Lesya and Anatoliy Padalko

Welcome to Matusya’s Kitchen! We are Lesya and Anatoliy, a married couple who came to Canada from Ukraine 24 years ago, and for us, Ukrainian food has always been a connection with our homeland. No celebration is complete without having borscht or holubtsi; at Christmas time — the kutya; at Easter — the Paska, surrounded with pysanky on the festive table.

Just like the cuisines of many other ancient cultures, Ukrainian cooking traditions have evolved through generations of hard-working people and have very old roots. Ukrainian dishes are recognizable and make an important part of the Ukrainian multifaceted heritage. When we lived in Ukraine, we used to travel to various regions of Ukraine, and we are familiar with many traditions. Every time we came to our friends or relatives, we could learn something new and interesting as Ukrainian housewives like to experiment based on the availability of products. We will use this helpful habit too, and will slightly modify some of the old recipes to make them more affordable for contemporary cooks.

Matusya’s Kitchen — the name of our virtual cookhouse — may sound unusual. However, for our visitors with a Ukrainian background, it should remind them of their mommy’s kitchens, where the cooking and all the experimenting with yummy dishes took place. Matusya’s kitchen (Mommy’s kitchen) was the place where that special spirit of family, fun, and unity was created. On our pages, we will try to bring back the warm memories of the culinary skills of our mothers and grandmas and describe how to make Ukrainian traditional dishes that we know firsthand. Also, we researched and rediscovered forgotten dishes that have slipped through the cracks of time and those that were only known in Ukraine’s remote regions.

We live in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Canada’s West Coast. In addition to cooking, we like to travel and sing Ukrainian songs. For us, working on projects like this means participating in the renewal of Ukrainian culture and supporting our homeland from different angles in these difficult times.

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