Surówka - Polish Cole Slaw

I love Surówka.  My kids do as well.  Surówka is a raw salad.  There are many varieties of Surówka, and all will say the name of the main ingredient.

This is the recipe for Surówka z białej kapusty, or Raw salad from white cabbage...  Polish Cole slaw.

Ingredients:

1/2 small head of White Cabbage
1 Carrot, washed and peeled
1 Apple*, washed and peeled
2-3 tablespoons Sunflower Oil
1-2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/2-1 tablespoon Sugar**
Salt and Pepper to taste


Optional:

Pinch of Caraway seeds
1/4 Sweet Onion





Grate the cabbage.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and squeeze together to make the cabbage more tender.

Grate the carrot and apple and mix into cabbage.  If using onion, grate and mix in.

Add remaining ingredients, stir together well and allow to sit in the refrigerator about an hour to allow the flavors to blend.




* I personally prefer using a Granny Smith apple for this but any apple will work, it will just affect the flavor to be more or less sweet.

** The sweeter the apple, the less sugar to use.



Smacznego...

Related Posts:

Chłodnik, A Cold Soup

Bean and Pickle Salad

Pickle Hamburgers

 

Sharlotka or Russian Apple Cake

Last week, my older daughter was learning about Russia in school.  I was asked to bring in some Russian desserts.  After a while of digging, I realized that several Russian dessert recipes were similar to Polish dessert recipes.

One example is Sharlotka.  The Russian Apple Cake.  In Polish, it would be a Szarlotka.  The pronunciation is almost identical, the subtle difference being that in Polish, there are more variations to the "S" sound than there are in Russian.  The "Sz" in Szarlotka is just slightly different, with the sound of the "Sh" coming from between your bottom front teeth instead of the top front teeth as a "Sh" sound does.

While the pronunciation is almost identical but not exactly the same, the same can be said of the recipes for these two versions of an Eastern European Apple cake.  There are also versions of this cake in the Czech Republic, Ukraine, and other countries.  In the Eastern European culinary world, there are also countless other cakes and desserts using apples.

Another interesting note, it is possible that the all American apple pie may actually have it's origins in some sort of version of this cake.

This recipe is extremely easy and once you make it, it will become a family favorite.  My family always eats the entire cake the day I make it and I know yours will as well.

Forgive the poor quality photo taken with my phone, I was baking four different desserts and had little time...

Ingredients:

4 large Granny Smith or other tart Apples
3 Eggs
1 cup unbleached Flour
1 cup Sugar *
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/ teaspoon Ground Cloves


Optional: 

* Try this recipe with Raw Sugar for a subtle variation to the sweetness.  I make it with Raw Sugar or 1/2 table Sugar, 1/2 Brown Sugar and prefer it that way;

1 teaspoon Lemon Juice, if you like, mixed with apple slices;

Try with cinnamon instead of cloves;

Try mixing Raw Sugar with the apples before layering in cake pan.





Grease cake pan with Butter.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash, peel, core and thinly slice apples.  If using cloves, raw sugar or lemon juice, mix with apples. 

Layer apples in bottom of cake pan in whatever pattern you want.

In mixing bowl, mix together Eggs, sugar and baking soda.  Add in Flour and mix well.  Texture should be like fork blended sour cream. 

Pour on top of apples.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes until golden brown.

Allow to cool, then turn over onto plate.

Smacznego!

Related Posts:

Placek, Kuchen, Coffee Cake, Delicious

My First Plum Cake Ever

Take Apricot, Add Potato, Make A Kid Smile

Rice Keugel

Chłodnik, A Cold Soup

Chłodnik (pronounced Hwod-nyeek) means along the lines of "cooler" or "thing that cools you". Chłodny means cool (temperature wise) and adding the k at the end (which means you change the y into an i) turns the meaning of the word into a soup that cools you.

Think Gazpacho but with Polish ingredients and flavor. 

Yesterday, the temperatures climbed up into the 80s.  This entire week should have temperatures in the 70s and 80s, so it's time to pull out refreshing and nutritious recipes that can cool us off and keep us fueled for playing outside, such as this soup.

Chłodnik is such a simple dish that apart from the beet, there is no cooking.  It's perfect for days when you don't want to heat up the house or yourself in order to feed your family.

Chłodnik is full of flavors that represent the Polish Kuchnia (pronounced KooH-nyah and meaning kitchen) and cooking style.

One interesting thing to point out with this soup is that there are many varieties of it, depending on each family's recipe. 

A great many make this soup using the beet greens as well, finely shredded and blanched for about 3 minutes. 


Additional Options:

• Serve this soup with a dollop of sour cream on top
• Make this soup with more buttermilk if you like
• Add a bit of lemon juice if you want a more sour flavor, but it's not necessary.
• Use up the remaining canned beets from the year before in your pantry while you wait for your baby beets to be ripe enough in your garden, local farmers market or grocery store.
• Add good Polish dill pickles
• Add raw finely diced garlic cloves
• Substitute Kefir for the Buttermilk

My two children lap this soup up every time.  I tell them it's Pink Polish princess soup.  My Tato loves this soup for really hot days.  My American husband also really enjoys this soup, even though he thought I shouldn't make it because nobody would eat it, before he ate a very large soup of it in the blink of an eye.

Ingredients:

1-3 fresh Baby Beets
1-2 Pickling Cucumbers
4 Radishes
1/2 cup finely chopped Chives
1/4 cup fresh Dill, finely chopped
1 cups Buttermilk
Salt and Pepper, to taste
3-4 Boiled Eggs, to garnish

Optional:
good Polish Dill Pickles
Kefir
Sour Cream
Garlic, finely diced
Lemon Juice



Remove tops.  If using in soup, wash well, finely shred in 1 inch strips.  Place in almost boiling water for about 3 minutes and immediately place in an ice bath.  Drain and set aside in the large bowl which you will use to serve in.

Scrub and peel the baby beets.  Place in pot, cover with water and cook.  Make sure not to actually boil the water but rather keep it at the point when it's about to bubble.  Cook until completely tender.  You can actually do this part ahead of time in the morning when the outside temperature still is cool.

Using a grater, or with a knife, coarsely shred the beets, cucumbers and radishes.

Add everything to a serving bowl and stir. 

Garnish with sliced boiled eggs and some dill or chives on top, if you like.

Smacznego!

Polish Mama Nutrition:

Cucumbers are full of electrolytes to help replenish lost moisture in the heat.

Cucumbers are usually about 20 degrees cooler on the inside than the outside temperature.

Beets are said to potentially help fight cancer, heal nerve damage in diabetics, aid in detoxifying the body, protect against heart disease, birth defects, etc.

Beets are loaded with fiber.

All of these items added together with the other ingredients means that you are fueling your body with lots of nutrients and helping your body stay healthy. A healthy body can regulate it's core temperature better in almost any weather than an unhealthy body.

Related Posts:

Polish Cold Carrot Salad

Polish Strawberry Bread

Simple Vegetarian Meal

Potatoes with Buttermilk.  So simple.

This is the type of recipe which kept the people of Poland going during hard times; peasants and fasting Catholics during Lent and other seasons.

Potatoes with Buttermilk is the sort of recipe that transports my Tato and myself back to our childhoods.  When I made it yesterday, I could tell it made him miss his mother, my amazing Babcia.  This truly is one of few dishes I would dare to call comfort food, a title I do not give to just any dish.

Ingredients:

6 or so Potatoes, red or white, scrubbed, boiled and skinned
Dill
Salt
Butter
Buttermilk

Optional:2 sliced and caramelized Onions
Bacon, cooked and diced

Place potatoes in large bowl, drizzle with butter, top with dill.  If using onions and/or bacon, top with that as well.

Serve with a tall glass of cold buttermilk for each family member.

Notes:

If you can get "new potatoes", this very simple recipe becomes even more delicious.

You could also mash the potatoes with a bit of the buttermilk, if you like.

Polish Mama Nutrition And Language Lesson:

This meal actually has more nutrients in it than you might think at first glance.

Potatoes, boiled, skinned

Ziemniaki (Zee-ehm-nee-ah-key)
A "a good source of Vitamin B6, Potassium and Copper, and a very good source of Vitamin C."  This is why during the Irish Potato Famine, many suffered from a Vitamin C deficiency when corn was given in substitute of potatoes.
They also have as much fiber as an average serving of typical grocery store mass produced American white loaf bread.

Dill, fresh

Koper (Koh-perr)
A "good source of Dietary Fiber, Niacin, Phosphorus, Zinc and Copper, and a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium and Manganese."
It is has fiber.

Koper is also safe for diabetics to eat.


Buttermilk, low fat

Maślanka (Mahsh-lahn-kah)
A "good source of Potassium, and a very good source of Protein, Riboflavin, Calcium and Phosphorus."


Onions, Sauteed

Smażone Cebuli (Smah-szoh-neh Tseh-bool-ee)
A "very good source of Vitamin K".
It also has fiber.


I won't count the bacon because we all know that it's loaded with protein but also saturated fats and salt.



All in all, with or without bacon, this can be a filling, frugal and quick meal for the family on Meatless Fridays or during days of fasting. 

Smacznego...

Related Posts:

Baba Kartoflana

Polish Potato Salad

Ruskie Pierogi or Potato and Cheese Pierogi

Dandelion Soup Disaster and Wafle

Yesterday, I had a culinary disaster and a culinary success.  The Dandelion Soup was terrible, the Wafle was perfect as usual.

Dandelion Soup

Spring is here and with Spring, come particular recipes.

Dandelion Soup is one of them.  In Polish, it would be Mlecz (pronounced Mleh-ch), or more technically, Zupa mniszek lekarski (pronounced Zoopah Mnih-shehk Leh-kar-skee).

But first, a Polish Mama History & Nutrition Lesson:

Dandelions are native to Poland, and the rest of Europe.  The seeds were accidentally brought over by European settlers when they first came to the Americas.  This is a part of what is known as the Columbian Exchange.

Dandelions are called "Mniszek Lekarski" because it is considered to have medicinal properties.  I'm not a linguist, but it translates to "Nun's (or Monk's) Medicine".  I believe this might be in part to do the fact that Dandelion was used for medicinal use in the Dark Ages, at a time when Doctors tended to also be Monks, etc.  Of course, women in the lower classes also used the same medicines but were persecuted as witches for possessing the same pharmaceutical knowledge but not being in the same upper social classes or treating those in upper social classes.

Here is a link showing how Dandelion is used for kidney and liver issues.

Dandelions are high in Vitamin A and C.  Dandelion in various forms is used to help women ease menstrual cramping, mastitis, help with breast milk production, along with helping lower blood sugar levels.

On the the Dandelion Soup Disaster...

Ingredients:

3 large bunches of Red Dandelion leaves, washed and chopped
1 Leek, thinly sliced
1 Carrot, top on, peeled and sliced
2 thermapaks of Chicken Broth
2 Ribs of Celery, diced
2 Bay leaves
3-4 Potatoes, peeled and diced
Sour Cream to garnish
Salt and Pepper, to taste


Cook.  It's soup, put it all in the pot together, and boil until the potatoes are done. 

Photo of the stock before adding in the Dandelion leaves...

Normally, I would end this with a Smacznego, but...

Somewhere, this went horribly wrong.  The soup is supposed to have a pleasant sour-bitter taste.  Instead, the dandelion taste was so overwhelming that the only way to describe it is if you were to try to swallow powdered aspirin and it coated your tongue.  It was so difficult to eat, none of the children could swallow one bite and I only got in about 5 spoonfuls while telling myself that it is good for women.

My Tato took one sip to try it after I told him it was terrible.  He loves dandelions on occasion and was looking forward to trying my soup.  His words were "No, something is really wrong with the zupa."

I'll be trying again today.  Wish me luck!

In the meantime...

Wafle

Wafle is a quick way to say Torcik Waflowy, or Waffle Torte.  Wafle is an easy cake to make.  When you need something fancy, delicious, inexpensive and not complex, Wafle is a great option because you can still make a great impression with minimal work.

Ingredients:

1 package of Wafer sheets

For Filling, use any combination of Preserves (rose hip, raspberry, apricot, other fruits that you like), hazelnut cream, chocolate cream or frosting, white frosting, melted chocolate

For Garnish, use shaved chocolate, berries, drizzled frosting, crushed walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts

It's not the prettiest I've ever made but the kids were helping me, so it was even more Pyszny...

Lay down a paper doily on the surface you plan to serve the cake, since it can sometimes be difficult to move the cake once it's done.

Lay down a wafer sheet.

Smear a layer of filling.

Lay down the next wafer sheet, and continue until the last sheet has been placed on top.

Do not top the cake yet.  Use a heavy book or board to press down on the cake and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

Remove the heavy object.  Top the cake with a final layer.  Garnish.

Serve to your guests.

I used apricot preserves for all but the middle layer, which was a hazelnut spread.  The top was a chocolate spread garnished with crushed hazelnuts.

Smacznego!

Related Posts:

Creamy Cauliflower Soup or Zupa Kalafiorowa

Mazurek Krulewski

Apricot Potato Dumplings

Beef Kidneys, A Culinary Disaster

Kanapki 101

In Poland, sandwiches are called Kanapki (pronounced Kah-Nahp-key) and are similar to Canapes.  The sandwiches tend to be open faced, on good bread and with various toppings.

Here is just one example of a kanapka I've made for the kids.

Pumpernickel bread, mayonnaise, hard boiled egg, diced red bell pepper, curly parsley, salt and pepper.

Kanapki use up whatever ingredients a cook might have in her kitchen. 



Here are some suggestions:

Rye bread, farmers cheese, thin slices of radish, diced green onion, pepper, paprika

White country bread, butter, morski cheese, slices of bell pepper, dots of ketchup

Rye bread, slice of ham, lettuce, slices of polish dill pickle, dot of horseradish mustard

Rey bread, slices of gypsy kielbasa, pickled tomato slices, slices of yellow cheese, dots of mayonnaise

Country bread, cottage cheese, chopped curly parsley, hard boiled egg, green onion



Kanapki are very easy to make and can cost as much and take as much effort as you like.  They make an excellent idea for a platter at a party.  My cousins and I have always spent a few short minutes in the kitchen quickly and effortlessly whipping up some kanapki to pass around for all to nibble on.

I hope you try this for your Easter table or next gathering.  Or, do as I do at lunch time, present them to your children as fancy Polish tea party sandwiches, pinkies out of course.

Na razie...



Related Posts:

Polish Potato Salad or Sałatka Warzywna (Vegetable Salad)

A Gyro in Wroclaw

Home Made Cheese

Polish Potato Salad

Polish Potato Salad is called one of several different names in Polish.  Why so many different names?  I'm not sure but they each are different yet similar.  But if you look for a recipe for any of the different names you will find a million variations for each name.

It can be called Sałatka Warzywna (Vegetable Salad), Sałatka Kartofli or Sałatka Ziemniaczana (two different ways to say Potato Salad), Sałatka Zydowska (Jewish Salad, although the ingredients don't seem particularly specific to Jewish food traditions), or several other different names.

I personally call it Sałatka Warzywna, or around my non Polish friends and family, Polish Potato Salad.

Polish cuisine includes many such recipes using bits and pieces in the kitchen to make different delicious sides and salads.

One rule I follow in making this salad is making sure that the potatoes in my salad are no more than 1/2 of the amount of vegetables. 



Ingredients:

2-3 Red or White Potatoes, skins scrubbed, boiled in jackets
1-3 Carrots, peeled and boiled
1-2 ribs of Celery
3-4 Dill Pickles
1/2 Sweet Onion
2 Sour Apples
1 can of Sweet Peas, drained
3 hard boiled Eggs, peeled
1/4 cup Mayonnaise (more, if desired)
1-2 tablespoons fresh chopped Dill
Salt and Pepper to taste

Optional: 
1/2 Leek
1/2 lb. diced Ham
Replace part or all of the Mayonnaise with Sour Cream or Plain Yogurt



Peel and dice the potatoes in 1/4 inch cubes.

Dice all other vegetables (except peas) to about the same size as the peas, smaller than the potatoes.

Mix all together. 

Garnish with another hard boiled egg, dill or parsley, if you like.

Serve with Polish Pickle Burgers or other cookout foods. 

Smacznego!




Polish Mama Nutrition: 

If you use celery in the salad, you typically do not need to season with salt, since celery naturally contains salt and yet, is much more healthy for you.  Also, digesting celery burns more calories than you take in from it, which is why it is often recommended in weight loss plans.
If you use Apples in the recipe, you don't need to season with sugar, as some recipes recommend. 

If you make sure that your proportion of vegetables is larger than the potatoes, you are taking in more fiber and nutrients per bite, as well as more flavor.

This recipe is a great way to hide vegetables from kids, helping you raise Future Foodies.




Related Posts:

Bean and Pickle Salad

Our Easter Table (We serve this salad every Easter)

Buckwheat Risotto from "Cuisine PL"

I received a print copy of Cuisine PL in the mail, a cookbook "published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland in the framework of the Polish Presidency in the EU Council (2011)".  You can view the free digital copy in English and Polish.

The first recipe I needed to try from this cookbook was the Buckwheat Risotto (by Kurt Scheller of Akademia Kurta Schellera/Warszawa).

If you are looking for a new recipe to try, I recommend this recipe.

It took about 25 minutes total to make, with only prep work and gently frying the vegetables for about a minute before adding the water to steam (off heat) and then adding the cheese and a little bit of butter.  Extremely easy and could be made on a workday without stress.

Before adding the water and cheese...

This recipe turned out to be perfect as a bed for over easy eggs and some wilted kale.

Kasha Nutrition:

Polish Mamas will tell you "Kasha is good for you."  And it's true. 

Kasha is chock full of nutrients and fiber and a must have in the Polish kitchen.  In fact, in American kitchens right now, many Chefs and Mamas are searching for new grain and carbohydrate ingredients to experiment with and embrace in place of refined bleached flour.  Kasha, in my opinion, should be one of those grains more should try cooking with. 

Of particular interest now for many people is the gluten-free diet, which Buckwheat can fit into nicely and as an inexpensive pseudograin. 

Here is the FDA's breakdown of nutritional information in 100 grams of Buckwheat groats.




Final Verdict:

Did the family love it?  Yes.  It is now a new family favorite.  The preschooler and Kindergartener both ate all of their Buckwheat Risotto gladly and my American husband did not complain as he ate it either.

Smacznego...



I was not in any way compensated for this post and wrote it because I wanted to share with you a recipe I found which we enjoyed and which I feel with confidance that your family will as well.

Polish Cheesecake or Sernik

I was asked on Facebook by Chrystal if I knew of a recipe her mother in law remembered.  It was a cheese pie made with farmer's cheese.  Sernik (pronounced Sehr-nyeek) is Poland's very popular version of cheesecake, using Twarog or Farmer's Cheese.

I originally meant to make the version my Babcia's recipe describes.  It involved doing something that I think is secretly quintessential to Polish foods-stuffing it.  In the original recipe, raisins and almonds are in the cake.  Hence, stuffing it.


However, after such wonderful help from my toddler at the extremely packed grocery store, I became distracted watching her concentrated face as she focused on putting sour cream, milk, and other items into the shopping cart for me and jumping "I big helper!" each time.  And forgot to purchase the raisins, which we buy quite often but are the snack of choice in my house.


So, you will forgive me as the finished product does not have raisins (and therefore, almonds since I think they should go hand in hand in this recipe).  But I will share the recipe as it is written with the raisins and almonds in it.  The pictured version below has chopped prunes instead-another delicious substitution.


Also, there are other equally lovely versions of this recipe which involve more separating and mixing of the eggs and other ingredients.  But this is the easy version my Babcia shared with me.  It is thicker because you are not adding any whipped egg whites or leavening agents, such as baking soda. 


Sernik covers a range of versions, from light, fluffy souffle like to thick and rougher textured but equally delicious and sweet versions.


Sernik can also have a crust or not.  I personally like mine crustless.


I will share another version that is light and fluffy in a week or two.  I will also make it with a crust, in case you would like to have it that way.



Ingredients:


2 pounds Twarog *
6 Eggs
6 tbsp. Flour
1 1/3 cup Sugar
4 tbsp. Butter
1/2 cup Raisins**
1/2 cup Almonds***
up to 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract (you might have to experiment with how much you prefer)
3 tbsp. Orange Zest



Crumble the cheese well.  Add eggs and sugar.  Mix well together.

Soak raisins in hot water for 10 minutes to plump up.  Dry and coat with the flour.

Add raisins, flour, almonds, orange peel, vanilla to the filling mixture.

Add warm melted butter.  Mix well.

In a greased springform pan, pour the filling and spread evenly.

 

Bake for 1 hour at 300 degrees.

Let sit a few minutes before removing from pan and cutting.

You may melt chocolate and drizzle it on top.  I prefer whipping cream on mine and fresh berries.

Smacznego!





Notes:

*  The recipe originally calls for 1 kg Twarog, which is 2.2 lbs but I just rounded it to 2 lbs.

You can use ricotta cheese or small curd cottage cheese instead, but it must be very well drained and not soured. 

You could also make your own Twarog, which I personally have not yet done myself but plan to do in the next few weeks as a fun experiment with the kids.  I think, however, that you would probably need to get real fresh unprocessed cow's milk for it to be truly successful.


**  The recipe originally calls for using a Vanilla Bean instead of Vanilla Extract, but I've had difficulty locating it out here on the prairie.  I'm sure that closer to the city, you could find it more easily.  I did, at one point, find it for $9 for one bean, which to me is just extremely high.

If you decide to use a Vanilla Bean, you will have lovely black specks throughout the cake, which to me, look more authentic.  Just slice in half and scrape out the seeds and add to the dough where the extract is used.

You can also use Vanilla Sugar instead of the regular sugar and vanilla extract or vanilla bean.



***  You can either soak the whole Almonds in hot water for 10 minutes and then skin, or use sliced or slivered Almonds.  Your preference.





Related Posts:

Farmer's Cheese Spread or Pasta Twarogowa

 Placek, Kuchen, Coffee Cake, Delicious

A Christmas Gift Idea-Vanilla Sugar

Vanilla Sugar, or Cukier Waniliowy (pronounced Tsook-ee-er Van-eelov-ih), is a great homemade gift for Christmas.

With Christmas coming in just a couple of days and the stores loaded with gifts that often times just don't quite suit the loved one you are shopping for, a homemade gift can be a great idea instead. 

Vanilla Sugar can be made and gifted to your child's school teacher, mailman, your neighbors, your Babcia, anyone.

You can make it with two different types of Sugars.

Powdered Sugar is perfect for dusting on cakes and cookies.

Granulated Sugar is perfect for flavoring coffee, adding to baked goods instead of plain sugar, and other drinks.

Make it a week or two ahead, if you have time.  If not, you can let the recipient know to wait a couple of weeks to let the flavors develop more. 


Place it in a pretty jar with a ribbon and a note that when the sugar starts running low, to just add more sugar.  The vanilla pods will keep flavoring the sugar until they lose their scent.


Ingredients:

1-3 cups of Sugar
2-3 Vanilla Pods



Cut up the Vanilla Pods into 1/2" to 1" chunks (that way, the flavor is released but they are still large enough to be noticed and not accidentally taken out of the jar with a tablespoon of sugar).

Place in a pretty jar.  Add sugar.  Mix it up.

Keep in a cool, dry place with the lid on tight.

Smacznego!



Related Post: 

Polish Hunter's Seasoning or Przyprawa Mysliwska

Nalesniki z Serem or Polish Crepes/Pancakes with Cheese

Barszcz Meets Pot Roast

I found a recipe online called "Polish Pot Roast" from the 1970's. 

I decided to make it for dinner last night. I figured I could get a couple of days without having to stress over making dinner while I prepare for Wigilia.

 

I think next time, I will cook the cabbage in water seperately for about a half hour before adding to the dish, since the flour from the meat will have by then made a thick sauce that doesn't really help to soften the cabbage well enough for my personal preference.


Also, I think the beets could then be added to the cabbage for another 1/2 hour to get the flavors to blend together more.


It did turn out to have the flavor of Barszcz in the form of a Pot Roast.  It was a hit in our house.  I hope you enjoy this recipe I found.


Today, I am making a list for the local Polish store.  Included on the list are Oplatki, Dried Polish mushrooms, Kielbasa (for Christmas Day and Bigos), Sauerkraut.  We are also starting to make cookies, such as Bezy, Pierniczki and Kolaczki.


How are your Wigilia and Christmas preparations going?




Related Posts:

Another Version of Barszcz

My Favorite Holiday Memories

My Meatless Golabki

Mushroom Soup With Letfovers From Thanksgiving

Every year for Thanksgiving, I make Busia's Mushrooms for my husband.  While living in Baltimore, I usually made about 15 pounds worth every year for about 8-12 people. 

This year in Illinois, I made 10 pounds for 5 people, two of whom are young children.  So, my husband has a larger amount of mushrooms for himself, which he gloats over and eats.

My Tato wanted to have some soup made with the mushrooms for himself and I thought to share the recipe.  It's extremely simple and still satisfying.



Ingredients:

2 cups of Busia's Mushrooms
16 oz. of Beef or Chicken Broth
pinch of Curly Parsley
Pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon of Vegeta, if you like
Sour Cream


In a food processor, add the Mushrooms and a bit of the broth.  Finely chop.

In a crock pot or small saucepan, add the chopped Mushrooms, all the remaining broth, the curly parsley, pepper and Vegeta.

Cook on low for a while until the flavors have developed.

Serve with a dollop or two of Sour Cream mixed in.

Smacznego!




Notes: 

You do not need Vegeta for this recipe, it's merely an ingredient my Tato grew up with and on occasion enjoys in his soups. 

If you find that the recipe could use a certain something instead, you could add a small bit of celery, carrot, garlic and onion into the food processor as well, enough to make no more than about a 1/4 cup total after being chopped.  You don't want the soup to be dominated by any added ingredients, just to help bring out the flavors of the Mushroom Soup.




Related Posts:

Barszcz Czerwony One Way

Mushroom Soup or Zupa Pieczarkowa

Our Date at a Local Polish Restaurant: Smak Tak

Creamy Carrot Sauce

This is actually not a Polish dish.  This is a cooking experiment by a preparations-for-Thanksgiving-frazzled Polish Mama gone right.  Happily.


I tried to make a creamy sauce for Pork chops and noodles inspired by Carrots in Cream or Marchewka w Smietanie

It was very easy to make and snuck vegetables into the kids.  Well, I'm not sure it's sneaking when they see tiny bits of carrot in the sauce.  But they didn't even really think twice to try the sauce and loved it.

So, I'm sharing with you a, what I would call, Polish American twist for dinner.  Obiat!  As my toddler calls to everyone when she sees Mama start to plate up.



Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Butter or Sunflower Oil
5-6 Boneless Pork Chops, seasoned with Salt and Pepper on both sides
5-6 Carrots, washed, peeled
1/2 Sweet Onion, peeled, washed, diced
2 tablespoons Flour
1-2 tablespoons any combination of the following:  Curly Parsley, Marjoram, Dill
1 cube of instant Beef or Cicken bouillon *
1/4 cup dry white Wine
1 1/2 cup of Milk or Cream
Pepper to taste


Finely chop carrots or place in food processor.  Set aside.

Melt butter in large skillet and cook pork chops over medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Turn pork chops.

Add carrots and onions and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until pork chops are cooked through.

Set pork chops aside. 

In same skillet, add flour and herbs and stir together.  Add wine and milk.  Add pepper to taste.  Cook and stir until thickened. 

Return pork chops to sauce and cook a few minutes longer until the flour flavor is gone from the sauce.

You can mix in whole grain pasta to the sauce, if you like.

Forgive the hastily taken photo, Thanksgiving preparations are leaving us very busy...

Smacznego!





Notes:

*  Instead of Instant Bouillon cubes, you can use a 1/2 cup or so of broth and just add as much milk as you like, probably a bit less.




Related Posts:

Stuffed Pork Chops, One Way

Pork Chops in Sauerkraut or Schab w Kiszonej Kapuście

Polish Herbed Meatloaf or Klops Wolowy





Also, if you feel that you would want to, please donate using the paypal button below to help us pay for our next trip (I promise to share pictures when we go!)...

Stuffed Porkchops, One Way

By now, I'm sure you are aware that we Poles love to stuff our foods.  Stuffed cabbage, stuffed peppers, stuffed chicken breasts, stuffed rolls, we even like to stuff under the skin when roasting a chicken.

For dinner last night, I decided the thick cut pork chops I had were begging to be stuffed. 

The review by my father was "Good idea!  Like stuffed peppers.  Next time, we put some green peppers chopped in it maybe."  My husband thought it was delicious.  My toddler gobbled it all up but my elementary school aged daughter hates tomatoes and didn't enjoy it.  Sadly for her, I will continue to feed her dishes with tomatoes in it.  Because I am raising two future foodies.



Ingredients:

3 thick cut Pork chops
1 to 1 1/2 cups cooked Rice
2 Carrots, peeled, finely chopped *
5 dried Polish mushrooms, crumbled
1 Egg
1 tablespoon, Parsley
1 teaspoon, Marjoram
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 can Tomato Sauce


Slice a pocket into each pork chop, using the bone as a guide to the back so that you don't cut all the way through.

Mix together the rice, carrots, mushrooms, egg, parsley, marjoram, salt and pepper.

Stuff into the pork chop and pour the remainder around the outside area of the pork chops in the baking pan.

Pour the tomato sauce on top of everything.

Bake covered with aluminum foil on 350 degrees until pork inside temperature is about 170-175.  About 45 minutes to an hour.

Finished baking...

Served with a roll of Whole Wheat Cottage Cheese bread, which I baked earlier that day...

Smacznego!



* Because I sneak vegetables in my family constantly.

Other Posts:  Rice Keugel

Polish Tomato Soup Made by My Tato

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Rice Keugel

This is a Jewish dish but like many Jewish recipes, it can easily be mistaken for a Polish dish by an outsider since the two cultures lived side by side for so many centuries in Poland. 

All the ingredients used are typical in a Polska Kuchnia (Polish Kitchen) and are inexpensive.

When I was younger, my mother would occasionally make it along with a couple of other Jewish dishes when teaching us about Jewish culture.  I had mentioned before that my mother would make dinners themed around various cultures and countries and tell us different facts about that culture while we would cook and eat so that we would learn about the world while sitting around the dining room table.  I do the same thing now with my children.

If you like apples or rice pudding, you will enjoy this dish.

I made it at the request of my "dirty hippy" husband, who had not grown up with this or other Jewish dishes but who loves rice pudding.  It was a hit with the entire family.




Ingredients:


1/3 to 1/2 cup Raisins, soaked *
2-3 Apples, washed, peeled, and grated
1 large Egg
Pinch of Salt
1/3 cup Sugar
1 cup cooked Rice
5-6 tablespoons of Butter, softened at room temperature
2-3 tablespoons finely chopped Almonds
1 teaspoon Sugar

Optional:  1/2 teaspoon of Cinnamon, 1-2 tablespoons of Apricot Preserves and/or 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel, if you like



Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a baking pan.

Beat the Egg, Salt and 1/3 cup Sugar together.  Mix in Raisins, Apples, Rice, 1/4 cup Butter, the optional flavors such as Preserves, and Almonds. 

Add to baking pan.  Dot with a tablespoon or two of Butter and sprinkle with the teaspoon of Sugar.

Bake for about 35-45 minutes until browned.

Serve hot in a dessert dish.  You can garnish with a bit of fresh whipped cream, if you like.

Smacznego!




Notes: 


* The raisins can be soaked in hot water for about 10 minutes until plump.  If not serving to children, you can soak them in warmed brandy for a few minutes for an adult treat.


As it is described above, the recipe will come out like rice pudding.  If you want to make it come out thicker so that it can be cut like a cake, instead of 1 Egg, use 4 Eggs and instead of 1 cup cooked Rice, use 2 cups cooked Rice.  You would also want to cook it for just a few minutes longer.  We prefer it softer like a rice pudding.


You can make the recipe less sweet by cutting down the sugar amount after trying it this way first to see how you like it.




You might enjoy reading my syndicated post on BlogHer "I Am Raising Two Future Foodies" (15 Tips to Raising Adventurous Eaters).


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Smoked Fish Sandwich

We are a part time vegetarian household.  5 adults and two children.  We usually eat fish two days a week and allow meat in 4 meals a week besides the fish dishes.

I thought I would share an easy dish for a quick dinner involving fish.



Ingredients:

2 smoked fish (or a couple of cans of salmon), deboned very well
2 tablespoons Mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Sour Cream
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Garnishes:  chopped chives, dabs of chili paste, ketchup, Old Bay seasoning
Good bread


Run the fish through a food processor very briefly (to chop up any tiny bones you might have missed but I really hope you got them all to be safe). 

Add the mayonnaise and sour cream. 

Spread on toasted bread.

My older daughter's with ketchup

Top with garnishes.

Mine with chili paste, chives and Old Bay seasoning

Serve with some fresh vegetables.

Smacznego!

"Polish" Roasted Chicken

We are finally starting to feel better in my house so I am going to share this roasted chicken recipe I had made a few days ago and head out to a local farm for some Autumnal fun with the toddler.

My "Polish" Roasted Chicken recipe is just one version of the same idea.  Certain ingredients are quintessential in Polish cuisine (can you spot them in this recipe?) and many typical recipes in the USA are either influenced by the large mass of Polish immigrants over the years or by another country's immigrants who share similar styles.

The recipe for Roasted Chicken is always very easy and comforting for many.



Ingredients:

1 Chicken for roasting, rinsed well inside and out
2-3 Garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 a stick of Butter
1 tablespoon Paprika
Salt and Pepper


Stuffing:

enough Bread for stuffing (depends on the size of the chicken, this one only held 4 slices)
1 Egg
1 tablespoon of Marjoram, Curly Parsley, or Dill
1 chicken liver, chopped finely
1/4 stick of Butter or 2 tablespoons of chicken broth or bacon fat
Salt and Pepper


Prep the chicken:

Preheat oven to 400-425 degrees. 

Sprinkle salt, pepper, and paprika all over the outside of the chicken. 

Rub the inside cavity with the garlic cloves and place inside. 

Place pats of butter under the skin next to the breast meat.



Prep the stuffing:

Mix the ingredients together. 

Stuff inside chicken. 

Use a very thin slice of bread end, if you like, to help seal in the stuffing.  This is a trick my grandmother-in-law, our Busia, used to use. 

Truss the chicken if you do that.  I usually just tuck in the wings because I have two small children and never enough time.



Place stuffed chicken in roasting pan with a little bit of water on the bottom.  Add washed potatoes and onions around the outside, if you like.

Bake for about 15 minutes then turn down the temperature to 350 degrees and roast for an additional 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken.  The meat should reach an internal temperature of 180 degrees.

A trick my mother taught me to know when a chicken was done was to see how the drumstick felt.  If it felt as though you could easily pull it right off to eat, the chicken was definitely done.  I did this trick and my older daughter started squeaking right away for the drumstick.

You can serve this with a basic gravy made from the juices in the bottom of the pan if you like or a Hunter's Gravy (pictured here, recipe to come later) or mushroom gravy.

Smacznego!

Forgive the less than perfect photos, I was dealing with a croupy toddler and feeling under the weather myself.

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Photos of Some of Our Cooking Last Weekend

We are battling a nasty bout of croup at my house at this moment.  I hope you will forgive me as I will today just be sharing photos of some of the items I cooked here the past few days.  Recipes will be shared as we start feeling better.

"Glazed Porkloin", also known as Applesauce Pork Roast or Pieczony Schab

"Polish" Roasted Chicken stuffed and baked with potatoes and onions

The drumstick my 5 year old stole off the chicken before I could photograph it all together...

Cheese bread

Kuchen or Placek made with three different plum varieties and a new recipe I found in a handwriting I don't recognize...

Cheesecake stuffed Carrot cupcakes...

My Tati (Dad's) Polish Tomato Soup...

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and have a wonderful week. 

Na razie...

Basic Golabki (Polish Cabbage Rolls)

Golabki (pronounced Gow-omp-key and the i at the end makes it plural) are the perfect cool weather dish.  In English, they are Stuffed Cabbage rolls and are so easy to make and not nearly as time consuming as many believe, if you know the right tips and tricks.



Ingredients:

1 Head of Cabbage
1 large Onion, chopped
1 pound ground Beef
1/2 pound ground Pork
1 Egg
1 1/2 cups cooked Rice
1 to 2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon black Pepper
1/2 tablespoon Marjoram
Oil
Pinch of Salt



Freeze the head of cabbage *.  Defrost on counter.  By doing this, there is no need to boil the head and peel a couple of leaves off at a time, saving a great deal of prep time as well as energy, an added bonus.

Reserve the large tougher green leaves.  Line the bottom of the baking pan and up the sides with some of these leaves.

Prep the soft inner leaves (not the smaller most inner leaves, these can be used for making fried cabbage instead) by cutting off the ridge of the vein, if you like.  This is not always needed, however.

Mix the onion, meats, egg, rice, garlic, salt, pepper and marjoram in a bowl thoroughly.

Using a 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup (depending on how large you want your golabki stuffed, I prefer 1/4 cup) measuring cup, spoon out the meat mixture.

Place on inside of cabbage leaf toward the bottom of the leaf.  Roll the leave over once, tuck in the ends, and continue to roll until closed.  Place in baking pan, making 2 rows.

After filling the baking pan, drizzle a tablespoon or two of the oil on top of the golabki and sprinkle the top with a pinch of salt. 

Cover completely with the rest of the large tougher green leaves.

After baking, to show how to cover with leaves...

Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes, or until filling reads 160 degrees on meat thermometer.

Serve with either a simple tomato sauce, or brown gravy or mushroom sauce.

Served with a boiled red potato, mushroom sauce, and fried cabbage (see tip #14 about raising adventurous eaters)...

Smacznego!



*  I, like many, enjoy munching on the raw cabbage core so I cut out the core of the cabbage before freezing the head.


Check out my recipe for a version of Meatless Golabki