Ketchup Steak AKA "Hunky Steak"

Introduced to me by my husband when we were first married, is "hunky steak".  A mixture of round steak, salt, pepper, onions and KETCHUP; it is a delicious pile of goodness that is perfect for a blustery day. It has become a family favorite and wonderful served with mashed potatoes or polenta.


Sometimes called  it is called "Serbian Steak". Although, I suspect that this was inspired by an old country favorite. I've seen similar recipes that feature pork or beef with tomatoes.




http://www.flickr.com/photos/phoszoe/sets/72157603984299804/

Slava Kolach

In Serbia and countries that have Serbian Communities families, schools, churches and other organizations have a Krsna Slava or patron saint day. I belong to the  Circle of Serbian Sisters at Saint Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church in  Indianapolis. The "Kolo" celebrates the Nativity of the Mother of God.  Krsna Slava is celebrated with as much gusto and fanfare as a birthday party.  In a way, it is a birthday. It celebrates a history, one that you can feel, see and touch. 

The Slava Kolach is prepared prior to the celebration.  The Kolach can be a rather simple flour, yeast, water recipe to a rather elaborate one that includes butter, eggs and milk.  Traditionally, the top and sides are decorated with a cross or a crown shape. How it is decorated varies according to organization and family.  The bread  represents Jesus Christ as the Bread of Life. It is also symbolic of our thanks to God for being saved through Its Son.  During a special service in church (or in a home) priest cuts a cross in the bread, which reminds us of Christ' S death on the cross for the remission of our sins.

In addition, the zito or wheat (Kolijivo) is prepared in honor of God and all of his blessings of which we receive. It is also prepared to commemorate the ancestors of the family (or organization) who have passed on in the Orthodox faith. The wheat represents our hope in the resurrection.

  I was asked to make the Slava Kolach and Zito this year, which is always an honor for me to do so.

Delightful Sweets!

Last Sunday, I found myself with more watermelon than I could eat. Being that I have this natural inclination to want to use EVERYTHING. I found a recipe for watermelon preserves in the 1979 edition of "Prijatno" the Circle of Serbian Sisters cook from Gary, (Merrillville) Indiana.

I tried a bit of the extras that were not packed into jars. It's good, both sweet and sour. It would probably taste good on some vanilla ice cream.

Indiana State Fair 2012

On August 10th I entered the Family Heirloom Recipe contest at the Indiana State Fair. My palachinke won third place! This contest was sponsored in part by the Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance. The Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance is dedicated to documenting, studying and preserving the foodways from the Ohio River Valley to the Great Lakes, Prairies and Great Plaines of the Midwest. Until I was an adult, I never appreciated my own culinary and cultural heritage. During different phases of my life I took it for granted, felt a sense of shame or disrespected who I am.

Now that I have reached adulthood and have a daughter of my own; I have learned that it is important to retain and pass on the story of who we are.   Cooking is just one example.  I love to do it and I hope I raise a daughter who loves the kitchen too.


 This was the last contest I had signed up to participate in. I also entered the King Arthur Flour, Clabber Girl quick bread and Ghiradelli Chocolate. Alas, no ribbons but that does not mean that I will not try again.  It was a great learning experience that I hope to do it again next year.

The best part was I did not have to pay admission to the fair.  For $40.00 I received 6 tickets to the fair and a parking pass for the infield. Yes, it was worth the time and effort. I was able to spend time in short bursts and really select a single part to experience  rather than a single hot sweaty day trying to see EVERYTHING.

State Fair Results!

Yesterday, I won my first ribbon at the Indiana State Fair.  Due to a lack of time, I decided to make palachinke for the Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance heirloom recipe contest. Somehow I had to fit preparing for this contest in the middle of the following:  husbands birthday, seeing husband off to a mountain climbing trip in Colorado and all of the other day to day stuff that comes with being a Stay at Home Parent.

Originally, I was going to make a nut roll but the time and dedication it takes to making a perfectly tasty nut roll takes some solid time and dedication. Time and the attention that it would require were not on my side. So, I chose Palachinke. I can make them in my sleep and provide a good anecdote about them. Ther are precious little Serbian and Croation recipes representing Indiana. So, I decided to represent. :)

The State Fair

Color me crazy but I have decided to enter the Indiana State Fair this year.  I have spent the last year developing my recipe writing skills. Developing and writing recipes is much harder than I thought!

I entered our local county fair this year with a fruit cobbler which alas did not earn a ribbon but lots of encouragement!  I was up against some skilled bakers, including one who won recipe of the year in Better Homes and Gardens! I know I will be against some real skill at the State Fair. Although, according to my sweet husband, while were were walking around the fair several years ago, he said.. "oh, you can do that and probably do it better."

There are the special contests which are sponsored by various companies or organizations which seem to mean bigger prizes. There are the standard "ribboning" categories that merely compare "apples to apples" or bread to bread.

I am entering a yeast bread and a strawberry jam.

• Pogacha - Which is somewhere between a  Middle Eastern Flatbread flatbread and a regular round peasant bread typically found in Western Europe.  Honestly, this is one of my favorite breads to make as it goes from bowl to bread rather quickly. It helps that it only has one rising.
• Strawberry Jam - Milena and I picked 7lbs of strawberries in May. I decided to try my hand at some jam making. The local berries were small and very intense in flavor, therefore making a delightful jam. It is also a beautiful shade of red.

The Special Contests

 The Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance is an organization that is devoted to preserving the foodways of the Midwest. This is something I have enormous personal interest in as I think that the foods and cooking methods of the Eastern European immigrants are sadly unexplored and unmentioned.  I think I should start mentioning palachinke or nut roll.  They are looking for heirloom recipes that predate 1950.

Ghirdelli Chocolate Contest - I am working on mini tortes. Cake pops, cupcakes and other mini treats seem to be "the thing" right now. I made a cake that I have made over and over again into a small treat.  I just finished a trial batch, which were devoured by my official taste testers before I could photograph it.

King Arthur Flour Contest - This years theme is yeast rolls. I have  developed a plum roll recipe which is perfect for summer. It's also rather easy and turn out pretty.

Clabber Girl Quick Bread - Peanut Butter Banana Bread.  Peanut butter and bananas, what could be better? When I was growing up, overripe bananas were frequently turned into banana bread. I added peanut butter to the mix which made a beautiful, easy to slice breakfast bread.

There will be pictures... stay tuned.

Cooking my way through my Cultural Inheritence

I grew up in Northwest Indiana and could not wait to leave the place.  The landscape is dotted with factories, suburban post war sprawl, sand dunes and Lake Michigan. It's not a pretty place.

"The Region" as it is lovingly known is home to a large eastern european population. Myself I am, Serbian, Croation and Polish. There is French, Scotch Irish and English thrown in there too.  I didn't understand or relate well to my "ethnic" side until I was an adult.  Being that I am blond with blue eyes and fair skinned I could blend in with the rest of the Blond, blue eyed German and Irish.  I seemed any old random white girl. The only thing that made people step back was my maiden name, which was Damjanovich. (Dam-yan-ovich)

I began to learn and understand who I was when I was given a copy of St. Joseph the Workers church Cookbook. It contained recipes from my childhood. Delicious foods that I loved and missed. Things I watched my grandma, dad and other people make.

This blog is that story...