barry’s almost finished with christmas. really.

yes, yes – it’s mid-january and i’m still talking about christmas food, but really, these are dishes that can be enjoyed all year long but only need to amalgamate into one meal once a year, and besides, january is so boring now. no parties, no celebrations of rebirths, no shiny things to distract you from the mundane, and spring is WAY too far away – what’s a person to do? reminisce about the holidays, that’s what. so here i am, offering up the joy of christmas once again for those die-hards who just won’t go down.

as mentioned in my previous bit, i had twelve dishes laid out for christmas, and yes, the bread was the most ridiculous. today i want to talk about the other, equally tasty, but far less ridiculous dishes of the evening. so, because i know you’re curious and that you care, the twelve dishes are as follows: kutia (boiled wheat with honey), borscht, kolach, sweet and sour cabbage rolls, potato-cottage cheese and sauerkraut perogies, beet salad, pidpenky (creamy mushroom sauce), mashed beans, salad (we felt that something remotely healthy was needed), and raisin perogies for dessert. phew! lots of stuff, yes, but it all created a beautiful symphony of smells and flavours. from these classics i want to share a few of my favourite year-round recipes with you. they’re cheap, tasty, and i don’t know what else. just try them.

marinated beet salad.

2 c. chopped beets (you can use fresh or canned)
1 onion, diced
less ¼ c. mazola, or other cooking oil
2 tbsp vinegar to 1 tbsp sugar
salt & pepper to taste
a pinch garlic powder

1. cover beets with water and boil until soft (nobody likes a crunchy beet, people); canned beets will take less time. drain.

2. sauté onions in mazola until translucent. add oil and onions to drained beets.

3. add vinegar and sugar to beets along with salt pepper and garlic powder. mix and refrigerate.**the longer you refrigerate this salad, the better the flavour.

mashed beans.
delicious on their own, or used like a spread in place of hummus.

2 c. dried white navy beans
1 onion, diced
2 – 3 cloves garlic
approx. ¼ c. mazola oil
salt

1. in a bowl, cover beans with water and soak overnight.

2. drain beans and put in pot covered with water. cook on low for approximately 3 hours. beans should be soft, and there should not be much liquid left.

3. sauté onions in oil. as beans can be dry, you want to have oil in the pan, if you don’t think you’ll have enough, feel free to add more. grate garlic into the pan and sauté for the last two minutes of cooking.

4. without draining, mash beans. add oil, onions and salt. feel free to add more salt or oil for taste.

pidpenky or creamy mushrooms.
finally, what the masses have been waiting for…and by masses, i mean one of barry’s buds.

2 ½ - 3 c. cleaned and sliced mushrooms (white, cremini, oyster – throw them all in)
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic
400 ml cream
dash worcestershire sauce
salt to taste
oil
dab of butter (optional)

1. sauté onion in some oil until translucent. at the end of cooking (last 2-3 minutes) grate in the garlic.

2. in a separate pan, cook mushrooms in butter and worcestershire on high. you want to cook out all the liquid from the mushrooms. stir often so the mushrooms don’t burn.

3. add onions, garlic, cream and salt to the mushrooms, mixing the onions and cream separately in a bowl, then adding them so the cream doesn’t separate.