Serbian History 101

HOW TO MAKE A SLAVA KOLACH:  (See Annotated Bibliography page.)

 Baba Mim's Christmas 2010 table above.

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 Here's the Volitich family, celebrating their Slava

 All the Volitich members help V.Rev. Fr. Stepanov turn the Slava kolach.  This way, you're showing UNITY as a family, and remembering all those members who have since passed on, to guard your Slava and keep those traditions alive.

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HOW TO MAKE BUTTER BALLS:  (See Andja Mamula's Folk Costume page)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Everyone loves Djuri Volitich's CICVARA.  But this time, we're going to give credit to Marlene Powell, of Boonesboro, who had this recipe published in the HOME COOKING section of The Herald-Mail. Marlene belongs to the St. Catherine Eastern Orthodox Church of Hagerstown.

"I am third-generation Serbian, and I was born into the Orthodox faith.

"This traditional Serbian recipe, cicvara (pronounced "SEETS-vuh-ruh," rolling the R), can be found as a side dish at any special meal to celebrate a festive day at church or at home.

"This recipe was given to me by a Serbian family at our original home parish of St. Luke Serbian Orthodox Church in McLean, Va. Every year I would delight to see my favorite dish on the buffet line at church. I finally remembered to get the recipe.

"Now I include it for special events at St. Catherine Eastern Orthodox Church in Hagerstown.

"The secret to this traditional Serbian dish is to carefully monitor boiling and to stir often.

- Marlene Powell of Boonsboro

Cicvara

1 cup milk
2 cups sour cream
1 stick butter
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

Combine milk, 1 cup sour cream, butter and salt in a saucepan over low heat. Bring to a boil. Add cornmeal, a little at a time, carefully monitor boiling and stir frequently until thick.

Cover, lower the heat and let simmer 30 to 45 minutes until entire mixture starts to float in butter.

Transfer to an 8-inch-by-8-inch casserole dish. With remaining sour cream, spread a layer on top (like icing) just before serving. Serve warm.

Serves 4 to 6.

Cook's note: Double or triple the recipe if serving in a large casserole dish.

— Courtesy of Marlene Powell, who is a member of St. Catherine's Eastern Orthodox Church in Hagerstown.

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From Violet Rodich's kitchen in the Merrillville, IN Serbian Sisters Circle (KSS) of St. Sava Church Cookbook in Merrillville, Indiana, p. 189 (Gary, IN)  

Nut Roll or POTICA

3 1/2 c. flour

1 pkg. dry yeast

1 cup milk

2 Tablespoos sugar

2 Tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 recipe Walnut Filling

In large mixer bowl, stir together 1 1/2 cups flour and the yeast.  Heat milk, sugar, butter and salt just until warm, stirring constantly until butter almost melts.  Add to the dry mixture in mixer bowl;  add egg.  Beat at low speed on the electric mixer for 1.5 minutes, scraping the bowl constantly.  Beat 3 minutes at high speed.  By hand, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough.  Turn out onto large floured cloth;  knead for 6-8 minutes.  Place in greased bowl, turning once and let rise until double, about an hour.

Meanwhile,  prepare Walnut Filling:  In a bowl, combine:

2 cups ground walnuts

1 beaten egg

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 Tablespoons honey

2 Tablespoons milk

1 Tablespoon of melted butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

Set aside.

Punch dough down, cover and let rest 10 minutes.  On floured cloth, roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness, about 25 x 10 inches.  Stretch gently, working from center to edges, pulling very thin, to about 30 x 20 inches.  Spread with the filling.  Starting at the long side, use cloth as guide to rollup dough jellyroll fashion.  Pinch edges to seal.  Place one end of roll in center of large greased baking sheet.

Coil the dough to make a snail-shaped spiral; seal end.  Cover and let rise in warm place until nearly double, about 30-45 minutes.  Bake in a 350 degrees over 30-35 minutes until brown. 

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Getting ready for Sveti Nikola and this recipe by Alexis Bobick Bajich looked so good!  It's from the POSNO recipe page she started on FACEBOOK. Thanks, Alexis! Alexis is near Kansas City, Kansas.  (Lenaxa!  And she's part of the famous Bajich Brothers Orchestra Family.)

Vegetable Barley Soup

1 bag 15 bean dried bean mix (soaked/rinsed)

1 - 2# bag carrots, peeled & chopped

5 large onions chopped

1 celery stalk (the whole thing) chopped

1 can V8 low sodium or 15oz tomato sauce

2 TBS sea salt

COLD water

Put the ingredients in a 16qt stalk pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3 hours or until beans are soft.

Add 1 box quick cook barley

Make zafrik: heat oil in a pan with 1 cup flour and mix until brown - slowly add to pot and it will thicken.

You can add seasonings to your taste. i like to add some vegeta as well. 

Alexis adds: 

"I didn't not feel i was doing posti-ing any justice after I made this. I ate bowl after bowl afte bowl. I felt like I was at my +grandmother's and she made it! I was so excited.

Sorry it's not smaller in size. Not sure how to cook small. Does any Serb? :)"

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And here's Lenten Vegetable Cream Soup from her friend, Tomislava Andjelic, also from FACEBOOK.

LENTEN (POSNO) VEGETABLE CREAM SOUP

2 L water

1 cauliflower (medium)

2 carrots

1 parsnip

1 potato

1 Tbsp Vegeta

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook together vegetables in water until tender. Blend in food processor, addiing water if too thick. Return to pot and continue cooking for a short time. Add a tablespoon of Vegeta, salt and pepper to taste before completely cooking. When serving, sprinkle chopped parsley. 

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And you need to have a dessert to go with those Lenten (Posno) meals.  

Well, Milica Babir-Manojlovic sent this one to Alexis' Facebook Posno Recipe page and it sounds so great!

Wine Cake

1 cup white wine (no cooking wine)

1 cup olive oil

1 cup ground walnuts

1 cup sugar

1 cup raisins

Mix all these ingredients with wooden spoon till combined and then add:

2 cups flour

1tbs baking soda

Mix flour with wet ingredients till all well combined

Grease 9x13 pan 

Bake at 350F for about 30-40 minutes until the top becomes medium brown

"Actually my birthday is September 27 (Krstov dan) a fast day.. This is my birthday cake(-: Make it every year!!"

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Meet 10 year old Alyssa Shorak (shown here in the middle with her two good friends, Noel and Megan.  Alyssa Shorak, fantastic cherry pie maker! 

It was at the Shorak Slava of St. Stephan (January 9th, 2010, where I was first treated to probably the best cherry pie I ever tasted.  Alyssa's Baba, Patty Perenovich Shorak from Midlland, couldn't be prouder of her talented granddaughter.  "I just showed her two times before, and now she does all this cooking herself!  She can even double/triple it with ease, with no one helping.  She's a tremendous little baker!"

Alyssa has played soccer for many years and loves playing her position of Goalie, the hardest position of all, I think!  She has taken piano lessons for 4 years now and is a member of Jedinstvo Tammies in Pittsburgh, where she's learning the Prim.  Her Dad, Eli, jokes that Alyssa is also learning the trumpet in school, but that she definitely hasn't mastered it yet. ;-)  Alyssa loves animals and going to her Baba's farm where her Dad grew up.  She started her own garden this year and created her own first tree farm.

Try this PIE DOUGH recipe from Alyssa.  It's a sure fire winner!  (Alyssa's Baba Patty used to do a lot of catering at the Midland Serbian Club which helps explain such talent!)  Too, Alyssa's Mom, Sharon, is no cooking slouch either.  She made a tremendous feast for the Slava, though not having a drop of Serbian blood.  I say she's 101% adopted Serb! Eli agrees and jokes, "She knows more Serbs/Serbian than I do!  She's terrific and does everything!" 

By the way, I must also mention Alyssa's little sister, Erica, age 8.  Erica helped her Dad, Eli, make the Kolach this year.  Eli, who has a very important job working at the University of Pittsburgh said of Erica:  "She worked quite hard helping me knead the Kolach dough and was so proud when she saw the end result. She literally beamed with pride when Fr. Rajko blessed our family's kolach in Holy Trinity Cathedral!"

I can vouch that BOTH girls are darling!  Genuine Sweetness oozes from them both!  Hvala Bogu!

And how Eli got to be the Kolach maker in the family is a story for another time.  It's hilarious, though! 

Alyssa's Luscious Pie Dough:

2 Cups of Robin Hood flour (all Serbs like that brand!)

1 Cup Crisco

1/2 Cup of Half 'n Half

2 Tablespoons of Vinegar

Dash of salt.

Mix all together and then freeze for 30 minutes before using.  Use Cherry or Peach Pie filling. 

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Sarmas: Pigs in the Blanket 

1 head cabbage

3 lbs. of ground beef, pork and veal mixture. (1 pound each)

1 cup rice, cooked according to directions.

5 medium onions, chopped

Bacon grease

Salt to taste

Pepper

1 Tablespoon of Paprika or Vegeta 

3 cloves garlic, mashed 

2 large cans of sauerkraut

1 can tomato soup, diluted  or large can of Tomato Sauce.

HERE WE GO! 

To blanch cabbage leaves, core the cabbage head and insert large meat fork in center.  Place head in boiling water in a dutch over for a few seconds until leaves can be easily removed.  Remove all leaves that will be large enough to stuff. 

(If no dutch oven, just place cabbage in large pan of boiling water after removing as much of the core as possible.  Cook only until leaves soften (Less than 15 minutes.) 

Cook rice as directed and drain.

Saute onions in bacon grease (or butter) until soft.  (You can also use chopped bacon here.)  Mix meat, rice, eggs, onions together thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper and garlic, and Paprika or Vegeta.  

Remove the leaves from the head of cabbage one at a time.  Turn each leaf over and trim the heavy vein on the leaf with a sharp knife (don't cut through the leaf.)

Place the filling in the cabbage leaves (one at a time) and tuck in the ends firmly. 

Rinse the sauerkraut and drain.  Put 1/2 can of kraut on the bottom of the pot.  Lay rolls neatly and close together. Make layers.  Top each layer with 1/2 can of kraut.  If you have any cabbage left, you can shred it and place on top of kraut. 

Pour 1 can of soup and 1 can of water (or large can of Tomato Sauce) over the cabbage rolls.  

If you have any smoked meat, place in sarma container too.

Cover with foil or a lid and.... 

Bake for 2 hours at 350 degrees until tender.  Enjoy!

Note: 

Some people also include 1 or 2 eggs and then add some Farina (or corn meal) to the mixture above.  We do this for our hamburgers.)

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Palachinkas, Serbian Pancakes.  

Everyone loves them! 

 This recipe came from the FACEBOOK Palachinka page with over 343,085 fans!

Sastojci  (Ingredients):

-2 šolje brašna -2 cups of flour

-3 šolje mlijeka -3 cups of milk

-2 jaja -2 eggs

-kašika šećera -one spoon of sugar

-malo soli_-a little bit of salt

-ulje__-cooking oil

Opis:

U mlijeko umutite jaja, brašno, šećer i malo soli. Peći u tavi, na kraju staviti nadjev po želji. Prijatno!

Mix milk with eggs, flour, sugar and salt. Bake in baking dish. 

Put jelly in the middle & roll! 

Enjoy! 

For at least the first 5 years of our married life, we used to have Palachinkas for breakfast on Saturday mornings!  Joi! 

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Update from Linda Porter, from the Masontown / Carmichaels, PA area.

On Dec 16, 2009, at 8:18 PM, Linda K Porter wrote:

Good Evening Baba Mim! 

I wanted to let you know that I wanted to learn to make a Kolach for my Slava this Saturday and was having difficulty locating good directions for a beginner.  I logged onto your website and found your recipe and instructions very easy to understand and the picture helped me to see what it should look like. I made it and it came out very good for my first try. However, Father Rodney said it has to be a fasting Kolach since we are in the Nativity fast. I put it in the freezer and tried it again with soy milk, and margarine and left out the eggs. It still looks similar to your picture and I am so happy and thankful for your excellent guidance!  

I hope you are well and I look forward to meeting you some day.  If you recall, you sat with my husband at our Lenten Supper at St George last spring. Since then, I have sent your website to many people. You continue to inspire and you don't even know it!

Thanks again and Best Wishes to You!

Linda Porter 

LINDA THE INVENTOR!

She invented her own Posno Kolach!

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Baba Mim,

 Thank you so much for your kind words!  If you share the changes with anyone, you can also tell that I brushed the top with a mixture of sugar water (saw that in a Serbian cookbook a long time ago with apple dumplings) .. and then AFTER it was baked, I brushed melted margarine on the top for that shiny look you can only get with egg yolk.  It looked almost the same. I am not so sure what the texture will be though! It was funny... I was blessed with two sons... and I did not know or remember how my mother braided my hair!  My husband saved the Kolach!  : )

Linda Porter's 1st Kolach!

Congratulations, Linda! 

Here's Linda's 2nd Kolach- Lenten One!

To view either Kolach larger, just select the lower right hand corner of the photo. 

Linda wrote:

Thank you so much for the pogacha recipe! I have just started making it...only have tried it twice and I was looking for other recipes to try. My mom is going to be 90 soon and she was searching her archives for any other ones that might be good.  I will try your recipe for Christmas Eve 24th since we are having baccala.  I will let you know how it turns out..

It is so nice of you to share your knowledge. Many people do not give out their recipes. I was never one of them....I feel that if you take it to your grave, no one will ever remember! When I make certain things that I have learned from my mom's old friends... Hungarian, Italian, etc...... I think of them fondly each time I make it! I share it with others only to tell them who it belonged to.  Their memory is truly eternal in my kitchen.

Thank you again.  May you have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!  Thank you again for helping me along my way. 

Linda 

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I remember you now, Linda!  Thank you so much for letting me know the website is making a difference and that you're a cook FIRST CLASS!

Only those brilliant ones know how to substitute!  Good for you, girl!  You invented a new POSNO Kolach!

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Just in case you don't have a Pogacha recipe, here's one:  From my late sister-in-law Annie Bizic

1 1/4 cups warm water

2 Tablespoons of sugar

2 teaspoons of salt

2 Tablespoons of oil

1 small cake yeast (.6 oz)

3.5 to 4 cups of flour

(more or less)

Add first 3 ingredients and stir to melt.

Crumble yeast and let sit for 5-10 minutes to grow.

Add oil and flour.

Knead, then put in greased bowl and flip over.

Cover the bowl and let it rise until double the size.

The punch down shape and put it on a baking pan to rise again.

Rub water on the dough and bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

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UPDATE from Pat Cekoric

12/28/09

"This POGACHA recipe is similar to the one I use that I got from the Srbobran years ago. I also replace one cup of white flour with whole wheat flour and add some ground flax seeds because I don't like to use white bread." 

Thanks for the tip, PAT! 

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5/20/10

George Milosh's

"Instant"

KAJMAK recipe

"It's really simple.  Just use equal parts of butter, sour cream, and Feta cheese!"

George should know.

He comes from not only a Musically talented family, but one with incredible cooks too!

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 The Johnstown, PA newspaper, the Tribune-Democrat, did an EXCELLENT job in covering Johnstown's SERB FEST 2010 (July 31-Aug. 1, 2010) which featured a guest appearance of author Gregory Freeman, (The Forgotten 500) at the War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, and at the Serbian Church picnic grounds the following day.

This event was sponsored jointly by the Bottleworks Ethnic Center and the St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church in Johnstown. 

We feature here several recipes that appeared in the newspaper on Sunday, July 25, 2010.  Once again, "THANK YOU" to the Tribune-Democrat for such excellent coverage in all areas of Serbian history and culture that truly helped make the event so successful!  They KNOW what a COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER is! 

Continued success Tribune-Democrat, in all of your endeavors!

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Honey Serbian Toast

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 slices day-old bread

Butter or margarine

Sauce:

1 cup honey

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons butter

In shallow dish, combine eggs with milk, honey and salt. Add bread slices, one at a time, to egg mixture. Coat each side completely. Fry until golden brown on both sides in small amount of butter. Combine remaining honey, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons butter. Heat. Serve over toast.

Makes 4 servings.

By Radisa Purich

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Pineapple-Cheese Baklava

1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

2 cups dry cottage cheese or Ricotta

1 cup sugar, divided

2 egg yolks and 1 whole egg

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1/2 pound frozen filo pastry leaves, thawed (about 10 leaves)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Drain pineapple and save syrup. In mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, cottage cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, egg yolks and whole egg, lemon peel and vanilla. Blend together on medium speed. Stir in drained pineapple. Place filo leaves between dampened towels to keep moist. Place a sheet of pastry in greased pan (9x13x2-inch). Brush with melted butter. Repeat process with 4 more leaves. Spoon on the pineapple-cheese mixture and spread level. Top with remaining filo leaves, brushing each sheet with melted butter as it is layered. Use sharp knife to carve diamond shapes in top of pastry. Bake at 350 degrees about 50 minutes or until golden brown. Combine 1/2 cup reserved pineapple juice, remaining 1/2 cup sugar and lemon juice. Cook to thick syrup. When Baklava is baked, spoon hot syrup evenly over top. Cool and cut into diamond shapes and markings.

By Betty Gjurich

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Meat Pita

2 pounds ground beef

8 large onions, chopped fine

2 cups milk

2 teaspoons vegeta (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 eggs

Butter or oleo, melted

1 box filo dough

Sauté onions slowly in milk on low. Stir frequently so it does not burn until milk is absorbed. Cool slightly; add meat, vegeta, eggs, salt and pepper. Use 4 sheets of filo dough. Spread lightly with melted butter on first sheet and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Take third sheet and place 1/2 in center and the other 1/2 will overlap. Take fourth sheet and place on the other side of the third sheet. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and fold over filo dough. Fold both in and roll. Brush top with melted butter. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden color. May be frozen before baked.

By Olga Galagaza

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Cottage Cheese “Corn” Bread

1 pound creamed cottage cheese

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons, oleo, melted

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

8 ounces sour cream

Mix first 4 ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour batter into a greased 9x9-inch pan and bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes or until nicely browned.

By Mary Gallagher

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Musaka Serbian Style

3 medium eggplants

Salt

Flour

7 eggs

2/3 cup vegetable oil

3 large onions, minced

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/2 pound each ground pork and beef

1 pound ground lean lamb

1/4 cup fine, dry bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups milk

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

3 egg yolks, beaten

Dairy sour cream (optional)

Peel eggplants and cut in 1/4-inch lengthwise slices. Sprinkle with salt and let stand 15 minutes; dust with flour. Then dip in 5 eggs, beaten and brown on both sides. Set aside. In skillet, cook onion. Mix meats, 2 eggs, bread crumbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper and garlic. Add to onion; cook lightly until browned. In saucepan, melt butter in 6 tablespoons flour. Add milk and cook until smooth. Line a 3 1/2- to 4-quart roasting pan with layer of eggplant and meat mixture. Repeat layer, ending with eggplant. Pour sauce over top; heat in 375-degree oven for 1 hour. Cut in squares. Serve with sour cream if desired.

Makes 10 servings.

By Radisa Purich

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