photo credit: bjornmeansbear

Where did the time go? Don’t we say this more often now than ever before?

Time just seems to fly by, as 2010 is almost gone, and 2011 is  ready to begin.

New Year, new beginning, new resolutions, and the same good old great parties to give it all a great jump start.

Last year I posted a summary of party foods for your convenience, but if you missed it have no worries,  just click here, and start planning your party.

Here are a few new ones for your consideration:

• Homemade Tzatziki Dip - quick, easy, and awesome
• Rye Bread Dip – making a huge comeback
• Lemon Basil Hummus – your vegetarian friends will love you for it
• Chick Peas Vinaigrette - another vegetarian favorite
• Veggie Platter - healthy and crunchy snack for everyone
• Ham Canape - hearty party food, and beautiful combination of color
• Non-alcoholic punch – perfect for the designated drivers

Try one, or try them all, and please come back with comments.

Enjoy your party!

HAPPY NEW YEAR – 2011

The holiday  hustle and bustle is almost over (don’t count your blessings yet….it starts all over again in the  New Year, you knew that, right?), so lets take some time out for a good laugh.

Nothing beats fun “wisdom” from Maxine:

****My husband and I divorced over religious differences. He thought he was God and I didn’t.

****I don’t suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it.

****Some people are alive only because it’s illegal to kill them.

****I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.

****Don’t take life too seriously; No one gets out alive.

****You’re just jealous because the voices only talk to me

****Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

****Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.

****You’re just jealous because the voices only talk to me

****I’m not a complete idiot — Some parts are just missing.

****Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.

****God must love stupid people; He made so many.

****The gene pool could use a little chlorine.

****Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.

****Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?

Are you feeling better yet? Good!

You know that laughter is not only the best medicine, but it also burns calories!!

Decorating a Christmas Tree is  a fun time for the whole family to engage in.  We always used to have a fresh Christmas Tree, and I loved the evergreen smell that filled the house.  However, later on we decided to save a tree, and purchased an artificial one.

Our tree decorating theme continued to change throughout the years, as the family was growing older. We started with a bunch of handmade items created by our children, and added some handcrafted ones purchased at craft shows, and church bazaars.  I still have most of these decorations, but will slowly pass them back to the family  “artists”, as now they decorate their own trees, with their growing families.

My current Christmas Tree decorating theme consists of snow flakes, angels, and Ukrainian design ceramic ornaments.

Today I will share pictures of my angel ornaments.

This is a Ukrainian design ceramic bell shaped ornament, with a painted picture of a Guardian Angel, protecting small children going sledding.  There actually is a special prayer for children to their Guardian Angel, and my little granddaughter is learning it already.

This angel was made by a very  nice young lady I knew in upstate NY.   I purchased it at a church bazaar.  It is made out of a wooden ball, crinkle paper, and some ribbon.

This crochet angel is very special to me, as it was made by my sister, and sent to me from Europe.  She is very talented, and creates all her crocheting pieces, thus one of a kind, without any written instructions. She taught me how to crochet, during our early teen years, but I am not nearly as good at this as she is.  I am so proud of her.

This stained glass angel was made by an artist in Europe, and gifted to me by my niece, who lives in Krakow.  My nieces are such dolls.

These two angels were created by a very kind lady I worked with several years back.  Every year I decorate my tree with these, I reminisce about those happy days we shared at work.

This angel is made mostly out of white embroidery floss and some ribbon.  I also purchased this one at a church bazaar.

This very dainty looking angel is made out of a nylon twine.  It was handmade by a craftsman in Krakow, and my niece presented me with it.  She loves art, and being an architect herself, she has a good eye for beautiful things.

This angel is created  out of straw.  I purchased it at an art museum, as it reminded me of  Christmas ornaments from my childhood.

I had a wonderful time sharing these pictures, and thoughts, with you.

Hopefully you found them interesting and enjoyable.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

KHRYSTOS NARODYVSIA – SLAVYTY YOHO!!

WESOLYCH SWIAT BOZEGO NARODZENIA!!

Chocolate Peppermint Bark is lots of fun to make, and a great idea for holiday gift giving.

My daughter passed her recipe to me to try out, and I am sharing a slightly modified version with you.

I know you will love the creamy, yet crunchy, texture, and the minty refreshing flavor.

Ingredients:

• 24 oz dark chocolate chips (12 oz for a thinner layer)
• 18 oz white chocolate chips (12 oz for a thinner layer)
• 1 cup chipped candy canes, or peppermint hard candy

Directions:

1. Unwrap the candy canes, or peppermint hard candy.
2. Place them in a Ziploc bag,  and zip it closed.
3. Place the bag between two kitchen towels, on a counter top, or any had surface.
4. Using a meat mallet, or a rolling pin, break up the peppermint candy to medium size (raisins size or larger) chunks.
5. Set aside.
6. Line a 11 x 18 inch cookie sheet with aluminum foil, and grease it lightly with butter , or cooking spray.
7. Melt the dark chocolate and spread it evenly over the bottom of the cookie sheet (use a knife, or the back of a spoon, for easier handling).
8. Place it in the fridge to cool completely, to firm up.
9. Melt the white chocolate.
10. Save 1/4  of the chipped peppermint candy, for topping.
11. Fold in the rest of the peppermint chips into the melted white chocolate, to incorporate evenly.
12. Pour the white chocolate/peppermint chips, over the cooled dark chocolate.
13. Smooth it out.
14. Sprinkle the saved peppermint chips over the top of the white chocolate.
15. Press gently with your hand, to slightly embed them into the white chocolate.
16. Place the pan back in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or longer, so the chocolate bark sets firmly.
17. Once set, using your hands, break up the Chocolate Peppermint Bark into uneven pieces,  and store in an airtight container (I peeled off the foil paper,used a knife to pre-cut the bottom of the dark chocolate, for easier handling)

Enjoy!

Ukrainians (as also  many other Europeans) use honey in cooking, baking, and home remedies to treat almost anything.  My dad would always concoct some home remedy with the use of honey, but then again, one of his hobbies was beekeeping.

I love honey cake, but especially more so around the holidays.  There is something very soothing about having hot herbal tea with a piece of honey cake, on a cold winter day, which is perfect around Christmas.

Here is my favorite recipe for a honey cake, which I call “Never Fail”, as it never has failed me yet.

You can use a little bit of creativity, and turn one plain honey sheet cake into  three different cakes.

Original honey sheet cake.

One third of the honey cake is iced with chocolate ganache and walnuts, second part will remain plain, and third part will also be iced with chocolate ganache.

Once the three sections are separated, the plain one is sprinkled with powdered sugar before serving. One section is layered with two layers of white frosting flavored with Bailey’s Irish Caramel Cream liquor,  and the third section is layered with one layer of chocolate icing flavored with rum.

Cake Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup honey (wild flower, or clover, not buckwheat)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon, ground
• 1/2 tsp cloves, ground
• 1/4 tsp allspice, ground
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Chopped nuts (optional)
• Powdered sugar (optional)

Directions:

1. Beat eggs and sugar until thick.
2. Add vegetable oil, honey, and sour cream.
3. Beat well.
4. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice.
5. Gradually mix it into the liquids.
6. Add vanilla, and mix well.
7. Grease and flour two loaf pans, or a 9 x 13 sheet cake pan (I use the sheet cake pan).
8. Preheat oven to  350 F.
9. Pour batter into the pans. Sprinkle nuts over top (optional).
10. Bake on the middle oven rack for 40-50 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven, and cool in pans for 10 minutes.
12. Remove from pans onto wire rack, and cool completely.
13. Sprinkle top with powdered sugar before cutting to serving pieces.

If you decide to make it into a torte, this is the time to cut it into layers, and spread you favorite filling.

Wrap the torte in foil, or saran wrap, and keep it refrigerated.

Honey cakes also freeze very well.

Enjoy.

TIP: You can turn this plain honey cake into a torte, by cutting horizontally in half, or more layers, and layer it with your favorite butter icing.  You can frost the sides as well, but it will be fine just leaving them plain, and pouring chocolate or vanilla glaze over the top and letting it drip down the sides.

Ukrainian Christmas Eve is a very solemn family time, and just as important of a holiday, as Christmas Day.

The day of Ukrainian Christmas Eve is a fasting day, thus no meat is consumed at all,  and all the meals are small, and very simple.  Some people abstain from eating all-together for the whole day, until the first star appears, and a 12 course meatless meal is being served for the whole family, to break the fast.

My mother did not use any shortening for Christmas Eve meal preparations, but rather a very fresh flax seed oil, which she had made especially the week before Christmas.  I loved the flavor of the fresh flax seed oil in all the meatless dishes.

I have been searching for good flax seed oil,  and the Spectrum Organic Flax Seed Oil (above) comes closest to my recollection of my mom’s flax seed oil.

One of the 12 course meatless dishes served during a Ukrainian Christmas Eve, is a Traditional Ukrainian Borscht (Red Beet Soup).

This  is my favorite borscht recipe, and the only one I ever use for making borscht any time of the year, except that I use chicken or beef stock for non-meatless borscht.

This recipe serves 6-8 servings.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups boiling water, or vegetable soup stock
• 2 medium beats, peeled and shredded
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 2 Tbs white vinegar, or lemon juice (you may add more later one, once you get your salt and pepper just right to your taste)
• 2 Tbs tomato paste  ( I use  Contadina brand)
• 1 cup Savoy cabbage, shredded (this cabbage is much lighter in flavor and texture , than the regular green cabbage)
• 2 Tbs flax seed oil
• 1  whole onion
• 1bay leaf
• 10 peppercorns
• 1 Tbs fresh dill , chopped
• 1 oz dried mushrooms (optional) See TIP below

Directions:

1. Saute 1 chopped onion in 2 Tbs oil until golden.
2. Add shredded beats, carrot and celery.
3. Cook for about 10 min.
4. Add tomato paste and white vinegar, or lemon juice (I use vinegar)
5. Cook for 10 minutes.
6. Add to the boiling water or soup stock.
7. Add whole onion, bay leaf , peppercorns.
8. Bring to boil again and simmer for 20 min.
9. Add shredded savoy cabbage.
10. Simmer for another 15 minutes,  or until cabbage is done.
11. Remove the whole onion , bay leaf and peppercorns.
12. Add salt and pepper to taste.
13. Add chopped dill (for a more tangy flavor, you may add more vinegar, 1 tsp at a time).

Serve with homemade vushka (mushroom dumplings, pictured above), or  mushroom tortellini, cooked according to package directions.

To make vushka, you may follow my varenyky (pierogi) recipe for the dough, but cut the recipe in half, and use a much smaller cutter (2 inch in diameter – a shot glass is perfect for this).   Once you seal in the filling, then wrap the varenyky around your index finger, and pinch the ends together, to form a vushko (ear like shape).

Filling:

1. Use 1 Tbs of vegetable or flax seed oil, to saute 1/2 onion, chopped.
2. Add the chopped mushrooms, or saute 1/2 cup of finely chopped fresh mushrooms, until all the liquid is cooked out.
3. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Remove from heat, and mix in 1 Tbs of flavored bread crumbs, to hold the mixture together, for easier handling.
5. Fill as mentioned above.

TIP: You may add another 1 Tbs of flax seed oil to the finished borscht, if you feel it needs more flavor.  I also add a couple of dried mushrooms into the borscht at the beginning of cooking time, and remove them at the end, for additional flavor.

You may remove half of the cooked veggies from the cooked borscht, process them in the food processor, then add 1/2 of the mixture back to the borscht, for additional texture.

If you prefer clear borscht, you may remove all the veggies, puree them and save them for later use to make a batch of “quick borscht” by adding several cups of soup stock to the puree, and bringing it to boil.

I still have dried mushrooms from Ukraine and Poland, (I buy them there when visiting), so I do use them in my borscht, and add them to my vushka.  It definitely adds special flavor to the borscht. If you decide to use dried mushrooms, you need to simmer 1 oz of dried mushrooms in 3 cups of water, for an hour.  I also soak my dried mushrooms overnight in 1 cup of water, and use that water for cooking them.  Once cooked, strain the mushrooms through a cheesecloth, or coffee filter, save the mushroom broth to add to the borscht during  the last 10 minutes of cooking.  Chop the mushrooms very finely to use for vushka filling.  If you do not make vushka, you can discard the mushrooms, or chop them up to serve with the borscht .

My sisters-in-law are experts on making these Miniature Nut Cups, also known as Tea Tassies.  These present themselves exceptionally well on a holiday cookie tray, and practically melt in your mouth.  They are one of our family’s  favorite holiday cookies.

This project runs much smoother with team work, rather than solo, so I would suggest a helping hand if possible.

This recipe makes between 80-100 pieces.

Ingredients for cookies (cups):

• 8 oz Philadelphia Original cream cheese (not light)
• 2 cups unsalted butter, softened (1 lb)
• 4 cups all-purpose flour

Directions for cookies (cups):

1. In a medium bowl, mix the softened butter with the cream cheese.
2. Add flour, and mix well.
3. Cover the dough, and refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight.
4. Work with small amounts of the dough at a time, and keep the rest refrigerated.
5. Shape 1 inch balls.
6. Place them in an ungreased miniatue cup form (much smaller cups than cup cake pans).
7. Work with your fingers, to evenly line the miniature cup forms with the dough, creating dough cups.
8. Prepare the filling.
9. Pour hot filling into cups, filling them 3/4 full.
10. You may sprinkle the tops with a pinch of finely ground walnuts.
11. Bake in a preheated oven at 325F, for 20-30 minutes.
12. Watch for the filling to set,  which will be another sign that they are done.
13. Cool them completely before storing or serving.
14. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

While the first batch is baking, work on the next batch, until you use up all the dough.  If you only have a single oven, you will most likely be able to bake only two pans at a time.

This recipe is much easier for two people to work with.  One working with the cup formation, and the other one is cooking the filling, and fills up the cups, and bakes.

These freeze very well, so you can make them ahead of time.

Filling Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 4 cups brown sugar (light or dark)
• 3  cups finely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup of finely chopped walnuts for topping

Filling Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together (except 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts).
2. Pour into a medium saucepan.
3. Bring to boil.
4. Cook on medium heat, until thick.
5. Do not overcook, since you need to keep it warm while filling the cups.

TIP: I have seen lots of similar recipes which do not require the filling to be cooked, but it really makes a big difference in the texture of the filling.

The cooked filling is much lighter and fluffier, once baked.

photo credit: Photocapy

If you are anything like me; you love shopping.  However, to shop for other people on your list, is just a totally different ball game, then I will give you some ideas for the cooks/bakers on your list.

Just in case you have missed my posts about my favorite kitchen gadgets and other kitchen items, I will provide the necessary links for your quick reference.  So please click on the highlighted word, and it will take you to the appropriate page, for more information.

Every kitchen will be much more functional, and the chef will be all smiles  with these:

Pressure cooker, which I love so much, as it saves me lots of time with meal preparations, and makes the meats very tender.  My friend from India told me that she uses it EVERYDAY for her cooking, and it became  a very popular item.

Slow Cooker – Crock Pot – if you know anyone who does not have one of these, they will love you for getting it for them.

Just think of setting it all up, turning it on, and have 5-8 hours of free time to read or write blogs, talk on the phone with your friends, wrap presents, decorate the house, or just enjoy your free time, while your meal is cooking itself in a crock pot, filling your home with a wonderful aroma of the delicious flavors of our meal.

Rice Cooker - a definitely a very convenient small appliance to outfit your kitchen with, especially if you just have enough of overboiled rice all over your pots and your stove, every time you cook rice in a regular pot.

Also, don’t underestimate the multiple functions of this helpful kitchen item, because it is much more versatile than just for cooking rice.  Please check it out and you will fall in love with it, for sure.

Chef’n Garlic Zoom – Best ever garlic chopper – this little gadget is a perfect stocking stuffer for EVERYONE on your list.  A definite must in every kitchen drawer (very inexpensive as well), also a “can’t live without” once you try it.

I have given one of these to so many people now, and they just can’t stop bragging about it, how this little gadget made their garlic chopping experience a real pleasure now,  rather than a chore.

I hope this short list will come in handy for you, and I would like to hear back from you after the holidays (Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or what ever gift giving holiday you celebrate), if you found it helpful, and your gifts got a warm reception.

Also, please help us all out, and share any of your ideas for “must have” small kitchen appliances, and gadgets. Thank you!

Happy shopping!!!

photo credit: jonycunha

GENERALLY SPEAKING,

YOU AREN’T LEARNING MUCH

WHEN YOUR LIPS ARE MOVING.