Easter is just around the corner, so all the necessary preparations for this Holy, and very traditional holiday, have to be planned well in advance, to be fully achieved in a timely fashion.

Ukrainians, and many other nationalities, enjoy many very rich traditions associated with Easter celebrations.

You can click on the links below, to learn more about the Ukrainian Easter Traditions.

• Paska Recipe – Ukrainian Traditional Easter Bread Paska
  
• Bakeware suggestions

• Ukrainian Easter Egg decorating technique
• Pysanka – Tradition and Design
• Ukrainian Easter Basket
• Special Foods and Symbolism
• Red Beets Vinaigrette – Burachky

This weekend was Paska Baking time for me and my daughter, as well as my 4 year old granddaughter, who not only loves to watch, she also was a very enthusiastic helper.  We are so blessed to have her in our family.

As a result of about 10 hours of Paska Baking time, we ended up with 9 round Paska loaves, as pictured above ( the small “roll” like loaf, was a left over dough from our decorations, so we decided to bake it for the youngest member of our family, who is only 10 months old).

We doubled our original recipe (in the link above), and implemented some changes to the second batch of dough, just to test the theory passed on to us by our friends.

In the second batch, we replaced 2 cups of regular flour, with 2 cups of CAKE flour, and used only 1/4 cup of melted butter plus 1/4 cup of Canola oil.  We also kneaded the dough for about 30 minutes in the bowl, and skipped the kneading on the floured board.

My oven seems to be baking better at lower temperatures, so I bake my paska for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F, and another 30 minutes at 325 degrees F, rather than the 15 @400, and 30 @350.

Here is a cross-cut section of our paska bread.  As you can see it turned out very light, and fluffy.

The paska with the cake flour was fluffier than the regular recipe, and the one with the mixture of butter and oil crumbled less, than the one with butter only.

Per baking tips from my mom, I always brush the tops of my baked, still slightly warm paska, with melted butter, to give them a nice finish, and to soften the crust.

Since I bake my paska at least a week before Easter, so to keep it nice a fresh, I freeze it until Easter Saturday.

Once the bread is totally cooled off, I wrap it in aluminum foil, place it in a freezer bag, and freeze it.  I also store it in a zip-lock bag after blessing of the basket, to keep it from drying out by Easter Sunday.

In my previous post about the different bakeware for baking paska, I promised that if I find more information about my favorite pans, will share it with you.

I stopped at a local Goodwill store, and to my surprise, I found several similar (brand new) pans, and bought them all @ one dollar each.

Most of them still do not have any manufacturing information on them, however one set was made by KOBE mixing bowls, designed exclusively for JC Penny, made in Indonesia.

Also, some of the flower designs of these bowls, resemble Corningware dinnerware, wouldn’t you agree?

If you still need to bake your Paska, now you have additional tips on the original recipe, and the paska bakeware.

Enjoy your Paska Baking experience.  Please share your pictures and tips.

HAPPY EASTER!

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KHRYSTOS VOSKRES – VOISTYNU VOSKRES !- (in Ukrainian)

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KHRYSTUS ZMARTVYCHVSTAL – PRAVDZIVIE ZMARTVYCHVSTAL! (in Polish)

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KRISTUS ER OPSTANDEN! -  JA HAN ER SANDELIG OPSTANDEN! (in Danish- shared by one of my readers)

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CHRIST IS RISEN – INDEED HE IS RISEN!

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photo credit: AlishaV

Electrical fires are not a rare thing, and can happen to anyone, at any time.

Actually, I experienced it a couple of times as well.

My first experience was with my oven, as all of a sudden, the heating element started to smolder, and my whole oven lit up with flames. I turned the oven off, but the fire did not stop.  Finally I ran to the main fuse box, and flipped off the oven fuse, at which point the smoldering slowly subsided, and my oven started to cool off.

If you do not know where your fuse box is located, or which fuse switch is for which part of the house, you should learn it right now, and hopefully will never need to use this knowledge.  I was lucky enough to be familiar with our fuse box.

Another time was just as scary, since while I was away from home, my toaster oven “miraculously” turned itself on.  I was not even using my toaster oven that day.  It must have been heating at full blast long enough for the handle to fall off, the electrical socket, walls and counter top to get  too hot to touch.  Fortunately it did not cause a more serious fire, and to this day I still do not know what caused it.

I learned my lesson, so now before leaving the house I always unplug the toaster oven, the coffee pot, my curling iron, and any other small appliances I have plugged in…just in case.  I encourage you to do the same, because not only it will save energy (anything plugged in, even if not in use, draws energy), it will give you a peace of mind, while you are away.

Here are additional tips on preventing electrical fires in your home:

• Cover all unused wall sockets with plastic safety covers, if you have small children in your house (they love to stick their curious little fingers in there, or anything else they might be holding).
• Avoid running extension cords across walkways, doorways, and under carpets.
• Follow manufacturer’s instructions for plugging appliances into electrical outlets.
• Avoid overloading outlets, by not plugging more than one high-wattage appliance into each receptacle at one time.
• Install smoke alarms on every floor, and near all sleeping areas.
• Change smoke alarm batteries regularly. As a rule of thumb, change every time you adjust your clocks for daylight savings time.
• Replace, or repair any loose or frayed cords on all electrical devices (that includes your laptop).

If you have any other ideas on preventive measures for house fires, please share them with us.

photo credit: redjar

Someone has brought a very interesting fact to my attention, and I am more than happy to share it with all of you.

I am often posting money saving tips, so when I read about this one, I could not believe it myself.

Can you believe that recording your favorite shows on your DVR, just to watch them later at your leisure, is a costly venture?

Actually, according to this study, running your DVR uses half the energy of an average new refrigerator, and more than an average new flat screen TV.

Unbelievable, but apparently very true!!

Please read the whole article, to find out more.

Please share your thoughts, and opinion, with all of us.

A while back, I have mentioned that I attended a Pampered Chef party, my daughter was hosting, and bought an onion chopper (yes, another one…).  This is my third onion chopper.  I  do chop lots of onions for my cooking, but that is not the reason for my third onion chopper. I am still searching for an improved version of a chopper, to ease my job.

Today I will share my opinion about all of my current onion choppers, and would love to hear from you, about your favorite onion chopper.

I would also like to know if there is a way to chop onions without crying over them. I love sauteed onions, but I always cry when I chop the raw onions.  I heard many tips on handling onions, without crying, but so far none of them worked for me.

Please share your tips, to make onion chopping a more pleasant experience for me, and for all of our onion chopping readers.

This is my most current onion chopper by Pampered Chef (also in the top picture).  This chopper is great since, as you can see, it comes apart so nicely, for easy cleaning.  It contains a handy container with a removable bottom, for chopping and collecting the chopped onions.  It is very user friendly, since all you do is repeatedly pounce on the top nob, which makes the blades rotate, and chop the onions placed in the closed bottom container.

You still need to peel the onion, remove the core, and cut it into quarters, at least, for faster chopping.  This chopper is very handy, and does cut down on my “crying on the job”. I highly recommend it.

Here is one, I received from my sister-in-law (before I bought the Pampered Chef one), and I really like it, because it chops the onions so evenly, actually better than the one above, but it is not very well engineered.

The top section is not attached to the bottom section, so it is kind of awkward to keep on turning the crank to chop the onions, and at the same time try to push down the onions toward the blades, and to hold the two pieces together.  But I love it any way.  Maybe because it was fee, and as the old saying goes, “you should not look a gift horse on his teeth”.

Here you have a close up view of the simple construction of the onion chopper.  Notice how freely the blade assembly sits on the bottom container, and the upper part just lo0sly fits over it, rather than snap on tightly.  However, the blades are very sharp, and make the onion chopping job a breeze.  The bottom container collects the chopped onions, and the bottom lid opens up for easy emptying.

This is my first ever onion chopper. Yes, they used to make a glass jar, rather than all plastic, and the chopping mechanism is similar to the Pampered Chef ’s, but the blades are much simpler, and smaller, thus do not chop as well as the other two choppers.  One would also pounce the protruding top nob, which pushes the blades down, to do the chopping.  The pumping motion of the handle does not rotate the blades, like in Pampered Chef, so the glass jar needs to be rotated to make sure all the onions are being chopped evenly.  Not the best, but it was better than chopping onions the usual way, on a cutting board, and crying profusely at the same time.

So, here you have it.

Please share your onion chopping stories with us.

TIP: Check out the comments, please. One of my readers suggested to burn a candle, while chopping onions.  I will definitely try this trick.

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: Iain Farrell

Thanksgiving time is for families and friends to get together and be thankful for all their blessings bestowed upon them during the last year, and throughout their life.

I am very grateful for having a wonderful, loving family, and for all the blessings we all are enjoying.  Being a grandmother is the most rewarding experience in the world, and right now, my husband and I are blessed with two beautiful grandchildren, and more to come in the future.

I am also very thankful for all my friends whom I personally know, and all of my blog readers.

THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH for visiting my site, leaving comments, and being part of my everyday life, connected via Internet.

This December I will celebrate my 2nd Blogging Anniversary, and am very pleased to inform you that my readership started with 600 visits per month, and currently it stands at 4500, and growing.

ALL THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!

Besides  this blog, suburbangrandma.com is also actively connected through Facebook and Twitter.

I am equally thankful to all my followers from Facebook (95 as of this post), and Twitter (69 and growing).

If you enjoy reading my posts, please keep the list growing by becoming my follower, and spread the word to your family and friends.

My readers come from 89 countries, all over the globe, so today I would like to list the top ten, as per the Analytics Report, and thank everyone for their time and loyalty:

1. United States of America
2. Canada
3. United Kingdom
   
4. Australia
5. India
6. Philippines
   
7. Brazil
8. Ukraine
9. Germany
10. Netherlands

Seeing these results fuels me with additional energy, perseverance, and a definite continued dedication of my time and effort, to keep my blog going that much stronger.

H A P P Y   T H A N K S G I V I N G!!!

It’s time to start getting my garden ready for winter…summer is almost over…so, I am using up all the veggies which are ready at this time.

I do not can any of my vegetables, but I do freeze parsley, dill, basil and sorrel.

I tried freezing chives last year, but the process changed their taste more than I cared for.

Today, I pulled out few red beets, to free up some space for the other ones.

I use beets in soups, borscht, and salads.

Today I will share a recipe for a delicious red beet salad.

Even if you never were a big fan of red beets, you should give this one a try, and I am sure you will LOVE it.

I had this salad at my friend’s house, and could not believe that red beets were the main ingredient, since all the other flavors  added a very unique taste, and texture to this salad.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 small red beets, cooked and grated on a large eye grater (1 cup)
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced ( I love my garlic chopper)
• 1 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbs mayonnaise (or Greek Yogurt) see TIP below
• 1 Tbs sour cream
• 3 pitted prunes (or  1 Tbs raisins), coarsely chopped
• 1 Tbs walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1/3 tsp black pepper
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Trim off leaves and roots from beets.
2. Rinse under running water.
3. Place beets in a pot, and fill the pot 3/4 full with cold water.
4. Bring to boil, cover, and cook until beets are soft (about 45 minutes).
5. Drain water, and let beets cool down.
6. Scrape off their skin, and trim any rough spots.
7. Rinse.
8. Shred on a grater with large eyes, or in a food processor.
9. Mix in all remaining ingredients.
10. You may serve the salad immediately, or cover and refrigerate for an hour, or overnight, for the flavors to blend.

TIP: If you plan to use Greek Yogurt rather than mayonnaise, you might want to use a little less of the wine

vinegar, depending on your own taste.

I came across this recipe, and the mere fact which caught my eye, was that even though the cake is baked, it does not require any batter mixing.

Since I had all the necessary ingredients on hand, and knowing that Rosh Hashanah is just around the corner, thus perfect time to whip up a quick apple dessert,  so I gave it a try.

I was quite skeptical about shaving all the butter on top of the dry ingredients, but gave it a try nonetheless.

This recipe is so simple, thus perfect for even the beginner baker.  The finished product is not heavy, not too sweet, and may be served warm or cold, plain or with choice of topping.

I served it warm with a scoop of ice cream, drizzled  with caramel sauce, and next day a we had it cold, topped off with whipped cream.

The first day it was slightly crunchy, but by the next day the moisture from the apples penetrated all the layers more evenly, and smoothed out the texture.

Ingredients:

• 6 Granny Smith apples, washed, peeled, shredded
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup Cream of Wheat cereal, uncooked
• 1 cup sugar
• 1  1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup Pecans, chopped
• 1 1/2 cup ( 1  1/2 stick) frozen butter). Piece of parchment or waxed paper.

Granny Smith Apples                          Cream of Wheat cereal

Directions:

1. Wash, peel, and core, apples.
2. Shred apples on a large eye grater, mix in cinnamon, and set aside.

3.  In a large bowl, mix flour, cream of wheat, sugar, and baking powder.

4.  Cut out a circle from a parchment paper, large enough to cover the bottom of the cake pan.

I used a 10-inch Springform Cake Pan, placed it on top of parchment paper, traced around the bottom of the form, and cut out the circle

5.  Smudge some butter on the bottom of the baking pan (to hold down the paper).

6.  Lay the parchment paper circle on the bottom of the form.

7.  Grease well the paper bottom, and the sides of the pan.

8.  Divide the flour mixture into three equal portions ( 1 cup each).

9.  Sprinkle evenly 1 cup of flour mixture on the papered bottom cake pan.

10.  Divide apples in two equal portions, and spread one portion on top of the dry ingredients (I dropped spoonfuls

of apples strategically all over the dry ingredients, then with a spoon smoothed them out carefully as not to

disturb the dry bottom layer too much) .

11.  Cover apples with another cup of dry ingredients.

12.  Spread the remaining apples over this layer.

13.  Cover with remaining flour mixture.

14.  Cover this top layer with shavings of butter, by grating frozen butter on the same large eye grater as apples.

15.  Preheat over to 350 degrees F, and bake on the middle rack, for 60 minutes.  Don’t panic if you notice that there is a pool of melted butter on the top of your cake. During the course of baking, the butter will be absorbed by the dry ingredients, combined with the apples juices, which will saturate the consecutive layers.  Some butter will drip out of the baking pan, thus to prevent messing up your oven, place a larger pan (I use a pizza pan)  under the cake pan, to  catch the dripping butter and apple juices.

16.  During the last 10 minutes of baking, sprinkle the top of the cake with chopped pecans, and continue baking.

17.  Once done, remove from the oven onto a cooling rack, and let it cool for 10 minutes, then release pan spring and remove sides.

If you choose to serve it warm, use a serrated knife for easier slicing.

I always loved my mom’s  homemade pasta, especially in her homemade chicken or tomato soup.  I also started to make my own pasta for my  family, and they love it.  It is simple to make,  and out of 2 cups of flour, you get enough pasta for a family of four.  Talking about saving money and having great tasting food!

Of course I was doing it the hard way, until one day my daughter presented me with an Imperia Pasta Maker Machine, and making pasta has not been the same since.

I still make pasta, but now this job is a breeze with this little gadget.
It is quite simple to operate, yet produces wonderful results.
I even used it for flattening the dough rounds for making homemade perogies  (potato dumplings).
A small motor is also available to ease the operation of this pasta maker machine,  if you prefer not to use the crank, but I have not decided on that purchase yet.

It is also very easy to clean, since all you do is use a small brush to brush off the remaining flour and any bits of leftover dough, and wipe it clean with a paper towel.  It is not recommended to wash it with water.

Here are some samples of the final product:

Yummy…..home made pasta.  Doesn’t this make you hungry, and wanting to whip some up for tonight?

If you still do not have this wonderful little gadget in your kitchen, you are long overdue for one, and must add it to your wish list.  You will love it as much as I do!  I know it!  Your family will love your homemade pasta.

photo credit: scriptingnews

The major energy users in your home are:

• The heating/cooling system
• Electric water heater
• Refrigerator
• Dryer
• Lighting

Based on the KWH usage you can calculate the $$ it will cost you to operate these:

This information is very helpful in planning your utility budget, since even though you do not have control over the rates being charged, you can control the total KWH usage in your home.  Also, replacing old appliances with new energy efficient ones, rather than repairing these, is a wiser decision, and saves you money in a long run.  Even on a tight budget, you can find very reasonably priced brand new appliances in outlet stores, and scratch-n-dent outlets.