Ladies’ Committee canapé party! (Inta Šķiņķis)

Inta Šķiņķis hosted a birthday party with a Ladies’ Committee canapé theme! She invited everyone to revisit childhood memories and bring a plate of Ladies’ Committee canapés in two categories: traditional Ladies’ Committee canapés and modern interpretations in a global style. The event also included a competition, awards were given for best traditional canapé, best modern interpretation, best taste, and best appearance.

Ladies’ Committees helped maintain the Latvian community (Aija Abens)

A richly set table is an indispensable part of these celebrations. It is prepared in various ways – sometimes participants arrive with baskets of their own homemade treats, including savory and sweet snacks, decorative “pretty buns,” curd or apple pies, Russian-style salads, and other dishes. Other times, the tables are arranged by the hosts – dedicated and warm-hearted women’s groups, such as church or Latvian society committees, who, in addition to other responsibilities, take care of the event’s decorations and food. These women, often working behind the scenes, are nonetheless the cornerstone of these events, bringing warmth, order, and the true taste of the holidays to Latvian communities abroad.

Mom runs around the stores looking for the “right” kind of cabbage

Inese Šteinbaha: We make our own sauerkraut. My mom, Māra Rozenberga, is the one running around the stores looking for the right kind of cabbage. She knows exactly what they should be like. We even have our own cabbage slicer, brought from Latvia.

How can you shred cabbage without having a beer? (Pēteris Freimanis)

Pēteris Freimanis shares childhood memories of his grandmother’s sauerkraut and tells how he began fermenting cabbage himself, inspired by his friend Aigars. This activity has become a tradition for him.

Little Māra went into the forest…

“Little Māra went into the forest, the green forest was her home.” I heard this from my grandmothers while going mushroom picking together in the beautiful forests of Latvia. Unforgettable memories. I lived in Garciems for the first six years of my life. During the Second World War, my family began the life of refugees. On October 4, 1944, we left Riga. Upon arriving in Germany, we lived in the barracks of the Fischbach camp. That’s where I started elementary school. The lessons were conducted in Latvian. In December 1949, my family had the opportunity to go to America, to earn a living as lumber workers. Later, we moved to Milwaukee.

Certified mushroomer from Michigan (Larisa Mednis)

Larisa Mednis thinks that her interest in mushrooming comes from her Latvian roots. A number of years ago Larisa joined a mushrooming club in Michigan, USA, where she learned to forage and identify mushrooms from specialists in the field. Today Larisa holds a certificate in wild mushrooming from the State of Michigan, which allows her to legally sell mushrooms. As a vegetarian, Larisa uses mushrooms as a meat substitute in various favourite recipes.

Grandma taught me how to ferment cabbage (Kalvis Mikelšteins)

Every year, Kalvis Mikelšteins ferments cabbage, which he then sells at Latvian Christmas markets in the USA. Cabbage is almost his favorite vegetable — he enjoys eating it cold, adding fresh apple slices and sometimes freshly chopped onion.

Cookbook “Letts Eat!” (Vija Doks)

Artist and author Vija Doks talks about her cookbook “LETTS EAT!: A Latvian Cartoon Cookbook” (1992)

How I make rasols (Dustin Becher)

My wife Signe and I have been married for around 6 years now. We live in the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA. ……My wife is from Latvia, and I have been to Latvia a dozen times…

Vita on the first years in New York

After a few years, we had to find out – where could you get blood sausages? That was in Brooklyn. And where were the good bakeries?