Marusia's Kitchen at the Ukrainian Petrekivski Folk Art Exhibit

On April 13 I attended the Ukrainian Petrekivski Folk Art Exhibit at the Ukrainian National Federation building on 106 Avenue and 98 Street. The event featured folk art from private collections, a craft sale, dance performances from Ukrainian and Polish youth dance groups, and, of course, food. Upstairs, traditional Easter breads (paska and babka) and treats were on sale, while downstairs, Marusia's Kitchen had a variety of fresh Ukrainian foods for lunch.

I was offered a sampling of some of the food. Of course, I had to try the perogies. Let's just say that they were much better than the frozen variety, from the firm dough to the creamy potato and cheese filling. On the side I had some sauerkraut, something that I don't care for, but again this was very different from the mass-produced stuff. For one, it was not watery. It also had meat in it (probably pork). I still found it very strong, but anyone who likes sauerkraut would have been in foodie heaven with it.

I also had a steaming bowl of borscht. Again, my familiarity with this beet soup is the bottled version I have at Passover. Having it hot was a very different experience. The broth was much richer than what I am used to, and it was jam packed with shredded beets and some beans too. It was absolutely delicious.

After my meal I enjoyed some of the excellent dancing! Many thanks to the organizers for letting me know about the event. Oh, and by the way, Marusia is a real Ukrainian babushka who I had the pleasure of meeting.

From left: Karen Woywitka, Mary Hoshko (Marusia), and Mary Ann Dutka.