This is the first recipe I re created from Food Around The World - Ukrainian recipes.  We love cabbage rolls of any kind, and these were very interesting.

We are used to cabbage rolls smothered in some kind of tomato sauce.  These were steamed with water.

I was unsure of what seasonings to use, so used Hungarian Paprika, Garlic Powder, Dill, fresh Parsley and Salt and Pepper.  Next time I would increase the amounts of these seasonings, which I have done in the recipe below.  Feel free to adjust seasonings to suite your taste.

We usually have cooked rice in the mix for cabbage rolls.  In this particular recipe , soaked mashed red lentils were used.  How intriguing.  It was unclear how long the red lentils were soaked.  We did ours for 6 hours, next time I would do a minimum of 8-10 hours.

We enjoyed the simple sweet flavour of grated carrot in the mix - something we usually do not include.

All this said, these cabbage rolls were quite tasty, hearty and nutritious.  We loved it paired with bacon and onion creamy polenta - something we will make with cabbage rolls again.

1 medium to large head of green cabbage

1/2 cup red split lentils, rinse well (soak 8-10 hours)

3 medium sized carrots, grated

1/2 a large onion, chopped

3 minced garlic cloves

3 large crimini mushrooms chopped on the small side

2 Tblsp. Avocado oil

1 1/2 tsp. Hungarian Paprika

1 tsp. dried dill

1 tsp. dried garlic

salt and fresh cracked pepper

handful of fresh chopped flat leaf parsley

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 egg, whisked

Begin by boiling your head of cabbage in a large pot of water.  Turn down to a good simmer, and cook lid on 12-15 minutes.  Drain carefully into a colander and allow to cool.

Heat up a dutch oven with the Avocado oil low medium heat.  Add the grated carrots, onion, garlic and mushrooms.  Saute 6-8 minutes.

Add in the ground beef and seasonings except for the fresh parsley.  Cook another 3 minutes then remove from the heat.

Next, drain and rinse your lentils well.  Return them to a bowl and mash - be prepared for some muscle work lol.

Add the mashed lentils to the meat vegetable mixture, fresh chopped parsley and then add 1 whisked egg mixing well.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Once the stuffing is all mixed remove the leaves from the cabbage, stuff with the filling and fold the sides in and roll the cabbage roll.  Place on a wire rack that is inserted into a roasting pan. (I also added some extra wedges of cabbage around the pan to keep the cabbage rolls more stable)  Then add boiled water to the pan about half way up the pan.  Cook covered for 1 hr. 20 min.

Next onto the polenta:

1 cup polenta

2 cups water, 2 cups milk

generous amount of salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese

1 Tblsp. butter

1/2 and onion, sliced

5 pieces chopped bacon

Place the bacon and onions into a frying pan, on medium heat.

Cook until nicely browned, and set aside to add on top of the polenta.

Heat up the milk and water with a good tsp. or more of salt.  Once simmering add the polenta, stirring on and off until thick - about 30 minutes.  Check for salt and pepper adding more if needed and add in the butter, stirring well.  Serve alongside the cabbage rolls, topping the polenta with Parmesan cheese and the cooked bacon and onions.

 

 

 

Recently I stumbled upon a youtube video made by Food Around The World.  The videos were of 3 different young women living alone in the mountains, or in small villages (in Ukraine) where they cook local food, are self sufficient in all manners of living.  Often they have a couple of cows, sheep, chickens, they make home made sausages, breads, render lard, make homemade cheese, churn butter, preserve food, forage wild mushrooms, grow gardens, chop wood for wood stove cooking, and carry water from wells.

I love their simple self sufficient lifestyle, and the food looks wonderful.  The videos show what foods/ingredients are being prepared, although there is no recipe.  I would have to guess at some of the seasonings.

There are a some interesting recipes I would like to recreate, so you will from time to time see a few of these national dishes in the coming weeks.  As there is no actual recipe given, I will have to take a guess at the amounts used in the recipes  Therefore, I will do my best to interpret a few of the recipes based on what ingredients we have and what we can get.  And of course, in this household it will all be gluten free.  Hopefully I can do justice to these incredibly strong, resilient, and self sufficient lovely women and their national recipes.  If you are interested in pursuing these stories/recipes further, check out You tube Food Around The World, Ukraine.

Their breads look amazing.  So with that thought in mind I started with Fermented Buckwheat Bread, the recipe can be found here.

Recipes to come....

Well now...this was a recipe where I was "winging it" and let me tell you it exceeded my expectations.  The flavours of garam masala in the meatballs, with the madras curry powder was a match made in heaven.  Add in the fresh vegetables, creaminess of the yogurt, it was delicious.

Meatballs:

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

1 egg, whisk well

2 Tblsp. finely chopped red onion

1/2 tsp. garam masala, salt and fresh cracked pepper

1 Tblsp. Sorghum flour or brown rice flour

To cook meatballs heat up your wok, pan on medium heat with 1 Tblsp. butter, 1 Tblsp. Avocado oil

Vegetables:

2 Tblsp. Avocado oil - use more if needed

3/4 lb. chopped potatoes, chopped in 1 inch pieces - yukon gold work nicely

1/4 red onion sliced into quarter pieces

1/4 red pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2 lb. cut up cauliflower - cut up not too small or large

good handful of baby fresh spinach

2 1/2 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup well rinsed basmati rice

3 Tblsp. yogurt

2 tsp. Madras curry spice

2 bay leaves

good handful of chopped green onion and cilantro

In a bowl mix up the ingredients for the meatballs and shape into balls.  Refrigerate 1-2 hours before cooking, and remove from fridge 1/2 an hr. before cooking

Heat up a wok, or large cast iron pan with the butter and Avocado oil on medium high heat.  Fry the meatballs in batches so the pan is not overcrowded, about 6 minutes each side.  Transfer to a bowl and put aside.

Add more Avocado oil the pan and add in the potatoes, onion, and red pepper.  Cook a good 12 minutes, sauteing.

Then add in the cauliflower, spinach, rice, chicken stock, madras curry spice, and 2 bay leaves. Mix well scraping up any brown bits in the pan.  Bring to a good simmer, lid on and then turn down low heat to simmer 12 minutes.

Remove lid and return the meatballs to the pan, stirring occasionally, add salt and pepper to taste continue to cook another 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and add in the yogurt stirring well to combine.

Serve with a good sprinkling of chopped cilantro and green onion.

 

 

 

Having a roast chicken dinner has to be one of the all time favourite comfort meals - it sure works for this household any day.

Here is the new addition to our kitchen:  An East Indian Kadhai - wok.

I am such a lover of cast iron - and this Kadhai is a great piece of cast iron cook ware.  It surrounded the chicken, potatoes, carrots with onions on the bottom to create a vessel with amazing heat capacity.

Any cast iron wok, or dutch oven can work nicely as long as there is adequate space without over crowding.

1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary

2 tsp. lemon thyme

zest of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp. salt

fresh cracked pepper

Mix and reserve 1 Tblsp. for the chicken.

(then add 1 tsp. dried parsley to the remaining herb mix, mixing well)

2 Tblsp. Avocado oil

4lb. whole chicken - remove from fridge one hour before roasting

red and yellow gem potatoes - or Yukon gold works well

sliced carrots

3 sliced whole intact red onion slices, cut 1/4 inch thick

Mix up the herbs, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Reserve 1 Tblsp. for the chicken.  Then add 1 tsp. dried parsley to the herb mix and mix well.

Slice up carrots and potatoes - enough to surround your chicken.  Add the Avocado oil to the herb mixture and blend well, then add in your carrots and potatoes tossing well to coat.

Rub some Avocado oil over the chicken, and add the reserved herb mixture, spreading well onto the chicken.  Place the 3 slices of red onion on the bottom of the wok or pot, then place in your chicken, legs trussed, wings folded under onto the red onion slices. Toss the potatoes and carrots around the chicken.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  After 1 hour baste your chicken, toss the vegetables.  Cook another 20 minutes until the chicken is nicely roasted and cooked through.

Remove chicken to a platter and let rest 15 minutes under loosely tented foil, and transfer the vegetables to the turned off oven to keep warm.

Slice your chicken and it is ready to serve with any other side dishes.

 

This was a nice change to have pork tenderloin instead of chicken or beef in this veggie stir fry.  I changed up the sauce ingredients to use a bit of organic sugar - which definitely came through in the taste and was a nice balance with the other flavours.  You could use honey as a sweetener also.  Plus the vegetables could be changed up to peas, cauliflower, turnip, bean sprouts, whatever you have on hand works.  And toasted Sesame Seeds - dang! I always forget toasted Sesame Seeds!

3/4-1 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into small pieces

Sprinkle of garlic powder, a lite sprinkle of Chinese five spice onto the cut pieces of pork tenderloin

2-3 Tblsp. Avocado oil

1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage - on the fine side

2 1/2 cups cut up broccoli florets, 3/4 cup chopped broccoli stem

1 medium carrot chopped into 1/4 inch or so pieces

1 celery stalk, sliced

1/2 cup sliced green pepper length wise then cut in half horizontally

1 1/2 inch piece of minced fresh ginger

1 small shallot diced

2 minced garlic cloves

1 cup chicken stock

handful of chopped cilantro

Sauce:

1 tsp. organic sugar

2 Tblsp. White Vinegar or Rice Wine Vinegar - mix with sugar to dissolve

3 Tblsp. Gluten Free Soy Sauce

14 drops sesame oil

1 1/2 Tblsp. water

2 finely minced garlic cloves

1 Tblsp. corn starch

Mix all the sauce ingredients together, and put aside until ready to use.

Heat up a large pan with the Avocado oil on medium high heat.  Add the seasoned pork tenderloin bits and saute until cooked - about 6 minutes, transfer to a bowl and set aside.

If needed add another Tblsp. Avocado oil to the pan.  Add in the vegetables and stir fry for 5-6 minutes.

Pour in the 1 cup of chicken bone broth, stir then lid on turn down to a low simmer.  Simmer 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Pour in the sauce mixing well - it will thicken quickly.  Add in the cooked pork tenderloin and chopped cilantro, heat through about 3-4 minutes and serve hot over cooked rice. We used basmati rice cooked in chicken stock/bone broth 1 ratio rice, 2 ratio stock/broth.

 

 

 

This hearty satisfying vegetable packed split pea soup is delicious for lunch or dinner.  You can make this completely vegetarian using vegetable stock or you can use chicken or beef broth.  We used vegetable stock with about a cups worth of chicken broth just to use up what we had on hand.  Also, a word about Za'atar.  I have never used it before, and when I opened the jar the aroma was heavenly.  So it definitely was going into this soup.  If you do not have Za'atar, some fresh or dried thyme and rosemary would be lovely.

With yellow split peas you do not need to soak them after a good rinse, but I chose to soak mine for 3 1/2 hours, drained and rinsed them well.  Your cooking time will take longer and need to be adjusted if you do not pre soak the peas.

2/3 cup yellow split peas, rinsed well, and soaked for 3 1/2 hours

1-2 Tblsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For the vegetables, chop them small the same size

3/4 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped turnip

1 large shallot diced

3/4 cup chopped potatoes - I used roughly peeled small red and yellow gem potatoes

4 cups vegetable or chicken broth

chopped fresh parsley

1 large bay leaf

1 tsp. tumeric

1 1/2 tsp. Za'atar

salt to taste

Heat up a dutch oven on low/medium heat the the EVOO.  Add in all your vegetables except the potatoes.  Saute 5 minutes, then add in the seasonings except for the parsley and salt.

Continue to saute another 3 minutes, then pour in your stock and the rinsed soaked peas.  Bring to a simmer, then turn the heat down to low lid on and simmer 35 minutes.  At that point remove the lid and add in salt to taste, and the potatoes and cook another 15 minutes lid off until the peas and and potatoes are tender.  In total my soup took 45-50 minutes till cooked.  When done, sprinkle in the parsley, give another stir and serve with good gluten free bread.

 

 

This is comfort food at it's best - simple flavours that work wonderfully together.  An easy dish especially good on a cold winter nite.

 

4 cups sliced red cabbage - not thin like coleslaw, but sliced evenly

1 medium shallot, sliced

1/4 tsp. Allspice

1/4 tsp. dried rubbed Sage

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup water

1 Tblsp. butter

1 Tblsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tblsp. Red Wine Vinegar

4 natural smokies sausages

1 Tblsp. butter

Heat up a dutch oven with the EVOO and butter on medium heat.  Once heated add the sausages and cook till evenly browned on all sides, about 7-8 minutes.  Remove to a heat proof dish and keep in the oven at a temperature of 200 degrees to keep warm.

Add the sliced shallot to the pan and lightly brown.  Then add the sliced red cabbage sauteing for 5 minutes.

Add in the seasonings, 1/2 cup of water and mix well, lid on and cook another 20-25 minutes until the cabbage is tender.  Remove from the heat and add the tblsp. butter, pour in the red wine vinegar mixing well.  Serve on a platter with sausages on top, and serve with any side dishes.

If you read my blog, you know I am a huge lover of soups - all kinds.  With winter coming and colder temperatures in our neck of the woods this was perfect - lunch or dinner.  Although, I could eat soup any day!  Here we used homemade Turkey bone broth - highly recommend homemade chicken, beef, or turkey bone broth if you have it, or if not a good quality store bought brand can work in a pinch.

A word about Pasatta. It is more readily available at grocery stores now compared to some years ago.  It is peeled, de-seeded and strained uncooked tomatoes - heaven in a jar and so versatile.  Really adds a nice tomato punch of flavour in any dish. (plus, it freezes nicely if you do not use a whole jar)

This was a tasty, healthy, soup loaded in nutrients, and vitamins, with packed goodness in a bowl.

4 cups Turkey bone broth

2 cups tomato Pasatta

2 leeks, sliced, rinsed and chopped

2 large cremini mushrooms, roughly chopped

1/2 cup chopped:  turnip, rutabaga, carrots, celery, frozen green beans

2/3 cup chopped frozen spinach

1 cup shredded cabbage

1 tsp. dried rubbed Greek oregano

1 tsp. dried rubbed basil

1 tsp. organic tumeric

salt and pepper to taste

Add all the ingredients to a good sized pot.  Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer, cooking 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are tender.  Serve with your favourite gluten free bread or bun.