If there is one item that puts Ukrainian cookery on the map of International Yum, that would be borscht.  I would love to tell you that there are poems and songs written about it, borscht cook-offs and Borschtfests are held around the world, but, sadly, I can’t report any of this; apparently the rest of […]

With Jewish New Year just around the corner, I feel a bout of phantom nostalgia coming on. Why phantom, you may ask? Because my family never really kept any of the Jewish traditions.  Sure, my aunt made Gefilte Fish every fall, along with some other staples of classic Jewish cookery. She’d invite the family over, and we […]

Bagels are one of my most favorite things to eat.  They are so versatile, so forgiving; they go with anything — from smoked white fish to jam — and never complain.  You can eat them by themselves just fine or slather with butter or cream cheese, and you’ve got yourself a meal. New York style […]

From time to time, abiding by the unbending code of conduct of first generation transplants, I succumb to strong nostalgic cravings.  In case you are not the first generation transplant, let me explain.  I refer to craving foods I can’t have because there is no place to get them — either they no longer exist or […]

Borodinsky bread is my childhood staple food.  We had it practically every day and never grew tired of it. The aroma, the well balanced sweet and sour, the substantial “meaty” crumb and thin glossy crust — should I go on listing all the wonderful things that put this loaf in the bread hall-of-fame? Nowadays, it […]

Am I the only one constantly finding myself with a surplus of sauerkraut? Yeah, that’s how I know I am a crazy person. I love sauerkraut and make it at home all the time. Ever since I started reading on benefits of lacto-fermented (naturally pickled) foods and found out that sauerkraut stands a cut above […]

We didn’t have a lot of cookies growing up. This whole love affair with cookies is more of an American phenomenon.  What we did have was  more like crackers — dry and crunchy things of various shapes, flavors and colors, which my grandpa in the very old-fashioned way called biscuits. We loved them.  When I […]