Just as you would tuck into a bowl of Alis­sa’s quince borscht or linger over her boozy, choco­late- and smetana-lay­ered tri­fle, I promise you will want to do the same with this deeply felt gem of a book. — Poli­na Chesnakova

In Lozh­ka, award-win­ning writer and co-founder of #Cook­forUkraine, Alis­sa Tim­o­shk­i­na, cel­e­brates East­ern Europe through one of its most hum­ble and pow­er­ful sym­bols: the spoon. Blend­ing soul­ful recipes with rich sto­ry­telling, she brings togeth­er his­to­ry, mem­o­ry, and cook­ing in a por­trait of the region that is both deeply com­fort­ing and strik­ing­ly contemporary.

From herb-scent­ed soups and hearty grain stews to pil­lowy dumplings and cus­tard-soaked desserts, each dish car­ries a sense of mean­ing, mem­o­ry, and belong­ing. Draw­ing on a wide range of tra­di­tions, includ­ing Ukrain­ian, Jew­ish, Tatar, Hun­gar­i­an, Pol­ish, Slo­vak, and Roma, among oth­ers, Lozh­ka reveals a bor­der­less cui­sine shaped by resilience and generosity.

Vibrant, veg­etable-for­ward, and full of smoky, tangy, and creamy fla­vors, these recipes are made for today’s kitchens while hon­or­ing cen­turies of tra­di­tion. More than a cook­book, Lozh­ka is a jour­ney through kitchens, cul­tures, and shared his­to­ries – an invi­ta­tion to slow down, gath­er around, and savor the sto­ries car­ried in every spoonful.