Recipe #295 in my Latvian cookbook project is carrot pudding (burkānu pudiņš). First, I have to clarify that “pudding” in this book does not mean dessert....
How to cut an onion?
Onion is one of the most common flavourings in Latvian food. Not to mention pīrāgi, where finely chopped onion is one of the few star ingredients....
What and How Latvians Used to Eat. Dairy.
What and How Latvians Used to Eat Have you ever wondered what our Latvian ancestors used to eat? Are you curious when the staples we recognise...
Wax beans (Vaska pupas)
Wax beans, also known as butter beans, are my favourite summer vegetable. Softer and sweeter than their green bean cousins, they were served at lunch or...
What and How Latvians Used to Eat. Meat, Fish, Mushrooms and Native Plants
Have you ever wondered what our Latvian ancestors used to eat? Are you curious when the staples we recognise today were introduced? How did they create...
Jam tea cake (Ievārījuma kēkss)
What do you do with jam that has gone off? Latvians in all their thrifty knowledge will have an answer for this, of course. To be...
What and How Latvians Used to Eat. Potatoes, Hemp and Vegetables.
What and How Latvians Used to Eat Have you ever wondered what our Latvian ancestors used to eat? Are you curious when the staples we recognise...
What and How Latvians Used to Eat. Cereals and Bread.
What and How Latvians Used to Eat Have you ever wondered what our Latvian ancestors used to eat? Are you curious when the staples we recognise...
Gingerbread
Christmas in Latvia cannot be imagined without baking tray upon tray of gingerbread (piparkūkas). It is a national pastime in the days leading up to Christmas...
Ziemassvētki (Christmas)
Celebration of Christmas in Latvia is rich in tradition with a sprinkling of superstition. Although now Christmas has been tamed down to a quiet family celebration,...
Zucchini relish (Kabaču salāti)
When you finally have figured out when produce is in season in Australia, you get pleasantly surprised that squashes – zucchini, marrow, pumpkin – are in...
Sauerkraut (Skābēti kāposti)
Sauerkraut (skābēti kāposti) – something that has recently become a health food obsession, yet has been so common in Latvian kitchens for centuries. I have fond...