Ukrainian Recipes

This spiral-bound, index-card-size book contains dozens of traditional recipes collected from Ukrainian-American kitchens by Joanne Asala. The book also has egg designs from Luba Perchyshyn of the Ukrainian Gift Shop in Minneapolis.

Recipes include ones for hot punch, vanilla babka, fresh tomato and melon soup, braised carrots with scallions, meat pies with butter and onion sauce, and sour cream cheesecake. Menus are provided for Christmas and wedding celebrations.

Christmas Bread with Honey (p. 114)
Christmas bread is usually made with buckwheat honey, which gives it its strong taste and dark color. This recipe makes one large loaf.

2 1/2 cups honey
8 eggs (at room temperature)
3/4 stick butter, softened
2 cups sugar
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Grated peel and juice of 1 orange
1 cup strong, black coffee
1 cup sour cream
1 cup walnuts (optional)

In a small saucepan, heat honey to boiling. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Separate eggs, reserving the whites. Beat the yolks and butter together until fluffy. Add the cooled honey and sugar and continue beating.
Sift together the dry ingredients and add to the honey mixture. Add the orange peel and juice, coffee, and sour cream.

Whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into the batter a little at a time. Stir in the nuts.
Pour into a greased and floured bread pan and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. Do not open the oven door during the first half hour of baking. Cool on wire racks. The bread may be wrapped in aluminum foil and stored for several weeks.