We’ve talked about the wheat, used to make delicious kutia. I can still picture the kitchen table in Mom’s warm kitchen, all set for our Christmas Eve meal. Kutia was the first dish served as the sky turned velvet blue. Wheat sustained our ancestors through the year, and then was incorporated into a dish eaten with gratitude and reverence on Christmas Eve. Now it’s a dish embraced and enjoyed by many who do not have it in their family tradition, or perhaps enjoyed as wheat salad.
Poppyseed is another plant of Christmas, used in kutia and desserts. Used for thousands of years all over the world, poppyseed from papaver somniferum is important for culinary use, and we now know about its health benefits, too, containing minerals like iron and calcium. Mom used to make little pampushky filled with poppyseed; the dough was tender and sweet, and they were deep-fried like doughnuts, then sprinkled with sugar while they were still hot. This was another Christmas treat, and one that brings back the sweetest memories of our family Christmases long ago.
Mushrooms would have to be on the list as well. Mom made a special, delicious soup for Christmas Eve using mushrooms. Many years ago pidpenky may have been used, but Mom later used white button mushrooms or canned mushrooms and they were still great. So tasty and so special, this is still a recipe that is made only at Christmas in our family.
Add cabbage to our list: the leaves for cabbage rolls, or as sauerkraut used in perogies. Since we’re talking garden produce, let’s add potatoes to the list, for the filling of perogies. And of course, onions, mixed in dishes like sauerkraut and peas, or fried golden brown in butter to be served with perogies. And we can’t forget beets for borscht, and carrots for the soups of Christmas!
Going to grains: add buckwheat, that rich, tart, slightly bitter taste, so delicious in cabbage rolls. Now let’s talk legumes: broad beans and peas are part of the Christmas party too. I think of a dear friend of ours, sadly now long gone, who absolutely loved this simple and satisfying dish.
Wait a minute: what’s for dessert? Mom made delicious fruit compote from dried apple slices, prunes, apricots, and raisins. Once stewed, the fruit became plump and luscious and took on an amazing rich color and flavor. So good!
It’s quite a plant list: wheat, poppyseed, mushrooms, cabbage, potatoes, onions, beets, carrots, buckwheat, broad beans, peas, garlic, dried fruits, and that’s just to name a few!
The Yorkton and District Horticultural Society wishes you a very Merry Christmas and every blessing in the new year! Visit us at www.yorktonhort.ca
Thank you to our friends at YTW for their continued fine work: happy holidays to all of you!
And on behalf of Keith and I, we wish you a peaceful and healthy Christmas, surrounded by those dear to you, with happy memories of those no longer with you, and with the wonder and joy of Christ’s birth in your heart. Merry Christmas, dear gardeners!
