by Shelley Civkin Richmond Public Library

Polish country cookbook isn't light on tradition

Recipes revel in the hearty simple dishes of old

In my erratic pursuit to prove to myself that I am not a total culinary washout, I recently browsed through the shelf of new cookbooks that the library just received and vowed to try a new recipe. To my delight I came across a cookbook that flies in the face of today’s health conscious craze, while honoring the cultural and culinary roots of Eastern Europe. It’s called The Polish Country Kitchen Cookbook and it’s by Sophie Hodorowicz Knab. Unlike typical cookbooks whose pages are simply filled with recipes and pictures, this one is a veritable history of Polish kitchen culture.

The book starts off with several short chapters on historical cooking lore and moves on to chapters devoted to the four seasons. There’s even a section on superstitions related to food and cooks. As much a look into the past as it is a guide to the foods typical of present-day Polish cooking, The Polish Country Kitchen Cookbook is a delightful book.

It’s especially wonderful if you’re not hung up on low-fat, low cholesterol, low this and low that. If you’re open to ethnic cooking and don’t mind throwing out all your ideas about what constitutes strictly healthful meals, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Being one who loves “comfort foods” like mashed potatoes and gravy, sausages and cabbage and other such stick-to-your-ribs dishes, this book was right up my alley.

There are lots of recipes that call for bacon drippings, sour cream, meats of various types and rich gravies. Then there are also some unusual dishes that count on the eater having acquired a taste for these less-than-typical foods; for example, Duck Blood Soup, and Jellied Pigs’ Feet. But don’t be put off by those two oddities. There are some simple but traditional and appealing dishes like stuffed cabbage, potato dumplings, cold beet soup and braised beef. In all honesty, this book is heavier on history and traditions than it is on actual recipes, but that makes it all the more interesting.

The author has included lots of lovely hand-drawn pictures and illustrations of old cooking utensils, kitchen equipment and photographs from the “old country”. While there are no photographs of the actual recipes, like there are in most cookbooks, this isn’t a particular problem. The prelude to the recipes offers enough richness in background that it more than compensates for the lack of food photographs. True, this book isn’t for everyone, but if you have a yen for “pierogi”, “placek” or “white barszcz” then this should fit the bill.

And don’t forget, according to Polish lore, “The individual who is baking bread should not sit down until the bread is baked or it will fall.” So take note and take pleasure from this entertaining guidebook to Polish cookery.

Shelley J. Civkin is the head of the Readers' Advisory Department at the Richmond Public Library. For other popular reading suggestions, check out Richmond Public Library's Web site at www.yourlibrary.ca/goodbooks .