Learn to cook like a baba, straight from the source

We are a group of Babas – Ukrainian grandmothers and descendants of Ukrainian immigrants to Canada, beginning in the 1890s. Most of us retain the Ukrainian language. We are also members of the Ukrainian Women’s Association of Canada (UWAC), Hanka Romanchych Branch in Saskatoon, founded in 1976. I have had the honour of chairing the Editorial Committee of FROM BABA, with LOVE.

A mandate of the UWAC is to preserve the Ukrainian cultural heritage … and to disseminate knowledge by publishing. The traditions, treasured recipes and anecdotal information featured in FROM BABA, with LOVE were brought to this country by Ukrainian immigrant women and were retained by several generations of descendants.

The goal of this publication was to assist contemporary Canadian families in developing their own traditions and favourite foods for the celebration of spiritual and everyday life.

The genesis of the project began in the late 1980s when the branch decided to research and publish a book about Ukrainian traditional breads.

This project was put on hold. In the early 2000s, the idea was revisited and approved in an expanded format.

Our book was self-published in 2011, and printed by Globe Printers of Saskatoon. Now in its fifth printing, it is a Canadian bestseller. Committee members researched, wrote, formatted and edited the material collected. Our editorial committee met 40 times during this project, with many more hours of work by subcommittees. We were assisted by two university students who worked on research, collecting oral traditions and formatting and entering data.

The first component, The Spiritual Seasons of Life, has three seasonal sections: Spring and Summer, Autumn and Winter. Each section describes traditions associated with religious feast days within the season.

The food traditions component has eight sections. We provided home tested recipes. Food stylists, Linda Braun and LeeAnn Bodnaryk of Food Focus Inc. of Saskatoon and professional photographer, Jerry Humeny of Black Box Images Inc. of Saskatoon provided invaluable assistance.

We prepared the food and supplied all the props for all the original photographs for the book.

Marie Kishchuk is Chair of the Editorial Committee.

FROM BABA, with LOVE sells for $35.00 (plus GST) in Saskatoon at:

The Ukrainian Museum of Canada, McNally Robinson Booksellers, Prairie Unique Gifts – Saskatoon Airport Kiosk, The Western Development Museum, The Sask Made Market Place, The UWAC Hanka Romanchych Branchor at ssokyrka@gmail.com.