My Baba Malania's early life was a recipe for potential failure. But her faith, strength and resilience would not have it. She grew up in a time in Ukraine when there was much upheaval. Born in 1916 in a small town Lysychyntsi, in the Ternopil' region of Western Ukraine, Baba saw a lot happen in her years. The Romanovs, the Russian Revolution, Bolsheviks, her mother and young brother's untimely deaths, Stalin's man-made famine - the Holodomor, and the Nazis all could have caused her to give up, fail, lose her life. But failure was not an option. At the young age of 27, Baba was taken by Nazi troops to a forced labor camp in Rotenshirmbach, Germany. She worked in the fields and at one point froze her legs so badly that she suffered from permanent edema. She did not give up and continued on. She met my Dido, Pavlo Hontaryk in that work camp and they were married and my mother was born there. After they were liberated they could have gone back to Ukraine, but most did not want to return as the Communist regime continued to oppress the Ukrainian people, instead they took a leap of faith and hopped a boat to Canada.
Dido Beekeeper
Honey Cake - sweetness of life often presented with bread, salt, and shots or alcohol
Never Fail Medivnyk (Honey Cake)
1 cup honey
1 cup brown sugar
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 eggs (yolks & whites separated)
1 cup finely chopped nuts
Cream the sugar with egg yolks and honey, until light.
Whisk flour with remaining dry ingredients (other than nuts), and slowly incorporate into batter.
Stir in nuts.
Whip egg whites to firm peaks and gently fold into batter.
Bake approximately 45 minutes in 325 F. oven.
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