“Kundziņš” Rasols (Inta Gertners)

In Inta Gertners’ family, there is a very unusual rasols recipe that she inherited from her grandmother, Milda Veidis (b. 1901).

Aspic Recipes from Diaspora Cookbooks

Here is a collection of several aspic recipes from diaspora cookbooks — starting with Dzidra Zeberiņa’s “Ģimenes pavārds” (USA, 1955) recipe for aspic, and ending with Balva and Atis Bredovskis’ recipe for Muzikantu gaļa (Musician’s meat) — a recipe they recorded while living in the ‘Kristus dārzs’ retirement home in Canada.

I Didn’t Know Rasols Is Made Without Beets! (Dārija Teika Gulēna)

Dārija talks about her family’s rasols recipe: without herring, without meat, and with beets. Listen to the interview to learn more about her rasols—and about her experience with aspic!

Pashka in the Shape of a Hedgehog (Māra Siksna)

In Māra’s family, a special tradition of making pasha has developed for Easter. Each year Māra prepares uncooked pasha, while her daughter chooses to make the cooked version.

Flower Pot Pashka (Laima Grāmatiņa)

Living in America, Mirdza Grāmatiņa began making paskha at Easter using a recipe she found in a magazine. Mirdza’s daughter Laima adopted this tradition, and every Easter Laima tries to make paskha using that same recipe. She shapes the paskha by using a flower pot.

“Buberts” From Grandmother’s Wartime Refugee Cookbook (Andris Valdmanis)

Andris prepared buberts together with his four-year-old son Māris, using a recipe from his grandmother’s wartime-refugee cookbook, so there would be something tasty ready when little brother Lauris woke up from his nap. Before long, Lauris was awake, and both brothers eagerly prepared to enjoy the freshly made buberts.

Our House Smells Like Latvia (Līga Druka-Smalka)

Līga is from Latvia. Before moving to the United Kingdom, she lived in Aizkraukle, a town that is still her second home. Now she lives in Wales, in Cardiff, yet Latvia is always in her heart.

Pancake Breakfast in Boston (Gints Grinbergs un Armands Ramoliņš)

For about 30 years, the Latvian community in Boston has had a special Family Day tradition: making pancakes. However, this tradition has a small twist compared to usual—only the men make the pancakes! Listen to an interview with Gints and Armands, long-time Family Day pancake makers, about how this tradition began and how it continues today.

Pascha Mold from the Lauri Colony (Nata Meģe)

Laura Latvian descendant Nata Meģe shares her family’s pasha recipe and the wooden mold used to make pasha, which has been passed down in her family from generation to generation.

“Debesmanna” in Vanilla Sauce (Silvija Gurtiņš Mežgailis)

Silvija says that her mother and mother-in-law used to make debessmanna in the traditional way — first boiling the berries, then pressing them through a sieve to obtain a smooth mixture.