Roasted Eggplant with Cilantro and Garlic

 For a fresh-tasting vegetarian meal, serve this eggplant recipe for holidays. The incredibly versatile eggplant goes well with everything. My aunt made this recipe for my brothers wedding. I wanted to share this recipe with everybody. 

"Poppy Seeds Cake"

This moist cake is delicious and rich. My sister-in-law made this cake for the party, and I couldn't get enough of it. It's the best cake for poppy seeds lovers.   

"Diego Jungle Cake Tutorial"

A truly yummy party cake, featuring Diego Jungle theme.  Why not consider making your own birthday cake? With this step-by-step pictured tutorial it will be really easy. I made it for my 4 year old son's birthday party. This cake is the bomb! I mixed some ingredients together and it was a perfect creation!!!

Apple Filled Buns "Bulochki" {Russian Yeast Rolls}

These are all time favorite yeast bulochki. You can fill em with any sweet fillings you like. Most common filling  is Poppy Seeds. I made em with Apple filling this time. This is a small portion it make 15-17 small sized buns. It's my favorite dough recipe now always turns out great and so simple to make. My Instagram friend Vera shared this recipe with me. Thank you Vera :) 

"Seafood Blend Rice Pilaf"

Seafood rice is an easy and  impressive dish. This 1-dish meal did a great job of uniting the savory flavors of the various seafood ingredients. The rice and carrots are full of flavor. Best seafood with rice dish I've ever had! Also I have a Chicken Rice Plaf posted too.

Mushroom Carrot Sandwiches

These rustic toasts feature earthy mushrooms, zesty garlic and carrots. The combination is irresistible! I was making the filling for Eggplant Rolls and toasting the bread for kids. Then the idea came to me to make these yummy sandwiches. I could not stop eating em. :) 

"Chicory Drink"

Chicory is a popular coffee substitute and economizer for 2 centuries, back when coffee was more prized, and pure coffee was a luxury. In that time, it became a matter of cultural preference to use chicory in coffee. I try to cut out my coffee intake, and I love creamy hot drinks. This is my favorite coffee substitute.

"Raspberry Explosion Layer Cake"

Happy New Year!!! Made this very unique cake for the New Year celebration. The flavors will make your taste buds dance! It has layers of nutty cake filled with raspberry jello and wine. The middle layer is crunchy pastry puff and it's all covered in really delicious cream. My aunt Sveta gave me this awesome recipe when I was visiting her this summer. I was looking for a perfect name for it and Larissa from  instagram had the best name for it; "Raspberry Explosion Layer Cake". It explains this cake best!

"Kiev Cake for Christmas" {Киевский торт}

Kiev cake - it's not only a symbol of the city of Kiev, but it is the taste for holiday feasts. I made it for the Christmas party. It's made from meringue layers and with delicious custard butter cream. It's crunchy and soft at the same time. 

"Christmas Garnet Wreaths Salad" {Салат Гранатовый браслет}

 "Garnet Wreaths Salad" - a very delicious salad, one might even say - spectacular. It could be  decorated for any holiday ~ especially for Christmas. Pomegranate seeds add color and, of course, a yummy taste.

"How to Make Fondant Zebra Cake"

Zebra cake is my daughters favorite cake. She always orders it for her birthday. So, this year I decided to decorate is as a zebra pattern. I am sharing with you guys, how I made it.

Buckwheat Pancakes {Гречаники} (Grechaniki or Hrechanyky)

Hrechanyky - are a traditional dish of Ukrainian cuisine. Personally, I love em for the following advantages: delicious, fast, a lot. Well, if you have leftover boiled buckwheat and the family don't want to eat it anymore, so these would be perfect to make. You can make it into a vegetarian pancakes just increase mushrooms and it will be a vegetarian dish! I got this recipe from my aunt Sveta:)

Smoked Chicken Layered Salad

This is a Russian delicious salad. It's perfect to serve for upcoming holidays.

"Irish Cream Birthday Cake"

I made this cake for my birthday and loved it!!! It's tender and moist, but slightly dense at the same time. The Irish cream liqueur in this cake makes the recipe extra-special. It's made with white chocolate ganache and fresh strawberries.

You can purchase Peonies at my Etsy Shop

  

Fried Tortilla with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

These are perfect meatless hand pies for kids or adults. It's an easier and less time consuming version to Pirojki. What could be better? Mashed potatoes are mixed with herbs and cheese - is a really delicious combination. Then it's fried in tortilla. Crispy and scrumptious! 

How to Make Russian Chocolate Cheesecake Bites {Глазированные сырки}

These are little bars of flavored sweet cheese with a dark chocolate coating. These are healthy and delicious. A rich and creamy dessert made with ricotta, vanilla bean and a few other ingredients. You can make these sirki into cake pops or like traditional, rectangular way. Simple and easy to make for summer dessert.

Quick Marinated Cucumbers

These cucumbers  make a cool summer side dish.  Refreshing  cucumbers are always a hit when served with grilled meat. My mom  made these often, since I can remember. They are served at weddings, parties and picnics. 

Marinated Tomatoes in Ketchup

As the summer almost here fresh summertime tomatoes will be fantastic with this marinade! It makes  tomatoes taste so delicious. I tried it at the party and had to get this recipe. My friend Nadya shared  it with me. I am excited to share it with everybody. These would be so perfect for picnics with BBQ Chicken and Pork Kebabs.

Crispy Mashed Potato Pancakes

Of all the new recipes I've made recently, these Mashed Potato Pancakes are one of the biggest hits in my kitchen. I made them for family lunch, but they were equally perfect for any meal. I find most kids love to eat anything they can hold in their little hands, so these little cakes are a special treat. These are delicious on their own, and with ketchup or sour cream. Use real mashed potatoes instead of boxed. When cooking in butter, resist the temptation to flip them too early, otherwise a crunchy golden crust won't form.  If you've never had crunchy mashed potato pancakes, you're in for a treat.

Quick Hand Pies Filled with Mashed Potato "Pirojki (Piroshki)"

As you probably realized by the name “pirojki” is a Russian recipe and they are a kind of mini pies with buttermilk dough. I got the recipe from my mother in law while back. My family loves them! I am sure these delicious dough pockets will be a HIT with your family too! The filling can be either potato, mushrooms, meat, eggs and green onion. This is a different type of dough, it's with baking soda. My other Pirojki recipe is the soft kind.