It will soon be 100 years since the Soviet state switched to the Gregorian calendar, and New Year began to come to our homes 13 days earlier. But, despite this, many continue to celebrate it twice.
Some Orthodox observe church rites and traditions, and New Year's Eve is one of them. On the eve of the holiday, on the thirteenth of January, the day is dedicated to St. Melania, and the hostesses prepare a hearty and varied dinner, which is called generous.
If you want to set your holiday table this evening according to ancient traditions, prepare a generous kutya, since all the products necessary for this are available today on free sale. all year round And yes, it's not hard to prepare. It is believed that the more diverse the composition of kutia, the greater the wealth in the family next year. So try and make it really generous and rich.
In previous years, kutya was cooked from buckwheat, wheat, barley, but ordinary rice will also be quite suitable. By the way, all the products of this dish have a symbolic meaning. Grain symbolizes new life, honey - well-being and health, and poppy - prosperity in the house.
- 1 cup rice
- 100 g honey
- 100 g nuts
- 100 g raisins
- 150 g poppy
- butter to taste
- salt to taste
Prepare fluffy rice in the usual way. Nuts, if required, roast, peel and chop. You can use any, according to your taste.
Rinse raisins and steam with boiling water. Poppy also steam with boiling water, let stand so that it swells. Drain the water and grind in a mortar or coffee grinder. Get poppy milk.
Melt the butter and pour over the porridge. Send nuts, raisins, poppy milk and liquid honey there. If the honey is thick, it can be slightly diluted with water or cream. Mix everything and let stand kutya. The taste of this sweet porridge you can diversify with homemade jam, vanilla, candied fruits and so on.
It is also customary to put a variety of pies, fried sausages, pancakes, scrambled eggs, cheeses and, of course, pork on the table - a symbol of fertility and wealth.
If a whole suckling pig is too expensive, and there is no time to cook it that day, you can opt for any pork dish. For example, it will be enough to prepare meat for chops in advance, and in the evening just fry them in a pan. Combined with fresh vegetables, you get a hearty and tasty dish.
Do not forget that earlier on this day, young people and children went caroling, and it was impossible not to treat carolers, as luck and prosperity could turn away from the owners of an inhospitable house. To carol on this day, as well as the rest of the days of Christmas time, hardly anyone will come to you. But in their place may be uninvited neighbors or acquaintances. And this, perhaps, is the same in our time, because they will certainly congratulate you on the Old New Year and wish you good luck. So prepare with a margin!
According to the old belief old year you spend and meet a new one, this will be the whole coming year, so meet it not only satisfying, but also fun. Stick dumplings with a variety of surprise fillings in advance, and boil them not long before the meal. Have a hearty and fun dinner! Do not forget to just warn all participants in the feast about such unusual fillings and sterilize them. According to the filling, they guess what awaits someone next year:
- coin - material well-being,
- bay leaf - promotion,
- dried apricots - joy,
- ring - wedding,
- caramel - love,
- cabbage - money,
- grain - wealth,
- cherry - good luck.
Each guest must make himself dumplings from a common dish. Only under this condition is the meaning of divination preserved. I'll tell you a secret, I put only toppings that portend all the good things. And I tell the guests that the bad ones were not eaten. Of course, in addition to surprise fillings, ordinary fillings will also come in handy - with cottage cheese, potatoes and fried onions, potatoes and mushrooms, cheese.
And this New Year, you can cook everything that you didn’t have enough time for two weeks ago, which didn’t work out because of the novelty of the recipe, which you forgot about or, on the contrary, remembered. This is another opportunity to demonstrate your culinary talent to your household and guests and have a wonderful time in good company.
Once again, Happy New Year friends!
On the night of January 13-14, Russians celebrate the New Year according to the old style, or, as the people say, the Old New Year. This amazing holiday has a lot of traditions and signs. We will understand the history of the Old New Year, how it was celebrated at different times in Russia, and also find out what to cook for the Old New Year, what traditions should be observed, what signs to believe in.
Old New Year - the history of the holiday
New Year in Russia, by decree of Peter I, began to be celebrated on January 1 in 1700, and they began to celebrate the Old New Year in 1918, when Soviet Russia switched from the former Julian to the Gregorian calendar adopted in Europe. The tradition of celebrating the Old New Year appeared thanks to believers. Due to the difference between the calendars in Russia, Christmas and New Year until 1919 were celebrated 13 days later than in Europe. But the Russian Orthodox Church did not obey the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR of 1918 and did not accept the Gregorian calendar. With the official introduction of the new calendar, Christmas, as before celebrated on December 25 according to the old style, "moved" to January 7. And the Orthodox continued to celebrate the New Year as before - six days after Christmas, that is, on the night of January 13-14.Interesting:
in 1918, when, during the transition to a new chronology, an amendment was introduced for 13 days, immediately after January 31, 1918, February 14 came in Russia.
The dissimilarity between the dates of the Julian and Gregorian calendars increases every century. In the XX-XXI centuries this difference is 13, and from March 2100 there will be 14 days.
January 13 - Vasiliev evening
On the night of January 13-14, the Old New Year is celebrated(among Belarusians and Ukrainians it is known as - a generous evening, in the central and some southern regions of Russia as - oatmeal). This tradition arose after 1918, when a new chronology was introduced in Russia. Once this day fell on January 1 and was called Vasiliev day(the day of memory of St. Basil the Great, and his eve - December 31 (which became January 13) - Vasiliev in the evening.
The evening on the eve of the Old New Year was popularly called generous. On the morning of January 13 (the day of Melania (Melanka)) it was necessary cook porridge cooked from whole grains of wheat. It could be seasoned with meat or lard, or sprinkled with honey, sugar or jam. In addition, hostesses baked pancakes, cooked pies and dumplings with cottage cheese to thank guests. The most important dish for the Old New Year was considered pork dishes by the way, holy Basil the Great was considered the patron saint of pig breeders. “A pig and a pig for Vasily’s evening”, “a pig is not clean, but God has nothing unclean - Vasily will sanctify the winter!”, Says the proverbs about this day. This animal symbolized fertility and prosperity. On this day, it was customary to generously set the table: a generous table on this day is prosperity throughout the year.
In the evening, people visited their neighbors to celebrate the New Year in peace and harmony.. According to popular beliefs, it was considered important who will be the first guest in the house in the New Year. It was a good sign if the first was a young man from a respected large family with a good household. And on the morning of December 14, the youth went to the crossroads burn "Grandfather" or "Didukh" - sheaves of straw. Young people jumped over the fire, which symbolized the cleansing from wickedness.
Signs and traditions for the Old New Year on January 14
Preparations were made for Vasily's evening in advance. They sewed or bought beautiful clothes for him. The hostesses put on the table all the best that was in the house: pies, kutya, meat, wine, beer, vodka. Traditionally, a pig was cooked for this evening.. He was a symbol of the fertility of the earth and the fertility of livestock in the coming year. Our ancestors, just like modern Russians, believed “as you celebrate the New Year, so you will spend it”: it was believed that an abundance of food on the first day of the year would bring prosperity for the whole year.Another culinary tradition is cooking porridge. The rite was performed before dawn; when the porridge ripened, the hostess took the pot out of the oven, and the whole family began to examine it. If the pot cracked or the porridge came out unsuccessful, this foreshadowed the worst. If the porridge turned out lush and tasty, they expected happiness for the whole house.
In some parts of Russia, caroling was performed on this day. For example, in the Tver, Yaroslavl, Moscow, Tula, Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Orenburg regions, the detour rite "oose" was popular. The tradition got its name from the song that was sung while going from house to house - "Fawn". People went from house to house and sang songs. The participants of the tour approached from house to house and asked permission from the owners: “Is it possible to click the oat?”, And they answered: “Call!” Then the ritual participants performed autumn songs to each member of the family separately. The most important “ovsen”, designed to ensure the well-being of the home and family, were addressed to the owner and his eldest sons. At the end, the generous owners of the house gave gifts to the performers.
- Gardeners at midnight shake off the snow from the apple trees - for the harvest.
- If at night the wind blows from the south - the year will be hot and prosperous, from the west - to an abundance of milk and fish, from the east - wait for the fruit harvest.
- Vasily's night is starry - to the harvest of berries.
- A lot of fluffy frost on the trees foreshadowed a good honey flow.
What to cook for the Old New Year
It is customary to spend the evening and night from January 13 to 14 with the family at the festive table. Our ancestors always prepared for the New Year's table piglet in own juice, and made a dish of a hare and a rooster. All this was very symbolic:- the pig promised wealth and prosperity in the house next year;
- hare - speed and success in business;
- cock - flying lightness and freedom.
- grain symbolizes new life;
- honey - well-being and health;
- poppy - wealth in the house.
Traditional kutya recipe
Ingredients for traditional kutya:Wheat - 2 tbsp, poppy seeds - 200 g, walnuts - 200 g, raisins - 150 g, honey - 3 tbsp.
How to cook traditional kutya:
Soak peeled and washed wheat grains overnight in cold water. In the morning, drain the water, rinse the wheat, pour hot water over it and cook until tender over low heat. Top up with a little water as needed. The porridge should be soft and crumbly. Ready porridge cool and mix with a tablespoon of honey. Soak poppy seeds and raisins in boiling water for 30 minutes, each separately. Then drain the poppy, add 1 tablespoon of honey and grind on a blender until poppy milk is obtained. It is better, of course, to do it in makitra - for authenticity. Roast nuts until crispy. Drain the raisins. Mix all ingredients, add honey. If the kutya is thick, then it is supposed to be diluted not with water, but with a knot, the recipe of which we have given at the end of the article.
Generous rice kutya recipe
Ingredients for generous rice kutya:
1 cup rice, 100 g honey, 100 g nuts, 100 g raisins, 150 g poppy seeds, butter to taste, salt to taste
How to cook sochivo (kutya):
cook crumbly rice in the usual way. Nuts, if required, roast, peel and chop. You can use any, according to your taste. Rinse raisins and steam with boiling water. Poppy also steam with boiling water, let stand so that it swells. Drain the water and grind in a mortar or coffee grinder. Get poppy milk. Melt the butter and pour over the porridge. Send nuts, raisins, poppy milk and liquid honey there. If the honey is thick, it can be slightly diluted with water or cream. Mix everything and let stand kutya. The taste of this sweet porridge can be varied with homemade jam, vanilla, candied fruit, and so on.
Generous wheat kutya recipe
Ingredients for generous wheat kutya:
200 grams of wheat, half a glass of poppy seeds, 100 grams walnuts, sugar to taste, sweets (raisins, candied fruit, marmalade) to taste
How to cook kutya:
Rinse the wheat well, pour the grains with warm water, let them swell a little and cook in in large numbers water in crumbly porridge. Add water (or uzvar), sugar (honey), crushed nuts, raisins to the steamed and grated poppy, and combine all this with wheat. Ready kutya can be put on a small fire again and warmed up (5-7 minutes).
Vareniki with a surprise for the Old New Year
The Old New Year is a quiet, family holiday with its own traditions. One of them is to make dumplings with surprises. This is an old tradition that originated from the custom of divination during the holy week. The filling in dumplings symbolizes good wishes for next year. Rather, the filling is made as usual - cottage cheese or potato, and when molded, "surprises" are added. You can not endanger the guests' teeth and stuff dumplings with oranges or cabbage - such fillings are also of particular importance.Important! Be sure to warn guests if you put hard objects in dumplings!
Surprise dumplings recipe
If there is very little time, then you can use the purchased unleavened frozen dough and stick dumplings from it.Ingredients for dumpling dough:
1 egg, 4 cups flour, 1 cup water, 4 tbsp. l. vegetable oil, 2 tsp. sugar, salt
How to cook dumplings with a surprise:
Mix flour with sugar and salt, make a slide.
Make a well at the top and break the egg into it, pour in the water and oil.
Knead a stiff dough, knead until it becomes smooth, homogeneous.
Refrigerate for two hours, covered with clingfilm to keep warm. Meanwhile, prepare the filling.
Sprinkle the table with flour, roll out the dough with a thin layer, cut it into circles with a glass.
Put the filling in the middle of the mug, fold the dough in half, pinch the edges.
Boil - by throwing into boiling water.
The meanings of surprise fillings
Orange - to enjoy
Peanuts - for a love affair
Cherry - good luck
Peas - home peace
Walnut - health
Buckwheat - favorable and profitable news
Mushrooms - to a long and happy life
Big money - big win
Grain - to wealth
Raisins - to the great temptation
Cabbage - for money
Caramel - to love
Potato - to increase at work
Cranberries - to unexpected changes in life
Ring - for the wedding
Red pepper - to chagrin
Dried apricots - to joy
Bay leaf - to glory (career growth)
Honey - health
Coin - a prosperous year in material terms
Carrots - to new acquaintances
torment - to suffer
Meat - to well-being
White thread - long journey (long and long journey)
Green thread - the road abroad
Thread with knots - for a difficult year
Black thread - a short and not very long trip
Cucumber - to a strong man, good sex
Walnut - immediately to two fans (admirers)
Pepper - thrill
Ground allspice - to "hot", i.e. eventful life, serious changes
Button - for a new thing
Millet - futile chores
Rice - well-being in the house
Sugar - sweet life(light, favorable year)
Seeds - to new fruitful plans
Salt - to quarrels and failures (tears)
Capsicum - to sexual pleasures
Cheese - to win
Cottage cheese - to new friends
Dough, beans, or fish scales - to replenish the family
Dill - to good health
Hazelnut - to successful acquisitions
Bread - the year will be full, good
Chain - strengthening family ties
Black peppercorns - to friends (to new friendships)
Garlic - for marriage of convenience
Apple - to a well-deserved reward
Divination for the Old New Year
Vasiliev evening was recognized as the most successful time for predicting the future. They said that everything guessed at this time will certainly come true. However, the Orthodox Church does not approve of fortune-telling.Divination for the Old New Year on a ring, bread and a hook: the listed three things are put in a bowl along with pieces of bread, coals, pebbles and other small items. The vessel is covered with a towel, after which each young lady, without looking, drags the first thing that comes across (the pulled out is then returned to the vessel). If he pulls out bread, the husband will be rich, if the ring is handsome, if the hook is disabled or poor.
Divination for the Old New Year on bulbs it is carried out as follows: all the girls take an onion and place them with their roots in the water, after which they observe - whose onion will give green sprouts earlier, that girl will be married earlier.
Divination for the Old New Year by dogs. The girl remains alone in the room, after which the dog is let in. If the dog immediately runs up to the girl, then family life will be happy, if he starts smelling the floor first, then the husband will be angry, and family life will be unhappy, if the dog starts caressing, then the husband will be affectionate.
Divination for the Old New Year on the names of passers-by. You need to leave the house and call out to the first male person you meet, asking what his name is. What name he calls - that will be the name of the future husband.
Divination for the Old New Year on a comb. Before going to bed, the girl puts a comb under the pillow with the words "Narrowed, mummers, come and comb my hair." If in a dream she sees a man combing her hair, then this year to be married to the person who dreamed.
Divination for the Old New Year in conversations. They went to eavesdrop under the neighbors' windows and, by what they heard, judged the future marriage. If they scolded in the hut, then the husband will be angry, if they laughed - a merry fellow, if they drank - a drunkard, etc.
Divination for the Old New Year according to the book. To do this, a book is taken and each girl asks a question in turn, and then calls the page number and the line (bottom or top) containing the answer. The answer is in the book. The works of the classics of Russian literature are great for fortune-telling (just be careful with Dostoevsky! But Tolstoy or Pushkin are just perfect). It is better to formulate the question in such a way that it suggests a detailed answer, and not “yes-no”.
Old New Year 2019 - New Year according to the Julian calendar (old style). Comes on the night of January 13-14. In Russia, the tradition of celebrating the Old New Year arose after the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1918, as a result of which all dates shifted by 13 days.
The Gregorian calendar was first introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in Catholic countries on October 4, 1582. It is based on the cyclic revolution of the Earth around the Sun. The Gregorian calendar is used in most countries of the world.
Few people know about it, but the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars is getting bigger every century.
Now the difference is 13 days, but another 83 years will pass and from March 1, 2100 it will grow to 14 days. And if by that time people do not come up with another version of the chronology, then from 2101 Orthodox Christmas and the Old New Year will be celebrated a day later.
In addition to the countries that were part of the USSR, the Old New Year is celebrated by residents of: Algeria; Tunisia; Greece; Romania; Serbia; Montenegro; Switzerland; Morocco.
On the night of January 13-14, the Old New Year is celebrated - an additional holiday that arose as a result of a change in the chronology. New Year's Eve was called Generous Evening.
Under the Old New Year, it was customary for the whole family to sculpt dumplings with a surprise and guess for the next year. What will be in the dumpling with a surprise - that will be in the coming year.
In the New Year, it was customary to cook a lot of dishes: moreover, it was appreciated if they were varied and satisfying, because what more dishes on the table, the more generous the next year promised to be. At the head of the table, as in Christmas, were kutya (kutya) and uzvar.
Traditional New Year's table was rich in a variety of dough products: pancakes (which are a symbol of the sun and prosperity), knysh, kalachs and palyanitsi (also symbols of prosperity, because the better and rosier the pastry, the more happiness in the new year), dumplings with various fillings (meat, cottage cheese , poppy).
Dumplings were served to the table with surprises: inside each dumpling they added different unusual toppings. If someone came across flour - this is for torment, beans - for children, a button - for a new thing, sugar - for a good life, salt - for a difficult life, pepper - for surprises, a rope - for the road, a penny - for money. The main thing: do not forget to warn the guests that the dumplings are with surprises in order to avoid troubles like broken teeth. Read more about what are the list in our article.
Recipes for festive dishes for the Old New Year 2019
Country style potatoes
To prepare potatoes "Rustic style" we need the following ingredients:
- potatoes - 600 grams
- smoked pork belly - 300 grams
- garlic - 4 cloves
- vegetable oil
How to cook rustic potatoes in a pan:
Choose potatoes for this dish not large, but rather small ones, the size of a ping-pong ball. We wash the potatoes thoroughly and set to boil in salted water until half cooked. Then we clean up.
We cut the smoked brisket (it can be safely replaced with bacon or simple lard, it will be no less tasty). Don't cut too thin - we don't want cracklings.
Pork belly should be lightly fried. To do this, heat the pan well, lightly grease vegetable oil.
Lay the brisket pieces on the hot skillet. Fry it until golden brown. We remove from the pan.
Peel four cloves of garlic and crush with the flat side of a knife. In the fat that remains after frying the meat, fry the garlic. Make sure that the garlic does not burn in any case. Discard the garlic after frying.
Fry potatoes in fragrant fat until golden brown.
Rinse fresh cucumbers with tomatoes to serve them with rustic potatoes.
Enjoy! Bon appetit!
Vareniki with potatoes - a step by step recipe with a photo
Homemade dumplings are incomparably better than store-bought semi-finished products: they are tastier, bigger, and prettier!
Ingredients for dumplings with potatoes:
- For the dough: 2 cups flour;
- 1 cup boiling water;
- ¼ tsp salt.
- For the filling: 4-5 medium potatoes;
- 1 onion;
- Sunflower oil;
- Salt pepper.
How to cook dumplings with potatoes:
Let's make the potato filling first.
If you have yesterday mashed potatoes- Great! This means that the preparation of the filling is halved, and the puree will turn into a new dish, as is the case with potato slices.
If there is no mashed potatoes, then we clean and wash 5-6 potatoes, cut into pieces and boil until tender. Put the potatoes to boil
While the potatoes are cooking, finely chop the onion, pour it into a pan with preheated sunflower oil. The most delicious onion for filling and gravy for dumplings is not damp, but not scorched to the state of coals, but ruddy-golden. To make this happen, we don’t get distracted, but, stirring regularly, fry the onion over a fire a little more than average. Fry the onion
In the meantime, the potatoes have become soft. Drain the broth into a saucepan and turn the potatoes into mashed potatoes. Add a little potato broth so that the filling is not dry.
Add half of the fried onion to the potatoes, salt, pepper and mix. The filling is ready.
And while it cools, prepare the dough for dumplings.
Let's prepare the dough. I always make for dumplings, as well as for dumplings, choux pastry on a boil. It is very convenient and pleasant to work with it: soft, elastic, it is easy to roll and mold, and dumplings from it are tender and tasty.
Knead the dough in boiling water
After sifting the flour into a bowl and adding salt, pour a glass of boiling water into the flour and quickly knead with a spoon. When the dough becomes not hot, but warm, continue kneading with your hands.
If the dough is too sticky, you can add a little flour - but do not overdo it, otherwise it will turn out very steep and difficult to roll out.
Normally, the dough is soft, almost non-sticky to the hands. After kneading the dough well, put it in a bowl sprinkled with flour or greased with vegetable oil (so as not to stick), and cover with a towel on top, then the dough will not dry out. Let the dough rest
It's time to make dumplings. The filling is no longer hot, but slightly warm - it's time to sculpt dumplings. Sprinkle the table with flour, separate half from the dough and roll up the sausage. We cut it into pieces 1.5-2 cm wide. Roll each piece with a rolling pin into a circle.
Roll the dough into a sausage and cut.
Place 1 heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of each circle. The exact amount depends on the size of your dumplings - the larger the circle, the more filling.
If you put a little, the dumplings will be "thin", and if you put too much, they may break. But you will quickly understand in practice how many potatoes you need to get a “plump” appetizing dumpling.
Now you need to close up the dumplings well so that the filling does not “run away” during the cooking process. And you should close up quickly, until the edges of the dough dry out in the air - that's when it's time to call the household to participate in preparing a family dinner! I close up the dumplings twice: the first time is a “draft”, we just blind the edges of the circle together, and the second - with a “pigtail”, so that it turns out not only firmly, but also beautifully.
Lay the dumplings on a board sprinkled with flour. If you want to freeze - cover with cling film and place in the freezer, and if you are going to eat - put a pot of salted water on the fire (about 1 tablespoon per 1.5-2 liters of water). When the water boils, dip the dumplings into it - enough so that they swim freely and do not stick together.
Cook over medium heat until they float, and another 1-2 minutes, because the filling is already ready and the dumplings do not need to be cooked for a long time, like dumplings with raw minced meat(and while the first batch is cooking, we sculpt the second). We do not allow a strong boil, otherwise they may boil soft.
We catch the finished dumplings with a slotted spoon into a plate and season with fried onions - remember, we have half left after preparing the filling. For beauty, you can sprinkle with chopped herbs. Serve immediately, warm!
And the next day you can fry cold dumplings, it turns out delicious. But, of course, freshly brewed is much tastier. Therefore, I advise you to stick dumplings with potatoes for the future and cook them in portions, as needed.
Vareniki with potatoes are ready.
Meat stew with mushrooms
Summer is the time for mushrooms, the time for chanterelles, and ahead is the time for harvesting for the winter. Of course, they will be good in winter when they are marinated. In the summer you can please yourself and fresh.
Meat stew with chanterelles is just a godsend for those who love a varied and Tasty food, but at the same time does not want to spend a lot of time preparing it.
Products:
- 500 gr. turkey fillet (you can use veal)
- 400 gr. fresh chanterelles
- 2 onions
- 2 tbsp. l. olive oil
- 3 art. l. butter
- 125 ml. dry white wine
- 125 ml. meat broth(water)
- 200 ml. cream
- 1 tsp starch
- 2 tbsp. l. chopped green onion
Cooking:
Wash the meat, pat dry and cut into strips. Prepare the mushrooms, finely chop the onion.
Heat up in a frying pan 1 tbsp. l. olive oil and butter and lightly brown the meat. Add salt, pepper, remove from the pan and put in a warm place.
Add the remaining oil to the pan and simmer the onions, add the mushrooms, simmer with the onions for 7-10 minutes. Add salt, pepper and transfer to the meat.
Pour the wine into the pan, bring to a boil (so that the alcohol evaporates). Pour in the broth (water) with cream and boil a little.
Dilute starch with 2-3 tbsp. l. cold water pour it into the sauce, mixing well. Add meat with onions and mushrooms to the sauce, warm everything together and put on plates. Sprinkle with green onions. Serve with rice, potatoes.
Delicious roast beef
What's easier to cook than roast beef? Of course it's hot! This dish will always help out when you need something quick and tasty. But even roasts can be prepared in different ways. If you add sliced zucchini to it, thinly sliced potatoes, and add pickled plums to the meat, you will get a very fragrant and very tasty roast. I cooked it in a slow cooker, which significantly reduced my time and it turned out that this is also an option.
Products:
- 300 gr. beef
- 2-3 bulbs
- 1 large carrot
- 6-8 pcs. pickled plums
- 2 small zucchini
- 6-8 small potatoes
- 100 ml. dry red wine
- 100 ml. juice from pickled plums (you can just water)
- grated cheese optional
- salt pepper
Cooking:
Cut the meat into small pieces, lightly fry, add wine and simmer over low heat or a slow cooker for 10-15 minutes, until soft. Add salt, pepper.
Add chopped onions and carrots, simmer with meat for 5-10 minutes. Pour in the juice from the plums (you can water), add the plums.
Cut the zucchini into circles, put on top of the meat, cut the potatoes into thin circles and put on the zucchini. Salt and pepper on top, and sprinkle with grated cheese if desired.
Simmer in the oven or in a slow cooker until the potatoes are cooked, 20-25 minutes.
When serving, you can sprinkle with herbs.
Vareniki with cottage cheese in milk
Products (for 6 servings)
- For the test: Chicken egg - 1 pc.
- Water - 0.5 cups
- Milk - 0.5 cups
- Salt - 0.5 tsp
- Flour - 5-6 cups
- For filling:
- Fat cottage cheese - 400 g
- Chicken egg - 1 pc.
- Sugar - 1-4 tbsp. spoons
- For serving: Butter - to taste
- Sour cream - to taste
How to cook dumplings with cottage cheese in milk:
Cooking dough for dumplings in milk. Sift flour. Beat the egg into the flour, add salt. Mix water with milk. Gradually add the liquid to the flour, constantly stirring with a spoon. Knead a stiff dough. Cover the dough with a towel. Let stand 20 minutes.
Preparing the stuffing for dumplings. Cottage cheese thoroughly grind with sugar and egg. Mix well.
Cooking delicious dumplings with cottage cheese for the Old New Year. Take part of the dough and, adding flour, roll it into a thin cake (about 2 mm thick). Cut the dough into squares (about 5x5 cm in size) or squeeze out circles with a glass.
Put 1 teaspoon for each piece of dough curd filling. Close the edges carefully, forming a dumpling.
Thus form all the dumplings.
Boil 2.5 liters of water. Salt the water. Drop a portion of dumplings into boiling water. Let the dumplings float, then boil the dumplings with cottage cheese in milk until cooked for 2-3 minutes over medium heat.
Remove the finished portion with a slotted spoon, put a piece of butter. Dumplings with cottage cheese in milk are ready.
Serve dumplings with cottage cheese hot, with sour cream. Bon appetit!
Traditions and customs for the Old New Year
IN different countries there are some peculiarities about how the celebration should take place. In Greece, on the Old New Year it is forbidden to raise your voice and quarrel. It’s bad if the dishes break, so everyone tries to be careful with it. If invited to a celebration, you need to take a stone with you. It symbolizes the wealth that the owners wish to acquire next year.
In Romania, there must be pies on the table. But with an interesting filling in the form of coins, hot peppers, garlic or rings.
In Switzerland, this holiday is dedicated to the veneration of St. Sylvester. Residents dress up in funny masquerade costumes reminiscent of botanical gardens or houses, calling themselves Sylvester Clauses.
In Montenegro, they definitely prepare a parennitsa - National dish from corn dough.
Russian customs have much in common with Ukrainian or Belarusian ones, and therefore are considered common.
Traditions and customs of celebrating the Old New Year in Rus'
The Old New Year was famous for its rich table. The indispensable attributes of this holiday in Rus' were: roast pig; generous kutya, emphasizing the end of the post; dumplings with surprises; pancakes and pies, with which they also thanked those who came to carol.
Sculpting dumplings was accepted by the whole family. As in Romania, various surprises were hidden in them. This symbolized fortune-telling about what awaits in the coming year. Carols were a very bright decoration of the holiday.
And they went caroling only until midnight, until the evil spirits roamed. On January 13, young girls and guys hid behind masks, and one of the guys was dressed up in women's clothes as a symbol of Melanka. 
Traditions of the Old New Year
Kutya for the New Year's feast began to cook in the morning. If there were unpleasant signs, it had to be thrown directly into the hole with the pot. An interesting tradition of this night was the burning of "Didukh" (grandfather).
For this: they prepared a sheaf of straw in advance, on the Old New Year after the end of the carols they went to the crossroads, set fire to the sheaf when the main flame decreased, began to jump over the fire, saying goodbye to evil spirits. All this was accompanied by songs, dances, ditties and other games.
There is another beautiful tradition associated with this holiday. In the morning, with the wishes of happiness, health and wealth, they went to the houses of relatives and friends to “sow” grain. It is not known where the custom came from, but it has its own rules: only males are sown, because it was believed that girls cannot bring happiness, the godparents were the first to visit, the grains were carefully collected and stored until spring to be mixed with sowing .
A special porridge was also cooked. The groats for her were poured by the oldest woman in the family. Water from the well was supposed to be brought by the oldest man in the house. Groats from the barn were taken out at two in the morning. It was impossible to touch her, so as not to change her future.
Until the oven was heated, the ingredients were ignored. Then, when the porridge was cooked, all family members sat around. The woman stirred it, saying special words. Then they put the porridge in the oven and waited for the result: if the porridge came out of the pot, it promised trouble for the whole house, so no one ate it; when bursting the pot, they did the same, because it was a disease, a lot of foam on top foreshadowed empty chores, rich delicious porridge meant harvest and happiness to all households.
The whole family sat down at the table late in the evening, and this dinner was not to be missed. At this time, Christmas time continued, so Christmas fortune-telling was also used. It was customary to guess at the betrothed, on the threads for a quick wedding, the fulfillment of a wish, the appearance of a child, etc.
Traditions could differ depending on the place of residence, as well as the veneration of saints. Some villages had their own saints who received additional attention.
Signs for the Old New Year
On this holiday, they were attentive to signs, among which the following stood out: the first on January 14 a girl entered the house - to trouble, frost on the trees meant a good year, it was forbidden to count small money so as not to shed tears all year.
Nor did they lend or borrow; if there was a blizzard or snowstorm at night, it was believed that the year would be restless; to hear an unusual ringing in the morning was the news of a possible replenishment. Be sure to cajole livestock so that the New Year is calm and prolific.
The name Generous Evening speaks for itself - a day when it is customary to put a variety of dishes on the table, and the more the better. And since, according to popular beliefs, Saint Basil the Great protected pig breeders, pork dishes are considered to be the main and obligatory dishes on Basil. This evening, the hosts cordially meet and treat any guest. In addition to pork, there should be pies, pancakes, and dumplings on the table, with which it is customary to treat sowers and generous people. According to legend, the more generous the table, and the more guests, the more successful the coming year will be.
In 2018, the Orthodox celebrate the Old New Year on the night from Saturday to Sunday, that is, from January 13 to 14. In general, the Old New Year is not a continuation of the New Year (as most people think), it is one and the same holiday only according to the old calendar. All due to the fact that the Julian and Gregorian calendars differed in the length of the year. In the Julian calendar, the solar year was 11 minutes longer, and so the dates of the holidays differ by about two weeks. And although the Julian calendar has not been used among the Orthodox for more than 600 years, the tradition of celebrating the New Year twice has become firmly established. Moreover, the Old New Year and Vasiliev Day coincide in the date of the celebration.
What to cook for the Old New Year
The festive menu is very extensive and impresses with its variety and calorie content. On this day, you can cook as traditional dishes, as well as the usual dishes that are prepared on major holidays.
Those who adhere to Orthodox norms, as a rule, cook pork dishes for the Old New Year.
The main course of the day is, of course, roasted pig. There are many different recipes for its preparation, but the only thing that remains unchanged is that the piglet must be whole.
Roasted pig with buckwheat
To prepare this dish, you need to prepare a gutted pig, while the head and legs must be intact. Wash the carcass of the piglet thoroughly, leave it for a while to dry, rub with salt, mustard and pepper. Leave it to soak for about one hour. After that, put it on a baking sheet with hooves up, be sure to pour vegetable oil and put it in a well-heated oven. After you see that it is lightly browned, reduce the heat. Now you can start cooking buckwheat, seasoning boiled egg and onions, and added to the piglet. You can decorate the dish at will: greens or baked apples.
Folk culinary traditions of celebrating St. Basil's Day can be easily implemented today, and the addition of new ingredients will add a unique taste to dishes. Of course, we must not forget that on the Generous Evening there should be real kutya on the table.
Just like at Christmas, kutya is an obligatory element. holiday table, but prepare with butter. All other products are exactly the same as in the Christmas kutya. If you want to impress your guests, unusual taste kutya, you can add a little cognac to it. To prepare such a dish, you need to prepare:
- rice or wheat 400 grams;
- poppy 200 grams;
- nuts (you can walnuts, but you can forest) 100 grams;
- honey 100 grams;
- cognac 1 tablespoon.
Cooking method:
An hour before cooking, soak the wheat, which should be boiled for about 60 minutes until tender. The ratio of water and grain is 2.5 to 1. Pour boiling water over the poppy for fifteen minutes, then rub it. Finely chop nuts and dried fruits (you can take any: raisins, prunes, figs and dried apricots). Dissolve honey in warm water or compote beforehand. Thoroughly mix cereals, poppy seeds, nuts and dried fruits and pour honey water or honey compote, but you don’t need to pour everything out, otherwise it will turn out to be too liquid. Mix thoroughly. After that, add cognac to kutya and mix again. All kutya is ready to serve on the festive table.
Kutya, of course, is good, the pig too. But what about originality? Moreover, considering that Vasiliev's Day is a unique opportunity for fortune telling, you can bake a happy pie that all guests will appreciate. The recipe for this pie is very popular and is prepared by housewives with great pleasure. Very tasty if you use puff pastry, which you can either prepare yourself, or buy ready-made.
So, for a happy pie, you need to prepare:
- puff pastry - 500 grams;
- half a kilo of beef or mixed minced meat(and generally at your discretion);
- one bulb;
- two eggs;
- two tablespoons of vegetable oil;
- salt and pepper.
The dough is divided into seven equal parts, each rolled out with a rolling pin. Salt and pepper the minced meat, add finely chopped onion and mix thoroughly. Put minced meat on each strip of dough, a tablespoon of minced meat is carefully equal in length. After the strip, fold in half, and glue the edges. Make a pattern around the edges with a fork and fold into a rosette. In total, you need to make seven roses in one of them, you need to put a coin of any denomination. Leaves can be cut out from the rest of the dough, put roses and leaves on a pre-oiled mold, forming a kind of Cow. Lubricate the cake with an egg and send it to the oven for baking (baking time - 1 hour, at a temperature of 180 degrees).
Where there is a pig, there should be a variety of meat dishes. We offer monastery cutlets.
So get ready:
- one kilogram of pork;
- three eggs;
- three bulbs;
- starch (three tablespoons) and mayonnaise;
- seasoning.
The meat must be cut into small cubes and mixed with finely chopped onions in a separate bowl. Mix thoroughly. Beat eggs into the mass, add mayonnaise, eggs, starch and seasonings. Mix thoroughly and send the mass to the refrigerator for pickling. After an hour, spread the mass in a pan like pancakes and fry on both sides. Decorate the finished meatballs as you wish.
Not superfluous on the festive table will be monastery shab. This dish comes from Poland and is easy to prepare. In other words, shab is a baked loin with cabbage.
For cooking you will need:
- one kilogram of cabbage;
- one and a half kilograms of lean pork;
- two hundred grams of water and salt.
Finely chop the pork, season with salt and place in layers in a saucepan. A layer of meat, a layer of cabbage, and so on until the end. Fill with water and simmer until done. Adding onions will make the dish more tender.
On the table should be present: boiled pork, cue balls, twists, homemade sausage and roast. Probably, from that time the saying “A pig and a boletus for Vasiliev’s day” came to us. Addition to meat dishes potatoes or some cooked cereal can serve. For a successful, lucky and generous year, porridge and potatoes are cooked in fatty meat broth.
Pancakes must be on the table without fail, and once the housewives, when cooking, sentenced them: “So that everything grows well this year, like dough rises with yeast, so that the sun warms hot, as the fire bakes pancakes.”
In addition to a happy pie, you can also make happy dumplings, which girls used to guess at in the old days. To do this, they put a different “magic” filling in each dumpling:
- coin - symbolizes money;
- bay leaf - a promotion is coming;
- dried apricots - for a joyful year;
- a ring - an unmarried girl will get married within a year, and everything will be fine with a married woman;
- caramel - the one who received it will meet true love;
- grain to the monetary year;
- and a cherry for good luck.
The pickles we are used to are very good, but the table can be diversified with novelties. We offer a selection of unique dishes for the festive table.
Tuna tartar
An easy-to-make appetizer, but divinely delicious, and it takes a little time and effort to prepare it. Remember that in this appetizer, tuna is served raw, so its freshness plays an important role. In addition, you will need soy sauce, preferably a good dark sauce. Wonton dough can be purchased at Asian grocery stores.
The output is 4 servings.
Prepare:
- 300 grams of fresh tuna (be sure to cut off the skin and cut it into cubes);
- eight squares of wonton dough (it must be cut diagonally so that 18 triangular pieces are obtained);
- two onions, chopped into thin half rings;
- ready-made pasta with garlic and chili (pasta can be cooked);
- two tablespoons of sour cream and two tablespoons of soy sauce;
- one tablespoon of sesame oil;
- deep-frying oil;
- one tablespoon of sesame seeds.
How to cook:
Combine soy sauce and pasta, add sesame oil. Drizzle tuna with dressing, cover with cling film and refrigerate for one hour.
Now start making chips. In a preheated deep fryer filled with oil, put the pieces of dough.
The dough should be fried for no more than two minutes, until golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon and place on paper towel.
Now you can spread tuna on the chips, which must be poured with sour cream and sprinkled with onions and sesame seeds. Lastly, drizzle with sesame oil. The dish is ready.
kohlrabi salad
Very tasty and healthy dish a good accompaniment to meat dishes. The number of components is enough for eight people.
So get ready:
- kohlrabi - 1 pc. (cut, peel and cut into strips);
- celery - 1 stalk (cut and chopped into strips);
- carrot - 1 piece (peeled and cut into strips);
- red onion - 1 piece (peeled and finely chopped into strips);
- natural yogurt (can be replaced with cheese) about 150 grams;
- grain mustard - 1 tablespoon;
- cream should be very fatty - 50 ml;
- any greens (to taste, you can generally do without it), lemon zest (one lemon), sea salt.
How to cook:
Combine yogurt, mustard and cream in a large bowl. Add kohlrabi, celery, carrots, herbs and onions, mix everything again. If the dressing is too thick, you can add two tablespoons of cold water. Salt and add zest. Salad ready.
In addition to the preparation of dishes and the diversity of the menu, I would like to draw attention to one more interesting tradition, which came to us from antiquity, is table setting.
How to set the table on a holiday
The tablecloth should be bright, painted. The dishes should also be different, it would be ideal if they are selected from different sets, this is necessary for a variety of colors on the festive table. A variety of ceramic vases will also look good on the festive table.
There is another folk custom, these are large fava beans. In the old days, large horse beans were boiled (their number was equal to the number of those present). Everyone had to eat one bean, for a good coming year. And the most important thing that should be at the festive table is good mood and joy. Happy New Year.
