Russian Holodets Meat Jelly {Xолодец}

Holodets is essentially a meat jelly made by cooking pork parts that contain a lot of bone, skin and cartilage (such as legs, ears, and even hooves) This dish’s name “holodets” is from the Russian word “holod” means “cold”. It's is because the final preparation step is to cool in a refrigerator for a few hours. Really, chicken, beef, or pork “holodets” is a meat jelly with meat cuts, vegetable cuts, and spices inside. This dish is an ancient recipe, which is still the same as some hundreds of years ago, and this is a traditional dish for many Russian celebrations. The first stage of the recipe is to make a tasty broth.

Garlic Roasted Red Potatoes

Delicious red potatoes, cut into half and roasted with herbs. Herb-roasted potato recipe with  butter, dill, garlic, and other seasonings. My mom always used to make this awesome roasted potatoes for family gatherings. I have 2 versions of it, moms version and cheese version. 

Farmers Cheese Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce {Сырники}

I make a lot of tvorog ( homemade ricotta, farmers cheese). So my favorite breakfast is syrniki that's farmer cheese pancakes. Syrniki (named for the Russian word, "syr," for cheese), which are fortified with tvorog, a fresh curd cheese similar in flavor and consistency to farmers' cheese. Syrniki are healthy and a wonderful food as for small children as for adults. 

Napa Cabbage Salad

This is a yummy, crunchy Napa cabbage salad with cucumbers. 
Napa cabbage, also known as celery cabbage, is a type of Chinese cabbage originating near the Beijing region of China, and is widely used in East Asian cuisine. In much of the world, this is the vegetable referred to as "Chinese cabbage".

"Fun Jello Cake"

Happy Friday to everyone!!! Hope you guys are having a great week:) This recipe is lots of fun to make. Kids love to help cut jello into pieces. Then they can't wait for cake to enjoy it:) My kids had a lot of fun making it and the eating this cake.

You will need 4 packages of jell-o (6 oz each) in different colors.

Russian Kotleti Recipe "Beef Patties"

Russian kotleti are very easy to make and are absolutely delicious! You can make as many as you like and just keep the rest in your fridge for tomorrow. The leftovers are as yummy as fresh ones.
Kotleti might remind you of burger patties or meat balls, after all it made out of ground beef. However, their shape is different than meat balls or patties, and because we love rich flavor in our food, kotleti might contain more then just ground meat and spices. 

Blueberry Summer Cake

Fresh blueberries are baked into this moist cake for the perfect summer dessert.

   Ingredients:
½ cup buttermilk
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Zest from 1 large orange
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/3 cup brown sugar for top coating 

Sweet Strawberry Vareniki

Vareniki (Ukrainian dumpling) are my favorite childhood food filled with fruits. I went to farmers market and got organic strawberries and blueberries decided to make these yummy vareniki. I couldn't decide which flavor was my favorite; they both taste scrumptious:) I dipped it in whipping cream whipped with powder sugar. 

Fried Halibut Fish Recipe

 Pacific halibut is a firm, dense and sweet white fish that requires little seasoning to enhance its fresh flavor. Pan Fried Halibut...A really quick and easy way to do your fillet of fish. This is a really simple recipe.

Apricot Scones

I've got a buttermilk scone recipe that is easy and delicious. These tender scones will have a dark-gold outer crust, and a light-gold, moist inner crumb. They'll taste mildly of butter and vanilla. Perfectly flaky breakfast pastries with a touch of sweetness and just the right amount of apricots. 


   Ingredients:
5 apricots
2 cups flour (I use Canadian)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2.5 oz unsalted butter, cold
1/2 cup buttermilk, shaken and cold
1 large egg

Russian "Venigret" Salad {Cалат Bинегрет}

Venigret - one of the most popular types of salad in Russia. The basis of salad vegetables are boiled or baked, and to give the dish a poignancy and piquancy, it must include acidic ingredient - sauerkraut. Better to cook vegetables in their skins, so they will stay tasty and not lose their useful properties. There are a lot of variations of this salad, with addition of red kidney beans,peas and pickles. My favorite way is this one, that I make for many years:))) 

Pita Pocket Sandwich

This is a very tasty and extremely simple sandwich. Vegetables with  pita  pockets are a lovely combination, especially in this well seasoned pita bread sandwich.

  Ingredients:
Bell pepper
Tomato
Green onion
Cilantro
Ham or I used Alex's Meat vologna German Brand 
Mayonnaise
Pita pockets

Soup with Ham «Cуп с Kолбасой»

This is the easiest soup to make. Kids loved it:)  I enjoy making it.   

Ingredients:
1- 1.5 lbs of Ham (cubed)
1 onion
1 carrot
2-3 potatoes
2 tbs  BTB Chicken  Base
Butter 
Bay leaf, parsley, dill
Salt to taste, pepper
1.5 quarts of water

Vika's Strawberry Mint Lemonade

Ripe strawberries combine with freshly squeezed lemon juice to create a refreshing summer beverage. My daughter makes this awesome strawberry lemonade.

Organic Quinoa Recipe

Quinoa has the most protein of any grain, and the highest fat content. It's a great source of vitamins & minerals, Quinoa is higher in lysine than wheat, and is considered a complete protein. I decided to make something different than I usually cook. So I went with what I had on hand and made this delicious quinoa recipe.  

Vareniki with Mashed Potato

Vareniki are made with a simple noodle dough and can be filled with anything from meat to sour cherries. It's like half moon shaped stuffed dumplings. This is a new dough recipe my sister in law gave me. It's so soft and easy to work with. I really like vareniki with this dough recipe. You can fill with sweet fillings like strawberries and blueberries, cherries. Just add sugar inside it and no butter after you cook it. Just put it out to dry and cool for a little bit and then enjoy it. I have Strawberry Vareniki recipe posted too.

Garlic Basil Hummus

 Hummus makes a healthy snack because the chickpeas are high in fiber, folic acid, a good source of iron, magnesium, copper and zinc. The lemon provides a good source of vitamin C and the olive oil is a source of healthy fat. Packed with good-for-you fats, hummus is a favorite go-to for quick, healthy snacks. I have had hummus a number of ways… both with and without tahini. I love it either way. This time I made it with out tahini.

Ingredients:
1 can organic garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1/2 lemon juiced
2-4 cloves garlic
5-10 leafs basil
2-3 tbs olive oil
Salt, ground coriander, cumin, paprika 
1 tbs tahini optional ( from Trader Joe's is the best)
I used almond butter instead of tahini, it worked out well

Traditional Russian Chebureki

Chebureki are half moon-shaped dough filled with meat and fried in oil. The dough is soft and crunchy with juicy meat inside.

  Ingredients for dough:
3.5 oz warmed milk
3 eggs
2 tbs oil
2 tbs vodka
1 tsp salt
3 cups flour

Apricot Spinach Smoothie

Cool off with this delicious fruit smoothie. Perfect summer breakfast. Combine all ingredients in ... until smooth. Adjust sweetness to desired taste with honey. ... may be frozen to make popsicles. My sister in law gave me a lot of apricots. So I tried to use it in creative ways.  My kids enjoy these smoothies:))) You can add any fruits you like or have on hand.

   Ingredients:
Apricots
Strawberries
Blueberries
Spinach
Honey
Ice or water 

The Best Tuna Salad Recipe

We all know the basic tuna salad recipe. Drain tuna; add mayo, salt and pepper. This recipe takes that tuna salad to another level. Its addition of hard-boiled eggs, cucumbers, onion, corn no longer is this your boring tuna salad sandwich. I've been making this tuna salad for many years now. My family loves it!!! 

Ingredients:
3-4 cans tuna
2-3 cucumbers
1 cup corn (Skip the corn for Keto)
5 boiled eggs
1 sweet onion (Less onion for keto)
Mayo, salt, pepper