Baba's Kitchen: Ukrainian Soul Food: with Stories From the Village, third edition

I am having such a ball reading this book. It’s not a cookbook that you jump around - it’s a book you read from cover to cover! The folklore, legends and of course, baba’s opinion about everything, are totally entertaining! I need more Baba in my life!!! 💜 I am half Ukrainian and rediscovering my roots - my own baba died before I was born 😢 but I feel all the love of my ukrainian mama (who has also passed on 💔) coming through in Raisa’s words. Thank you so much for making this book, Raisa. Please make more! I also get a kick out of your videos too!

Touches of hilarious humour and Ukrainian history enrich traditional recipes from Ukraine narrated from the perspective of a 'seen it all' Ukrainian 'Baba' ! The author , Raisa Stone, from Winnipeg, Manitoba is a poet and Ukrainian culture enthusiast and she has done a remarkable job of combining many things beyond food in this charming 'cook book'. The recipe for Cabbage Rolls (holubtsi) begins " Clean out your freezer so have room for head cabbage...... Put whole head cabbage in plastic bag. ...leave for 48 hours. OR, if is middle of winter, lock in trunk of that junky car in front you trailer. Don't forget where you leave it, or in spring your relatives will have to move out of car because of smell. "

I've never thought of reading a cookbook for pure entertainment until I discovered Baba's Kitchen. This delightful book would have even Lily Tomlin in stitches. Not only is it one heck of a belly laugh, it also has recipes for good, old fashioned, tasty meals that nourish both body and soul. So many modern cookbooks insist on sugar replacements (that kill brain cells) and non-fat ingredients (not to mention non-taste), but not Baba. In her recipe for Kurka (Chicken) Soup, Baba says, `Never mind this diet-schmiet "peel off skin." Is yellow chicken fat that make so much flavour... If you want to make cooking a fun and hilarious experience, Raisa Marika Stohyn's Ukranian Soul Food with Stories From the Village is a must read. And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to make some of Baba's High Octane Mayonaisse.

Great book with a fun Baba. It is a fun read while looking for ethnic recipies.

I picked up Baba's Kitchen: Ukrainian Soul Food With Stories From the Village free during an Amazon giveaway. Collection of Ukrainian recipes, supposedly shared by a grandmother and containing lots of grandmotherly advice. While I found many of the comments patronizing rather than amusing, and the broken-English got old quickly, I would have put up with them as an honorable paean to the author's grandmother except for one thing: there is no Baba. Stohyn admits that she created "Baba" as a composite character, so there is no justification for the poor English-isn't-my-first-language grammar. The recipes themselves look very usable and, in some cases, even tasty. If you want to try Ukrainian cooking enough to put up with being told, "Baba catch you put [sour cream] on her good borshch, she send giant spider to bite you on head," this is the book for you.

Finally I ordered your book. Will give to my grand daughter to appreciate her Ukrainian heritage. Wonderful recipes and will enjoy making some with my grand daughter. It may improve my Ukrainian cooking too.

When I ordered this book, I was honestly looking for a cookbook. We recently spent over two months in Ukraine adopting two children. Now that we are home, my 14 year old daughter and I like to cook together. I had no idea how incredibly funny this book would be. After reading the first chapter on how to make borsch, I could not put the book down! I was crying, I was laughing so hard during some of her cooking advice, and I am pretty sure I snorted a few times too. Baba's voice is so true to life. It sounds very similar to how my children speak while they are learning English. In the midst of giving cooking advice in a hilarious and sometimes irreverent manner, the author also gives history lessons about the country that won over my heart recently and gave me two beautiful additions to my family. It's a country that takes great pride in their natural, flavorful food. If you can't get to Ukraine to try the cuisine for yourself, this is the next best thing! Last Saturday I stained my new copy of this book with beet juice making Baba's recipe for Borscht. The soup took all day to make, and while it was cooking to perfection, I had time to read the story of a woman who murdered her no-good husband with sugar and Baba's opinion of women who wear thongs. Priceless! When the Borscht was finally ready to eat, my Ukrainian children claim it was the best they had ever eaten. Thanks, Baba! I couldn't have pulled that off without you!

This is a cookbook and good "story" all rolled into one. It reads the way my grandmother and her sister's talked, so of course I enjoyed it. If you want an A-B-C, step by step Ukrainian cookbook without the conversational "flavor" this one has, Baba's Kitchen may not be for you. That said, if you don't mind your Baba standing over your shoulder telling you how to make these recipes correctly, while filling your head with entertaining and sometimes unrelated conversational anecdotes (all of them worth hearing, btw) along the way, this cookbook is worth having. Unlike every other Ukrainian cookbook I looked through, it has all of the recipes I was looking for, plus a little history and grandmotherly Ukrainian wisdom peppered in along the way. I like that!

I downloaded this e-book because I am interested in Polish food and was intrigued by the book description. Ukrainian food (and attitudes!!) has much in common with Polish food, and there are many many recipes here. But to call this a cookery book doesn't do it justice it at all! "Baba" is hilarious. She teaches the hapless wannabe Ukrainian cook (that's the reader) how to make the food that she has always made, and as she does this (and tells you off roundly for your failings in the kitchen!) she chats away telling tales of her life, and anything else that occurs. Baba is a person, she has a voice. She is so cleverly written that her voice comes over loud and strong and so so funny! I'll tell you a secret....... I'm part of an Anglo-Polish family (that's not the secret!), although not Polish myself, and have family members in Poland. I have developed a love of Poles and their food. I have a friend who has a similar love of Poland...and we have alter-egos called "Dollink"- we write to each other in character and have lots of fun trying to outdo each other in "dollink- ness". Of course Dollink is a Polish emigre, not Ukrainian. Reading this book - Baba is so like Dollink it's uncanny! I told my friend about Baba and she bought the book immediately - together we laugh uproariously at this kindred spirit. I showed my daughter the book, without explanation .....she read a page and looked at me and said "it's dollink!" The recipes are given in conversational style, but at the end of each there's a precise list of ingredients too. Experimentation is encouraged, so you can make Baba's recipes your own, and provide endless variety to the many recipes already in the book (I don't know how many, and I don't know how many pages, I didn't count them .... There are a lot!). None of the TV cooks go to central and Eastern Europe. The food there is overlooked, and that's a huge pity. This food is great, it is healthy and filling and, for these straightened times, it can be economical too. Buy this book for the "Baba" entertainment value - then try the food! I absolutely intend to cook like Baba, using her recipes. But when I want a laugh, entertainment, or just good reading, I turn to Baba too. She says she will publish more volumes of recipes, as well as paper versions of this book. I shall be in the queue! Certainly I would love the paper version on my kitchen bookshelf! I recommend this e-book. It's unique, I think, and I love it!

Ein wirklich abwechslungsreiches, umfangreiches Kochbuch, welches ich mir schon kurz nach seinem Erscheinen zugelegt habe! Viele bekannte und auch unbekannte Gerichte, die für jeden mit ukrainischen/osteuropäischen Wurzeln von Interesse sein dürften. Von Vorspeisen, Salaten, über Fleisch- und Fischgerichten, bis hin zu Süssspeisen und Backrezepten ist alles dabei. Sogar ein Kapitel über ukrainische Hausmittel gibt es. Leider gibt es keine Bilder im Buch, aber die Zubereitung ist einfach erklärt und auch für ein englischsprachiges Buch sehr leicht zu verstehen.

Loved the book ,took me back to my youth with some of the stories Baba writes about

This book is so fun! Not only are the recipes great but “Baba” is hilarious. She adds commentary in her book that is absolutely hilarious! I always knew men caused PMS! Per Baba!

I bought this as I am of Ukrainian heritage. The recipes are great , but the humour is definitely exceptional!!!.