roll into a prepared casserole that has been first sprayed or greased and then lined with cabbage leaves or tin foil.

My Mom always lined her roaster pans with cabbage leaves where my Aunt lines the pan with tin foil.  The tin foil needs to be well greased.  Fill the casserole dish with the cabbage rolls.

For the sauce,  pour 1 can of tomato soup over the cabbage rolls and dot with butter on top.

Bake at 325 for 60 to 90 minutes or until the cabbage rolls are soft when pierced with a knife.

When I first started to make cabbage rolls, because I used a smaller sized casserole dish, I found it easier to cook the cabbage rolls to perfection in the microwave on Auto Cook vegetables and then kept the casserole warm in the oven as I prepared the rest of meal for Christmas Eve.