Recently, in my writing practice I was using the prompt, write about a recipe or cookware that was handed down to you. Well, I don’t really have ancestry in my cooking or cookware. So when I came across Hdubki (ha-dub-kee), I knew this is what I had been longing for; a recipe that had been around through the generations. My proof was this weathered 2×4 recipe note card written in an elder’s penmanship. This recipe had surely been around for ages.

I first had this amazing meal with Zoom and Pop, my “adopted parents” – real parents to my dear friend Gordon. It is a mixture of lamb and cabbage with stewed tomatoes, rice and a sprinkling of hot chili powder. I was not a huge fan of cabbage until that evening. This unique combination of lamb and tomatoes rendered the cabbage soft, yet firm and sweet. I loved every ounce of this meal and left wanting more.

One night, I had some lamb in the fridge, bought some purple cabbage, some delish stewed tomatoes and like any new generation promptly substituted quinoa for the rice and hot chipotles for the chili powder. My sister Ruby was living with me at the time.

We cooked this recipe, smiling large and so honored to have been handed this special and dear recipe for our meal that night. Well, we could not stop raving about the meal and how sumptuous it was. We were also a little bit giddy for our superb and daring updates to this generational dish.

So when my Mom’s birthday arrived and she and Ronni drove upstate to my place to celebrate, I knew we had to have Hdubki. We took such care to make this deliciousness again. And to our delight, the meal was just incredible. So incredible, the questions started coming…”Where is this meal from? Is it polish? German? Whose great grandparents made this? How did Pop and Zoom come to this recipe?

Well we searched the internet for quite some time and could not come up with any clue as to where this recipe came from. We concluded it must be a secret family recipe that we were so fortunate to enjoy.

Weeks later, I saw Zoom and Pop and asked them about the origin of Hdubki. They had no idea what I was talking about. I said that recipe on the old 2×4 note card, with the lamb, cabbage and stewed tomatoes. They looked at me and said, “Holuloki?”…oh, we found that recipe in a magazine a few years back.

Laughter and joy come in many forms especially when enjoying a fantastic meal with friends and family.

2019 Version of Hdubki:

• 3 cups chopped cabbage
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup chicken broth/stock
• 1 lb lamb
• 1 1/2 cup stewed tomatoes
• 2-3 chipotle peppers cut in small pieces with sauce
• pepper / salt
• garlic / onions

Directions:

• Cut the cabbage thinly (mandolin is a perfect tool) and line the pan (9×12 brownie pan/glass works)
• Add the quinoa / then the chicken broth/stock
• Brown the lamb / onions / garlic (then layer in the pan with cabbage/quinoa)
• Pour the stewed tomatoes
• Add the chipotle peppers and spread evenly over the top of the dish.
• Salt and pepper all along the way to personal preference.
• Cover and bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour (ish). The quinoa and cabbage should be soft.
• Enjoy.