Cook for Ukraine and help raise funds for Unicef Wine News

I can’t imagine how devastating it must be for a Ukrainian expat in this country right now to watch what’s going on back home. The fear must be overwhelming. For the rest of us, it’s hard to know what to do to help, but if you can, why not head over to the Just Giving page and donate.

This weekend, you could also cook something Ukrainian – something like this yogurt and nut pasta with pickled cabbage salad, both adapted from the Hercules book Summer Kitchens. The wonderfully tangy yogurt and garlic sauce tends to be used as a filling for small homemade Tatar pasta bows.

I tossed it into spaghetti here and used toasted pine nuts rather than the recommended nuts (only because I’m allergic to nuts; feel free to use those instead!). Coleslaw couldn’t be simpler and more delicious. If you can, use unrefined sunflower oil in the dressing, which is widely used in Ukrainian cooking. Hercules also adds cucumber to his coleslaw and suggests using good quality pumpkin seed oil or walnut oil if you can’t get sunflower.