Ukrainian Christmas Eve, 2017

Something so special in celebrating Christmas Eve on Jan 6th.   The focus is no longer on gifts but on family, the symbolic meal and church.  So many memories of my grandparents family all attending regardless of the weather.  Their daughter, Mary and family in spite of over an hour driving time in sometimes very cold or blizzard conditions always made the trip to be with the family.  

This was my menu for Christmas Eve which is very much like my grandmother's but  I have added a Beet salad and Fish Balls. 

Christmas Eve 

Kolach

Kutia

Borscht with uszka

Herring

Marinated Mushroom
Platter of smoked tuna and salmon

Beets with Smoked Salmon, pickled radish, oranges, preserved lemons

Fish Balls 

Morel Mushroom sauce

Cabbage Rolls

Pyrohy,   Sauerkraut 

               Potatoes and Cheese

Platter of dried fruit, nuts and oranges

Pampusky

My Mom and grandmother served all the food at the same time, starting with Kutia.  I do it in stages, first the Kutia,  soup, then the appetizers followed by the main dishes.  Although, I am getting better in time management, I still find that I do not execute this meal as well as my mom did.  I do remember the Christmas Eve dinner at my grandmother, where everyone was sitting at the table with some hay underneath the table scattered on a bed sheet.  Candies were thrown into the hay for the children to find after the meal. 

The Kolach was made with the help of my grandkids! 

The traditional Kutia starts the meal following after singing "God Eternal"

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The mushroom filled tiny dumplings were cooked in water.  Cooking them like I did the first time I made them in the beet broth results in pretty pink dumplings! 

Borscht

This was my dish of food! 

The fish platter that I bought in Chester Nova Scotia was filled with delicious smoked tuna and salmon, a generous gift from son in law that he brought from British Columbia!  Pickled Radish and Red Onion garnished the fish! 

This is a mixture of marinated mushroom that were purchased at out Italian store.

My daughter and husband were here from Vancouver.  We all dressed up in Ukrainian clothing that have been embroidered by cousins in Western Ukraine. 

We ended the meal with freshly fried Pampusky filled with dried fruit!

At the same time in rural Manitoba, my aunt who is in her nineties also prepared this feast for her family.

Aunt Marion wishing everyone a Merry Christmas! 

Kutia 

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!