#65: Kitchen Therapy in the Time of War

Ukrainian Poppyseed Cake and Borscht, and How to Make a Ukrainian Flag

Yesterday, I speak at a hospital fundraiser on how pie making can provide emotional therapy. Today, I am in sore need of some of my own.

Ukraine.

It seems a good time to wear this Ukrainian scarf that came into my possession over two decades ago.

I do a websearch and learn that in Ukraine, borscht with white beans is known as ‘Chernihiv Borscht’. I find a recipe from Craig Claiborne¹ on the shelf and remember Molly Katzen’s Ukrainian Poppyseed Cake². I’m heading to the store for some baking supplies and put poppyseeds on the list, too.

I look the Borscht recipe over and decide to forgo the beef soup bone. I do have an already defrosted smoked ham steak in the fridge from our hog share and slip it into the big blue pot along with carrot, celery, garlic, leek, and peppercorns, then cover all with water. This will make the broth. When the water comes to a boil, I back it off to a slow simmer and place the cover on top. I set the timer for 90 minutes, which should be just enough time for me to get to the store and back.

As I pass through downtown I see a man holding a handwritten sign. UKRAINE. I flash my lights on and off a few times and he waives. I stop at the craft store and for .83 cents buy two sheets of cardstock, one blue, one yellow to make a Ukrainian flag for my window.

At the grocery store I see a couple I know and stop to chat briefly. Their eyes light on my scarf. I remember that they have relatives who were in concentration camps during WW2.

How are you doing?, I ask.

It’s not a good day.

When I get home I check on the slow simmering pot, make the flag, and place it in the window.

Chopped cabbage, onion, and potatoes go in next along with homegrown canned beets from last summer’s harvest. Their skins are already off so I won’t stain my hands and counters red. The recipe calls for puréed tomatoes. I could open a can of homegrown ones from last summer but there is half a can of tomato paste that needs to be used in the refrigerator door so in it goes along with vinegar, sugar, and half a pound of lean ground pork from the butcher counter. Cover and simmer again adding the white beans near the end.

The poppyseed cake is next and while it cools I ladle out some borscht into a bowl, carry it to the table, sit down, and place a cloth napkin in my lap.

It is quiet and still.

No tanks on the ground.

No aircraft over head.

No gunshots.

No bombs.

---

If you are looking for a way to help, you might consider José Andreas’ World Central Kitchen.

My friend Jolene Handy of Time Travel Kitchen has just written about borscht, too.

A piece that brought me a big smile is this one by Pat Willard of America Eats!

1. The New York Times Cook Book (1990 Revised Edition), Craig Claiborne

2. Moosewood Cookbook (1977), Molly Katzen