Category Archives: Recipes

Nadia’s (Mom’s) Kulich / Paska

What many of you call Paska we called Kulich growing up. This is my mom’s Russian Easter Bread Recipe that I quartered because the amount she would make is quite daunting for me. We have cut it in half in years past. Now what you need to know about my mom and recipes is that she ends up tweaking them from year to year so this recipe is for her Kulich from 2001. I have a 2009 and 2012 recipe, too. This one was easier to quarter. Here’s the link to the original. My dear mom passed away from this earth in September of 2013 so I cherish her tweaked recipes.

Ingredients:

2 pkgs rapid rise yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup lukewarm milk
1 teaspoon sugar

4 egg yolks
1 egg
1-1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup half and half
1/2 ounce apricot brandy
1-1/2 teaspoons powdered vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
Zest of half a lemon
About 2-1/2 lbs of flour, sifted (about 7 cups)
Vegetable oil to coat the rising dough

6 to 7 one pound or two pound cans for baking. You can use loaf pans or large muffin tins if you don’t have the cans to bake them in.

Add yeast to the lukewarm water and milk and sugar in a stainless steel bowl. Make sure the liquids are lukewarm. Let this mixture dissolve and sit.

Beat the egg yolks and egg together.
Cream the butter and sugar in the large bowl of a stand-up mixer.
Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture slowly mixing to combine and then beat to incorporate well.
Mix the half and half with the whipping cream and heat until lukewarm, not hot, and slowly incorporate into the creamed mixture.
Mix in the vanilla and brandy.
Add the yeast mixture and the salt and beat with a mixer.
Continue beating and add the lemon zest.
Continue beating and add the sifted flour about a cup at a time.
Once you cannot beat the dough any longer using the mixer, put the dough on a floured surface and start incorporating the remaining flour by kneading the dough.
The dough should be kneaded very well, approximately 10 minutes.
You should knead the dough until you can cut it with a knife and it is smooth without any holes.
Place the dough in a stainless steel bowl. Take some oil and pour a little on the dough and spread it all over the dough. Make sure to turn the dough so it is coated evenly.
Cover with plastic wrap right on the dough and a dish towel on top of that.
Place in a warm place away from drafts to rise. (My sister usually puts it into the oven that has been warmed slightly.

It is now time to prepare the coffee cans (1 lb. and 2 lb. cans are the best) Cut circles the size of the bottom of the cans out of wax paper. You will need four circles per can. Make sure the cans are well greased. Put the 4 circles in the bottom of the cans.

Use a empty and clean coffee can like the ones above. If there is a label make sure to take it off. If the can has a lip at the top you’ll need to use a can opener to cut the lip off the can. I hope these pictures will make the process easier to understand.

Cut sheets of wax paper long enough to line the sides of the can and tall enough to be 2″ above the rim of the can. Use Crisco to seal the ends of the paper.

When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn it over.
Let it rise a second time until it doubles in size. Punch it down again.
Now the dough is ready to put into the prepared cans.
You will take a portion of dough about 1/3 the size of the can. Knead it and form it into a smooth ball that you can easily drop into the can.

Let the dough rise again inside the can until it is at least double in size.

Bake in a 350 degree oven until golden brown on top.(approximately 30 minutes or more depending on your oven.)

Let them cool slightly in the cans. Remove them from the cans and then cool completely standing up. Some people cool them on their sides turning them often to keep their shape. We found this time that they cool just fine and keep their shape standing up so we didn’t bother with that step!

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To go with this bread my mom always makes a wonderful sweet cheese topping that is formed in a mold in different shapes. For my mom’s Sernaya Paska (cheese spread) recipe click here.

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I’ll be trying this Kulich/Paska recipe quartered at the end of this week. I’ll let you know how it goes and how many coffee can shaped loaves it makes. We got seven loaves out of this recipe although we shorted some of the cans.

Are you preparing for Easter?

Turkey Pepper Chili…

Head on over to the Mennonite Girls Can Cook Blog to get the recipe for my Turkey Pepper Chili!
Happy Monday everyone. How was your weekend?
We had a calm weekend and got a lot accomplished. Lawns mowed or should I say fallen leaves vacuumed. We sold two of our old vehicles on Craig’s list. I finally went through all the stuff we hauled out of our bathroom before the renovation and threw out a bag full and filled the new cupboards and drawers with what we decided to keep. Have a great week!

Eggs-cellent

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Click over to the Mennonite Girls Can Cook Blog to get the recipe for Gluten free Ranchero sauce for Huevos Rancheros and other Mexican dishes. We served this dish when my niece and her husband were visiting in June. My niece is Gluten and Lactose intolerant so I had to come up with a breakfast that would work for all of us. This recipe got the thumbs up from her and my son who is lactose intolerant and from the rest of us who don’t have to watch our gluten and lactose intake.

Last night my son, nephew and grand nephew attended the Seattle Sounders Soccer Game. My nephew got this photo of me with the few, the proud, the Marine Corp band. I enjoyed a fun back and forth with these Marines.

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And here’s my son, nephew and grand nephew…

10553416_10204402153082185_2743159487908005648_nWe had a good time in the sun even though our team lost.

Today at this old house the bath/shower tile surround is going in. Should be a full day of work here. Hope you all have a good Tuesday.

Delicious…

…if I have to say so myself.

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For a close up of this Avocado Mango Salsa and the easy recipe head over to Mennonite Girls Can Cook.

We had to cancel our small group meeting tonight due to the lingering bug at this old house. I feel quite unmotivated to do much of anything. Hope you are all well and the weather is improving where you are. We are in a steady rain pattern with threats of flooding and mudslides.

Fancy Egg Scramble…

 

Fancy eggs with no fuss the morning of. This was a go to recipe years ago and I decided to revive it and make it for a Sunday meal. It worked out great for inviting someone from church for brunch. We go to the 9:00 a.m. service. By the time our company found our home the egg dish was in the oven and half way done. Before church I washed the fruit and mixed it together. The other way I simplified the meal was to have muffins that were purchased. We were able to sit down and enjoy a meal and conversation with no fussing over the meal.

We enjoyed this make-ahead breakfast dish years ago and I finally revived it for brunch recently. Everyone enjoyed it.
  • 1 cup diced ham
  • 1/4 cup chopped green onion (scallions)
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 12 eggs beaten
  • 1 6oz. can diced Green Chiles

Cheese Sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Method:

  1. Melt butter in heavy large skillet. Saute ham and green onions in butter.
  2. Add beaten eggs and diced green chilies.
  3. Mix ingredients and cook until eggs are just set. Remove from heat and prepare cheese sauce.
  4. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy bottom pan.
  5. Add flour, salt and pepper to butter and cook on medium heat for 2 minutes.
  6. Add the 2 cups of milk gradually and blend well. Cook to a gentle boil.
  7. Add the grated cheese and mix well until cheese is melted. Add the cheese sauce to the egg mixture and fold in till combined.
  8. Pour mixture into lightly greased 9×12 casserole dish.
  9. Cover and refrigerate overnight until 30-40 minutes before you want to serve the dish
  10. Cook uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Serve with fruit and muffins or toast.  Serves 6

We had this meal on Memorial Day weekend so it was also fun to set the table ahead of time and enjoy it all weekend.

This is a traveling week for me. Dear has been away since last Thursday and he arrives home tomorrow. I’m very excited to be reunited with him before I leave for Canada to fly to Winnipeg with the “girls” for some book signing events. I’ve never been to that part of Canada and I’m looking forward to seeing where our Betty and Charlotte live.

Hope you all have a good first full week of June!

Rhubarb Coffee Cake ~

In April I visited the Skagit Valley Tulip festival and after I walked through the beautiful tulip fields I stopped at a fresh road stand market in the valley on my way back home. They had fresh rhubarb from their fields available so I decided to buy some to take home. I ended up making a Rhubarb Coffee Cake.

I’ll admit that I had never used rhubarb in my kitchen before but was pleased with the lovely color and result.

Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Filling:
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 4 cups fresh washed and chopped rhubarb
  • 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
Optional:
You can add 1 cup fresh blueberries and 1 cup fresh strawberries or 2 cups fresh strawberries and then cut down on the rhubarb to 2 cups.
Cake:
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup cold butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup buttermilk (I used powdered buttermilk mix)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
Topping:
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup quick cooking oatmeal
  • 1/4 cup cold butter
For the filling:
  1. Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a sauce pot and add in the rhubarb.
  2. Cook over medium heat until the sugar and cornstarch dissolves with the liquid that is extracted from cooking the rhubarb.
  3. Cook for at least 2 minutes. This helps the cornstarch break down.
  4. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice. Allow to cool.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9 x 13 baking pan by lightly greasing it.
Method for Cake and Topping:
  1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda together in bowl.
  2. Cut in the butter.
  3. Beat eggs, buttermilk and vanilla in small bowl and add to the the other ingredients until moistened.
  4. Put 2/3 of this batter into prepared pan.
  5. Spread the filling on top of this layer.
  6. Add the remaining batter on top spreading it as evenly as you can. Don’t worry if you can’t cover it all. Also the batter will be sticky to deal. You can grease your fingers with a little butter to help spread the batter.
  7. In a small bowl combine the dry topping ingredients.
  8. Cut in the butter until crumbly.
  9. Spread the topping over the top of the last layer of batter as evenly as possible.
  10. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes or until tester comes out clean and top begins to become golden brown. Ovens vary, so check after 45 minutes and don’t worry if it takes longer than 50 minutes.

 

Olivier Salad ~ Happy Russian New Year!

Modern Russian New Year has happened already but Old Russian New Year is later in January. I’ve posted the recipe for this salad with an interesting history on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog today. Head over to see how to put it together!

Happy Saturday to you all. I’m happy for a somewhat normal weekend. How about you?

Borsch Re-do…

Because it’s almost Fall and still warm here in the Northwest I decided to make Borsch and I wanted to update my photos and technique. It’s a standing joke around our house that I pick the hottest day of the year to make Borsch!

Our version of Borsch growing up was made with green cabbage and not beets. We also do not pronounce it with a “t” at the end.

Stock Ingredients:

1 Chuck Roast or 7 Bone Roast
1 onion
1-3 celery stalks with leaves
2-3 carrots
2 bay leaves
5-10 peppercorns
Salt to taste

Using a large stock pot, cover rinsed meat with water. Add all the remaining stock ingredients and bring to boil. Lower heat to simmer. Simmer until roast is fork tender.  Remove Roast to oven safe pan. Strain the stock.

While stock is simmering prepare soup ingredients.

Soup Ingredients:

1 onion diced
1 bell pepper diced
2-3 stalks of celery diced
1 Jalapeno diced (optional)
1-2 tablespoons cooking oil

2 cans (approx 15 oz. each) stewed tomatoes, blended

1 head of green cabbage cut in shreds
3 carrots grated
2-3 potatoes peeled and diced
1 can tomato sauce (8 oz.)
1/2-small bunch of dill chopped or more according to taste
1 handful of chopped Italian parsley
salt and pepper to taste
optional – 1 can of Garbanzo beans rinsed and drained

At this stage you can season the roast well and put in 350 degree oven to cook further and infuse some flavor into it to serve along side the Borsch.

Saute onion, bell pepper, celery, and jalapeno (optional), in oil. When these ingredients are soft blend them in a blender with the 2 cans of stewed tomatoes. In the photo above I used an immersion blender to blend the sauteed vegetables with the stewed tomatoes. I think it is more efficient to use a regular blender. Add this mixture to the prepared stock and then add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer until all the vegetables are done.

Serve the Borsch with good bread, a dollop of sour cream, and slices of the prepared roast. I really went overboard and made a huge pot. I ended up freezing 7 containers to share or have at a later date.

We grew up eating borsch. I’m sad to say I really hated it when I was little. I’d sit in front of the bowl trying to get it down and it was difficult. One of the reasons why was the chunks of tomato that were in the soup. That’s why this method is much preferred to me where you blend a lot of the vegetables and eliminate many of the chunks in the soup. Today I don’t mind chunky soup but for Borsch I still prefer this method. There are many variations of borsch. Some people chop up or shred the meat and put it into the soup. My mother always prepared the meat from the stock pot to the oven and added some potatoes to cook with the roast. She then served it on the side. At this point if you wanted to add it into the soup you were free to do so. Instead of adding the sour cream to the soup growing up we’d spread the slice of bread with sour cream instead of butter to eat along with the Borsch.