Christmas season – the best memories of childhood flavors come flooding in. Dishes flavored with excitement, curiosity, and happiness.

No other memory is as sharp as Christmas cheesecake, mushroom soup or homemade pierogis. Christmas fare with aromas of cooking, my family hanging out in the kitchen cooking together, playing with cousins and decorating the Christmas tree… a flood of rich yearning. This was a special time of bonding with relatives.

I could have spent days in the kitchen cooking with my grandma. Our house was full of food, christmas decorations were everywhere, and candies to match the upbeat mood. We picked up the Christmas fish a few days in advance. We kept them in the bathtub – Alive! My brother and I fed them bread. On Christmas day we took one of them to the park and freed him in the pond, we visited him over the following days. On New Year’s Eve, we wished him good luck. Things were a little different in communist-era Poland!

The week before Christmas was filled with frantic energy, running around like crazy, shopping, and getting food from my uncle’s farm. Polish tradition has quite a list of requirements, and we had a lot of fun fulfilling it! Decorating the Christmas tree in the morning before Christmas Eve, fasting all day before dinner and this was after a week with no meat.

The evening started with the kids eagerly searching the sky for the first star (representing the Star of Bethlehem) so that the festivities could finally begin. Then there is the sharing of the Opłatek – a blessed wafer. Similar to the bread wafer used in Holy Communion. At the start of dinner, everyone grabs a piece of wafer, turns to a family member next to them, makes a wish on their behalf after which they break off a piece of the wafer and place it in their mouth. We wished each other good health or success at a new job or a promise to be better next year. The wishes and breaking of wafer then get reciprocated, and the good wishes continue all around the table.

Since Christmas Eve marks the end of Advent, traditionally we only eat fish during that dinner. Thirteen dishes have to be on the table (representing Jesus and the Apostles), and an extra plate is set for an unexpected guest. The menu includes items such as pan-fried carp, pickled herring, cod in a tomato-carrot sauce, pierogi, mushroom or beet soup, noodles with poppy seeds and walnuts and honey, stewed fruits and makowiec (poppy seed cake). Traditionally we leave one empty plate on the table in case a homeless person will knock on the door. In the warmth of the home, we sang Christmas Carols. This was the only time of the year we sang together, and it brought so much joy to our family.

It was torture for us kids because opening our gifts came after that! We couldn’t wait. Of course, that was the best part of the day. We had such warm family conversations, joking around, laughing and playing. The time just flew. Then we all went to midnight mass wrapped in warm clothes to wait for the Christ to be born. So much fun! Even now those memories are still fresh and make me feel homesick and nostalgic.

I’m sharing one of my favorite recipes for Christmas fare. It is a Polis Hunter stew. It is made from sauerkraut, meat, and veggies. Originally it is made with pork sausage and some bacon along with some beef. In this recipe, I used beef and turkey bacon. You can also make it vegan version – just take out the meat form the recipe. Hunter stew is a traditional Polish dish, which is very popular especially during the Holidays.

Polish Hunter Stew

Ingredients:

2 onions

2 jars of Bubbies sauerkraut

1 ½ of beef

1 box of turkey bacon

¼ lbs. dried mushrooms

1 mushroom stock – Pacific

4 carrots

1 parsnip

1 celery root

1 medium green cabbage

1 cup red wine

1 cup dried prunes

2 apples

3 tablespoons avocado oil

4 tablespoons tomato paste

3 tablespoons garlic powder

3 tablespoons onion powder

4 bay leaves

2 Rapunzel cubes bullion

2 tablespoons marjoram

2 tablespoons dried basil

1 tablespoon black pepper

1. Soak mushroom overnight and keep the water
2. Dice onion and brown it in the frying pan- transfer to a large pot.
3. Shred carrot, parsnip, celery root in the food processor and transfer to the pot.
4. Strain the mushroom and coarsely chop. Transfer to the pot.
5. Add mushroom stock and water from the mushrooms to the pot.
6. Chop cabbage, apples, and prunes and add it to the pot. Wait until it boils, then transfer to the slow cooker.
7. Cut beef into small pieces and stir-fry in the frying pan with avocado oil. Transfer to the slow cooker. Add spices and cook for 4 hours.
8. Add wine to the crokpot and strain sauerkraut and add it to the slow cooker. Add bullion and let it cook for 3 hours.
9. Chop turkey bacon and stir-fry in the frying pan, then add it to the slow cooker on the end of cooking.

Enjoy!

Join my Hormonal Imbalances Support Group on FB!

Like my page on FB

In Health

Angie