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 […]

There is nothing to discuss here, really. I love asparagus. I love pesto. I love pasta. My initially intended dinner wasn’t ready in time, so here is a quickly whipped asparagus pesto to save the day. Served with spaghetti as an emergency dinner option, but that’s not the only use, as you may guess: chicken, […]

Grab a piece of simple soft dough, roll it out and it will open a world of possibilities to you.  A skillet pie can turn your ordinary weeknight into a  feast fit for a king. Should you feel like you need to be convinced, let me give you just a few bullet points: making the dough […]

As days are getting warmer — some places already headed full-throttle into scorching summer heat — meal preparation is dwindling down to a few quick and easy basics. I don’t blame you people,  I mean, who wants to spend the entire evening after a stressful work day cooking when it’s so nice outside (well, that excludes me, […]

Chakhokhbili. I can’t blame you if your first urge was to say Gesundheit when you read this.  Yes, sounds a lot like a sneeze, and for some people it is very hard to pronounce.  Khokhobi in Georgian means pheasant.  Traditionally this dish was made with pheasant, but chicken took its rightful place right next to pheasant because […]

Finally, a batch of sauerkraut I can get behind. I think I finally figured out the perfect salt to cabbage ratio, and the air insulation in my pickling crock helped develop that amazing zest. No spices needed — cabbage has its own perfect punch…