Honoring my creative lineage: Auntie Alyona

This month, I will write a series of vignettes honoring my creative lineage, which includes the people and forces that have shaped me, prayed for me and dreamed me into being, so that I may walk my own empowered path guided by them and the gifts they shared with me.

Auntie Alyona  

Alyona was my favorite auntie not family side. She was an older friend of both my parents; it was one of the example of a integrious relationship that I witness as a child, both in its depth and honestly. Alyona’s chest would bounce when she laughed; her firey joy would fill the entire room. 

I loved her stories. She kept your attention with her charm and also the emotion in her voice. 

She made the best cabbage pie (see recipe below).

I knew her as early as I can remember. She had polio at a young age and walked seldomly. I recall her sitting, always sitting surrounded by pillows, propped up like a Queen. I loved sitting by her; I could feel safety and magic at the same time, even as a kid. 

She was a highly creative person and made beautiful embroideries. She painted. She touched everything with color and expression. She had the most beautiful voice and when she sang traditional Ukrainian songs in chorus with my mother and others, it felt like a healing blessing. She had beautiful hands and moved them around often when she spoke. 

I spent some weeks with her in 2004 when I visiting Kyiv. We laughed together and she told me many stories about her life that were now appropriate given my age.

She is a force even in my memory. Rest in love, Alyonushka and thank you for being such a kind and beautiful gift in my life.

Alyona’s Cabbage Pie Sensation

For the filling, you will need:
1 kg. of white cabbage
2-3 onions
20 g. butter
salt and pepper
oil for frying

Cut the cabbage into medium strips and boil in salted water until the cabbage has lost its crunchiness and is tender. Lightly fry 2-3 onions. Add the cabbage, cover and fry the mixture on low heat for 10-15 minutes. Add 1 T. sugar, 20g. of butter and salt and pepper to taste. Taste the filling; it should definitely have a bite to it and should not be bland.

For the dough, you will need:
1 packet of dry yeast (15 g.)
2 T. warm milk
1½ T. sugar
½ t. salt

Mix well in a large bowl until yeast bubbles appear in the mixture. Add 5 eggs,
200 g. sour cream, and 2 ½ cups of flour. Mix well and begin adding single tablespoons of flour to the dough until the dough cannot absorb anymore flour and becomes fluffy and elastic. Cover the dough and place in a warm part of the room (preferably without a draft) and let stand for 1-2 hours. The dough should double in size.

Leave margarine out to soften at room temperature for an hour. Take 150 g. of margarine and divide it into separate portions. Sprinkle some flour on your workspace and pour entire dough onto it. With your fingers, spread the dough out and form a large rectangle. Take a portion of the margarine and spread thoroughly across the top of the dough. Take each side and wrap into itself like an envelope. Let stand for ½ hour. Follow the above steps again and let dough stand for ½ hour.

Preheat oven to 240 Degrees. Divide the dough into 2 unequal parts, the larger will serve as the foundation and the lesser part will serve to cover the pie. Spread the larger portion onto an oiled baking sheet and put the filling on top. Shred 2 hardboiled eggs and sprinkle on top of the filling. Shape the lesser portion on a floured workspace into a rectangle and cover the pie. Take 1 egg yolk and spread on top of the pie. When the pie has been put into the oven, reduce heat to 200 Degrees and bake for 40-60 minutes.