My Mother and I have both been watching for a copy of this cookbook. So far I have not found it where I can buy it at an affordable price for me. This one is going for $150, too much for me to fit into the budget even for this cookbook. Prices vary and most of the time it isn't available.

I first found this cookbook years ago when I was visiting my Aunt Emma (she was my Grandfather's sister, so my great-Aunt). She lived in British Columbia, Canada and I visited her a couple of summers when I travelled out on the Greyhound bus from Ontario. I had a lovely trip and one thing I very much remember still are all the great, traditional Ukrainian dishes we cooked. I wrote down some of the recipes and, when I was home again, I tried them myself. I had great success with one which was basically tomatoes cooked with butter, sour cream and cabbage. It was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten, not what I expected from a dish which featured cabbage.

Anyway, Aunt Emma is gone and I never saw her cookbook again. I don't know who got it, or if anyone actually did. So I have kept watching for it to turn up.

When I was asked to write about a cookbook for Squidoo my first thought was, of course, this old Traditional Ukrainian Cookbook. I found two on Amazon, but one is without the cover and both are pretty over my meagre budget. I'm not giving up hope on finding one for myself. More and more cookbooks are turning up in thrift stores as people are finding recipes online rather than using printed cookbooks. So, I'm sure my cookbook will come.

My favourite recipe...

Hard to pick between the cabbage rolls we have been making for as long as I can remember or the recipe from the cookbook with cabbage, tomatoes and sour cream - which I don't know the name of.

Buttermilk Pancakes

A splash of vanilla and a small pat of butter are the secret ingredients to these decadent, fluffy pancakes.

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour
• 3 tbsp (45 mL) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder
• 1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
• 1-3/4 cups (425 mL) buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) butter, melted
• 2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) canola oil

Preparation

In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, butter and vanilla; pour over dry ingredients and whisk until combined but still slightly lumpy.

Lightly brush large nonstick skillet or griddle with some of the oil; heat over medium-high heat. Using scant 1/4 cup (50 mL) per pancake, pour in batter; spread slightly to form pancakes. Cook until bubbles appear on top, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook until bottom is golden brown, about 1 minute. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet; cover and keep warm in 250°F (120°C) oven.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: July 2006

This one turned out nice. I think less baking powder would be a good idea, just a touch less cause it was nice to have fluffy pancakes, but I did taste the baking powder in the batter. Also, I melted the butter in the pan and then poured it into the batter for the recipe. But, it gave me a perfectly greased pan to cook them in without having to add any other oil to the pan.

Fluffy Pancakes Recipe

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• cooking spray

Directions Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour".

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and butter into "soured" milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

The buttermilk syrup caught my attention. I've never thought of anything but maple syrup, traditional for Canadians. But, buttermilk is one of my favourite things. This is something I'd like to try. No flour on hand at the moment, I used it up making buttermilk pancakes.

German Pancakes with Buttermilk Syrup

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

BUTTERMILK SYRUP:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• confectioners' sugar

Directions

Place the eggs, milk, flour and salt in a blender; cover and process until smooth. Pour the butter into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish; add the batter. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the first five syrup ingredients; bring to a boil. Boil for 7 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Dust pancake with confectioners' sugar; serve immediately with the syrup.

Victoria Day weekend here in Ontario today. I made pancakes for breakfast for the group. This is the recipe I went with, standard and basic and simple. Of course, I changed it to suit myself. Half the sugar, added a touch of real vanilla and I added some white vinegar to the milk and let it sit a few minutes to turn it into buttermilk. I cooked them in a hot pan with butter melting all over the bottom to give it a nice stick-free coating. I could have added blueberries, but I really don't like fruit added to anything, except when it is dipped in chocolate.

Happy long weekend if you have one. Make the most of your day off.

Pancakes

• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar (optional)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 2 - 3 tablespoons oil

Mix the dry ingredients together, then add the milk, oil and eggs. Mix well and try to get some of the lumps out of the batter. Don't worry about making it perfectly smooth. It will be fine.

Heat a skillet on medium heat. When heated, scoop the pancake batter recipe into the frying pan with a large spoon to make individual pancakes. The pan will probably only take 1 or two pancakes at a time. Cook on one side until the top begins to bubble, then flip over and cook on the other side.

Omit the sugar for a sugar free pancake recipe. It will obviously be less sweet but it still tastes great. You can also replace the sugar with your favorite sugar alternative.

Once the pancake batter is in the pan, dot the surface of the pancake with blueberries, raspberries or thin slices of banana. Everyone will love it and it is a great way to get more fruit in your diet.

A tasty tip, especially for diabetics. Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to our easy pancake recipe. It adds wonderful taste and the bonus for diabetics is that cinnamon helps control blood sugar a bit.

You can omit the oil, but it adds a nice richness to the batter. If you leave it out you will probably need a bit of oil in your pan when you fry them.