Walter Melnyk, Will’s Dad, was in the first generation of his Ukranian family to be born in the U.S. Today two of his sons, Will and Jim, carry on the traditions of the old world making pysanky (elaborately dyed Easter eggs), pyrohi (cheese or cabbage dumplings), holubtsi (stuffed cabbage or “little pigeons”), and soups like this one.

Mushroom Soup (serves 4)
8 oz sliced crimini mushrooms
2 tbs olive oil
1 qt rich chicken broth (homemade preferably)
½ tsp dried dill
2 tbs dry sherry

Saute the mushrooms in the olive oil. Add to the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer, add the dill and the sherry and simmer for 45 minutes. Keep warm or serve at once topped with a spoon of sour cream or yogurt.

Rita Hendrickson Melnyk was Will’s half-Italian Mother, whose own mother was Clare Buroni from Sienna. Rita passed on family traditions of celebrating holiday meals with lasagna and baked rigatoni. But whenever we ate out, she almost always ordered shrimp in garlic sauce with fettuccine which she called “shrimp scampi”. This one’s for you, Mom!

Shrimp Scampi (serves 2 generously)
1 lb large or jumbo wild caught shrimp, shelled and veined
2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp red pepper (cayenne) flakes
2 tbs parsley chopped
¼ c dry white wine or vermouth
¼ c freshly grated romano or parmesan reggiano
6 oz fettuccine noodles (we use a gluten free variety) cooked

Melt and oil and butter to medium heat. Lightly saute the garlic. Add the shrimp, salt and pepper. Cook until the shrimp are pink and just cooked through. Add the parsley and the wine. Toss with the drained pasta and top with the grated cheese.

Tom Bunting was my son. He was one of those very rare children who adored vegetables and when he was in elementary school would always ask for broccoli at his birthday dinners – along with cube steak and tater tots. Tonight we will honor him with his favorite broccoli concoction, learned from his Aunt Mabel Bunting.

Broccoli with Lemon Mayonaise (serves 4)
2 c fresh broccoli florets, steamed
¼ c mayonnaise
1 tbs fresh lemon juice plus 1 tsp grated lemon rind

Mix the mayonnaise, lemon juice and lemon rind. Pour over the hot, drained broccoli. Serve at once.

Syble

Glyn’s mother, Syble Honeycutt Ruppe was a natural chef and a brilliant home cook. But what she most enjoyed were wonderfully fresh fruits and vegetables. She taught us to take a salt shaker into the garden to eat tomatoes hot off the sun-drenched vine. One of my favorite memories of Mom is of her climbing a neighbor’s pear tree to harvest the gleanings that she couldn’t reach with a ladder. She sat on a low branch and tossed the fruit down to me. When I couldn’t catch them as quickly a she could throw them, she dissolved into giggles and nearly fell out of the tree. So, for dessert tonight we have pears with Roquefort and port.

Pears with Roquefort
2 ripe but not soft bosc pears
2 oz Roquefort cheese, sliced
2 cordial sized glasses of Port

Enjoy! And may your hearts be filled with the love and memories of your own departed loved ones!

This is served at our house on the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels (September 29th) as a side dish with roast goose. Because it tastes even better a couple of days later, I make it early and refrigerate until the day of the feast. The red cabbage is local, and so fresh that it still had grit in the outer leaves. So, if you find local cabbage, rinse it very well.

We do our best to keep our house and our cooking sugar-free. On holidays, for recipes that really need to be sweetened, I use honey or agave nectar. For this dish I am including the option of brown sugar for those who are able to eat sugar. The bacon is also optional in case you want to make a vegetarian or vegan version. To serve, reheat in 300 oven until hot. Taste, and if needed, add additional vinegar or sugar. ~ Glyn

Michaelmas Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage (serves 8)

¼ lb lean bacon, diced (optional)
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 c white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium head red cabbage, shredded
2 apples shredded
2 tbs agave nectar or ¼ c brown sugar
1 ½ c apple cider vinegar
1 c water
½ tsp salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp caraway seed
2 cardamom pods
1 2” piece cinnamon stick

Saute the bacon in the vegetable oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent. Add the cabbage, apple, vinegar, water, caraway, cardamom, cinnamon, and sweetener or sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 20 minutes.

Transfer to an oven proof serving dish, cover and let cool. Refrigerate up to 3 days.

If your basil has done as well as mine has this year, you have way too much of it to use in sauces and salads, and you may not be interested in eating pesto 3 nights a week. I make up a huge batch of it, freeze it in ice-cube trays and have it available year round. Because it is made in the food processor, it’s much easier and neater than either using a blender or chopping by hand, and it still tastes fabulous. Granted, it’s not inexpensive to make, (in our area the pine nuts can run you $15), but it’s worth every penny and over the course of the fall, winter and spring, the price evens out nicely when you don’t have to buy basil out of season, or pay a fortune for a gourmet jar of the prepared variety.

And it can be used for so many things…not just pasta. Try it as a sauce for fish or a baked egg dish, or as the dressing for a quinoa salad. ~ Glyn

2 C basil leaves (packed)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 ½ C pine nuts
8 oz Parmesan Cheese (finely grated)
1 ½ C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½-1 tsp kosher salt

In two batches fill a large capacity food processor with basil leaves. Process until finely chopped. Remove each batch to a large bowl.

Add the garlic and the pine nuts to the food processor and process until finely chopped. Transfer to the bowl with the basil.

Cut the parmesan cheese into ½ inch cubes, place in the food processor and process until finely chopped. Do not remove.

Return the basil, nuts and garlic to the food processor and add the olive oil. Process until smooth but not liquid. Taste for seasoning and if necessary, add the salt to taste.  Turn the entire mixture out into a clean bowl, and scrape the bowl of the food processor to remove as much as possible.

Using a spoon, fill the ice cube trays with the pesto. Freeze from several hours to overnight. Pop the cubes out of the ice cube trays and transfer to freezer bags, removing as much air as possible from the bag. Freeze for up to six months.

To use, add directly to soups, stews or sauces as they cook. One cube is sufficient to season most dishes. To reconstitute, warm slowly in a saucepan and add additional oil or freshly grated cheese to taste. Do not boil.