Today is National Doughnut Day, but these clearly are not donuts. 🙂 I didn’t know that it was national doughnut day until this morning, and I already had these lovely dinner rolls on deck so I decided to make these after all. I added in a bit a spelt flour, for flavor — really delicious. Best eaten the same day, but these freeze well too.
Today is National Pretzel Day (this should really fall on the same day as Beer day!) and these are a massive labor of love. Despite being German — and Southern German at that! — I am not a very good pretzel maker. My Opa, the Bäckermeister. wouldn’t be too terribly impressed with my shaping abilities. The dough is great — high protein flour from Kin Arthur is great — and these are sourdough, though if you search my site, you will also find the yeast version. The first batch, the “arms” kept on coming off the sides, so I started tucking them under and that worked better. The pretzel salt (also from KA) kept on falling off the bottom bit when I made the slits, so I put it on the side. Not traditional, but they’ll do.
It’s Pi(e) Day on March 14, so I had to make a pie, right? Well, seeing I am still working on educating myself on all things Ukrainian, I decided to make Kapustyanyy pyrih — Ukrainian-Style Cabbage Pie. It’s sort of a cross between a souffle, a crust-less quiche and a savory pie like a potato-leek pie. It’s got a whole lot of cabbage of-course (not fermented cabbage / sauerkraut though, just raw cabbage that is baked), as well as herbs and onions and a light, super eggy crust. It’s not like anything that I have ever had before, but I do quite like it. I also could see making this in like a rectangular brownie pan and serving it as a side with a meat dish. Apparently, you can also make variations with other veggies included (i.e. carrot or potatoes) or add in some sauteed chicken or sausage or ham. Pleasantly pleased at the outcome.
