Christmas is less than a week away, and as we bustle around with our many preparations, gardeners can consider the plants of Christmas. I don’t mean poinsettias, Christmas cacti or amaryllis, beautiful as they are. I’m thinking more about the plants that are so deeply connected with tradition.
One of the first that comes to mind is wheat, used to make delicious kutia. I think back fondly to our Christmases at home, the wonderful food that Mom used to make. I can still picture the kitchen table in Mom’s warm kitchen, all set for our Christmas Eve meal. Kutia was the first dish served as the sky turned velvet blue. Wheat sustained our ancestors through the year, and then was incorporated into a dish eaten with gratitude and reverence on Christmas Eve. Now it’s a dish embraced and enjoyed by many who do not have it in their family tradition, but are captivated by the flavor and versatility and health benefits of “wheat berries”.
We were at an event that served wheat salad; some guests had never tasted that delight, and were amazed by it!
Poppyseed is another plant of Christmas, used in kutia and desserts. Used for thousands of years all over the world, poppyseed from papaver somniferum is important for culinary use, and we now know about its health benefits, too, containing minerals like iron and calcium. (Some poppies are for floral use only.) I read that it takes more than a million poppyseeds to make a pound. I wonder how many are in a poppyseed roll? I’ll mull that over next time I’m enjoying a slice with tea! Mom used to make little pampushky filled with poppyseed; the dough was tender and sweet, and they were deep-fried like doughnuts, then sprinkled with sugar while they were still hot. This was another Christmas treat, and one that brings back the sweetest memories of our family Christmases long ago.
Mushrooms would have to be on the list as well. Mom made a special, delicious soup for Christmas Eve using mushrooms. Many years ago pidpenky may have been used, but Mom later used white button mushrooms or canned mushrooms and they were still great. So tasty and so special, this is still a recipe that is made only at Christmas in our family.
Add cabbage to our list: the leaves for cabbage rolls, or as sauerkraut used in perogies. Speaking of that, we can add potatoes to the list, for the filling of perogies. And onions, mixed in dishes like sauerkraut and pes, or fried golden brown in butter to be served with perogies.
Going back to grains for a moment, add buckwheat: the tart, slightly bitter taste is delicious in cabbage rolls. Now let’s talk legumes: broad beans and peas are part of the Christmas party too. A dear friend of ours, now long gone, used to get almost teary-eyed at the mention of broad beans and garlic, a dish he absolutely loved.
It’s quite a plant list: wheat, poppyseed, mushrooms, cabbage, potatoes, onions, buckwheat, broad beans, peas, garlic, and that’s just to name a few! My goodness, I’m tying a napkin around my neck already in eager anticipation!
The Yorkton and District Horticultural Society wishes you a very Merry Christmas and every blessing in the new year! We hope that you will join us when our meetings begin in February and we begin looking forward to a new gardening year! Visit us at www.yorktonhort.ca
And on behalf of Keith and I, we wish you a peaceful and healthy Christmas, surrounded by those dear to you, with the wonder and reverence of Christ’s birth in your heart. Merry Christmas, dear gardeners!
