If you haven’t noticed, I’m on a roll with all things wrapped in dough these days. Remember the manty and vareniki earlier this week? This time it’s the Siberian Pelmeni – one of the most classic and delicious Russian dumplings filled with a mix of ground meat. Unlike vareniki, pelmeni are always made with ground meat. Although any [Continue Reading…]
Two Filling Pierogies – Vareniki
As a little girl I used to spend lots of time at my grandparents’ place. Among all the beautiful memories I’ve kept from that time there’s my grandmothers’ cooking. Even now, when I close my eyes, I can still smell and taste all the delicious meals she cooked for us. Vareniki was one of my [Continue Reading…]
Uzbek Steamed Dumplings – Manti
These Uzbek Steamed Dumplings – Manti are the bomb! I could hardly wait to take them out of the steamer and sink my teeth into one, not to mention I had to wait to take pictures! It was torture, pure torture! But now all is good in the world again. I had my Manti with a big scoop [Continue Reading…]
Russian Favorite Salad – Olivye
It’s Monday, and it’s always fun to begin a week with something super decadent. Traditional, rich and slow-motion-in-front-of-you awesome. Like this Russian Favorite Salad – Olivye, which basically represents your new favorite potato salad! Olivye has been and always will be a staple at our family gatherings. We make it with bologna, ham, beef, chicken or simply vegetarian. Just looking at this [Continue Reading…]
Bolete Mushroom Foraging and Zhulien
Fall is synonymous with apple picking, but have you tried mushroom foraging? Back home, mushroom hunting and preserving is a national pastime. Here in Ontario, come autumn, summer’s mountain-bike riders and bushwalkers are replaced by Eastern European families, who arrive with barbecues, baskets and an eye for fungi. Their motivation is not only a chance to [Continue Reading…]
Fluffy Squash Pancakes
Nothing warms my soul like fluffy, golden brown, cozy and delicious squash pancakes on a cold autumn morning. And the fact that there is a fluffy squash pancake batter waiting for me in the fridge at the very moment that I type this is just completely tempting and distracting. Write. Focus, focus, focus. Also, there’s [Continue Reading…]
Chicken Kiev
I love to cook for a lot of reasons. It’s the curiosity of experimenting with new ingredients and spices, developing new recipes or pleasing family and friends with yummy dishes, but most of the time it’s the desire to reconnect with recipes from the past. Retro recipes that have been handed down through generations of [Continue Reading…]
Apple Butter Yeast Rolls (Bulochki)
I love sweet and soft yeast rolls. These tasty Russian Yeast Rolls, a.k.a. bulochki, are especially dear to my heart because they carry the taste of my childhood memories. Every summer break my parents used to send me to spend some time with grandma in the countryside. She still lives in the same village, in the house with a [Continue Reading…]
Russian Kefir Crepes
This post is sponsored by our generous friend Katya and her fisherman dad who treated us with the freshest caviar out there 🙂 Thank you, thank you! You know life is great when you’re eating this. Classic Russian Kefir Crepes, or as we call them bliny, served with caviar. These thin Russian Kefir Crepes are my favorite weekend [Continue Reading…]
Cured Mackerel
I love mackerel. It’s one of my favorite fishes – a beautiful dark blue-purple-ish meat with striped iridescent silver skin that is delicious and packed full of omega-3 rich oils. It’s an incredibly versatile fish, and while I’ve tried my hand at most things, from salads, in sushi (Saba) or baking it, I never got around [Continue Reading…]