Ukrainian Cookery Recipes w. Borscht, Vareniki, Cabbage Rolls & more -- Vintage Cookbook

Vintage Cookbook: Ukrainian Cookery Recipes

Publication Details: Technika Publishers, Kiev USSR, 1980

This past weekend I went with my family to Toronto's Ukrainian Festival held annually on Bloor St. W.

While the stage acts (featuring many traditional Ukrainian dance numbers among other things) and vendors are terrific, so is the food! I had perogies, including a terrific jerk chicken variation, an amazing take on spring rolls that uses perogie style ingredients as the filling, excellent sausages and more.



Just the next day (serendipity!) while sorting through cookbooks at a local charity outlet -- I am a relentless collector -- Natalie and I came across a vintage Ukrainian cookbook from the Soviet era.

Published in 1980 in Kiev, this handy little guide opens with a short introduction to the cuisine generally and then goes on to look at a wide variety of classic dishes widely known to non-Ukrainians as well as some that are unusual -- including the truly spectacular and wild Transcarpathian Salad!

So enjoy a trip through some Ukrainian delights -- and be sure to catch next year's festival if you are in Toronto (or a similar one in a community near you!)

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I saw a variation of this recipe at the festival...as you can see here!

Waterloo County Cookbook with Mincemeat, Roasted Pig Tails & more! Vintage Cookbook Throwback Thursday

Vintage Cookbook: Waterloo County Cookbook, Marcella Wittig Calarco

Publication Details: Twin City Printing, 1980

I have a tremendous fondness for the Waterloo County Cookbook despite its relatively bare-bones presentation and lack of illustrations. It is representative of a style of folksy and down-to-earth community oriented cookbooks that were far more common a generation ago and that act as a snapshot of a place and time.

This particular cookbook is about a community in Ontario, the Kitchener-Waterloo community, and reflects the Central European and German backgrounds with which the region was and has been associated.

Broken into a variety of sections, where the cookbook truly stands out is in the section about "Waterloo County Specialties" that includes instructions for making Sauerkraut in five-gallon tubs at home!

Here we share some bread recipes, as well as some classics like Mincemeat and Cabbage Rolls, as well as some forgotten classics like Roasted Pig Tails.

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A Taste of Riversdale - The Riversdale NDP Cookbook with Khrustiki and Cabbage Rolls! Vintage Cookbook Throwback Thursday

Vintage Cookbook: A Taste of Riversdale - The Riversdale NDP Cookbook

Publication Details: L. Rasmussen Co. Ltd., 1989

A Taste of Riversdale belongs to that terrific class of cookbooks that were meant to raise funds for a charity, church group, organization of some kind or, in this case, a political party. As is often the case with these types of cookbooks, the recipes are submitted by a variety of people who are part of the group.

What makes this one more of a novelty than most is that many of the recipes here were contributed by people who were Saskatchewan NDP MLA's at the time! Introduced by Roy Romanow, who was the Leader of the Opposition when it was published and who, of course, went on to be Premier, the cookbook also has recipes from his mother and family.

It contains snippets of folksy wisdom, a variety of handy conversion charts, instructions on things like canning, a spice guide and other useful lists, as well as a LOT of recipes.

Today we share some MLA recipes for cheesecake and Roast of Beef with Yorkshire Pudding, submissions for Shepherd's Pie and Cabbage Rolls, and recipes from Romanow's mother for Ukrainian Walnut Torte and Khrustiki, a Ukrainian pastry.

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