Ukrainians love soup — hot, cold, meat or vegetable-based. It’s served daily in homes and restaurants regardless of season. Borshch, the quintessential Ukrainian soup, is a culinary staple recognized worldwide and inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2022. While borshch is consumed year-round, cooler weather restores the taste for …
It’s soup time! The autumnal equinox just passed, and days are getting shorter and cooler; the rainy season started. Slowly I am replacing the cooling meals of a record-breaking hot summer with warming dishes. Fall rain triggered reminiscences of my first mushroom-picking venture and this Romanian Mushroom Soup. One rainy fall day when I was …
In my childhood home, a bowl of Green Borshch and a piece of Egg, Scallion and Dill Tart were the harbingers of spring – a sign that the meat and potato dishes of winter months were put aside for lighter meals. Green Borshch or sorrel soup (Ukrainian: зелений борщ or щавелевий суп) is a variation …
I would not have enjoyed this Khmer Rice and Pork Soup (transliterated as borbor, bo bor or babor), and other Khmer dishes but for a lenient Cambodian border control agent. On one of our trips to Thailand, an unscheduled opportunity cropped up that was too tempting to pass up. A local TV ad touted Bangkok …
I had another post planned this month, but the start of Russia’s horrific, unprovoked war against Ukraine on February 24, caused me to reflect on my culinary heritage, and I prepared a pot of Ukrainian Borshch, Ukraine’s national dish, in solidarity with my countrymen who are fighting to preserve life, country, culture and democracy. Ukrainian …
I don’t remember every great meal I’ve ever enjoyed, but some meals are more memorable than others. The Wisconsin Corn Chowder I enjoyed at the home of my sister Maria’s in-laws, Arlene and Edward Oliver on a fall day decades ago in Albany, Wisconsin made a lasting impression and I’ve often tried to replicate it …
Mulligatawny, an Anglo-Indian dish, comes in many guises. For some cooks it is a spicy broth, for others a soup of various densities and for still others a stew. For me, mulligatawny is a silky curried soup with a garnish of chicken, vegetables and herbs, a perfect warming meal on a snowy night. Mulligatawny was …
This Portuguese Monkfish and Shrimp Rice — Arroz de tamboril com gambas — is a perfect fall dish. As the weather is slowly cooling and leaves are coloring, I long for warmer fare, but I’m not yet ready for meat stews and braises that bring comfort in colder months. So, I turned for inspiration to …
Monkfish and Shrimp Rice — Arroz de tamboril com gambas Read More »
Some people remember the places they visited by what they saw or the people they met. I catalog my travel memories by locations of memorable food and those without. History and culture often draw me to explore a place, but I rarely travel for just a specific dish or restaurant. Once there, however, food and …
The most interesting experiences often arise from serendipity. I recently shared a kitchen and an evening of Ukrainian cooking with 31-year-old Evgeniy (Zhenia) Klopotenko, winner of the 2015 Ukraine’s Masterchef contest, a graduate of Paris’s Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, a Ukrainian TV personality and producer of jams and marmalades. Young Zhenia is a trained …
Revitalizing Ukrainian Cooking with Masterchef Evgeniy Klopotenko Read More »