Slovenian Women's Union of America NYC

Apple Strudel Demo (click here for a larger image)

Spring and summer branch activities offered highlights of Slovenian culinary traditions. We had a strudel making demonstration on March 28th and a potica demonstration on June 6th. More are planned for the fall/winter including gnocchi (light potato dumplings made with baking potatoes, egg yolk, and flour) commonly eaten in Northern Italy but also found in the Primorska region, and gibinica (a layered pastry with various fillings) from the Prekmurje region by the Hungarian border.

Our strudel making demonstration led by Sonja Mosquin (with the help of her daughter Erika Bruno) on Saturday, March 28th was a success! The event was attended by 18 members, friends and guests who enjoyed Sonja’s baking expertise and good humor. Sonja is originally from the Primorska region of Slovenia, specifically Trieste area by the Italian border, reflected in her strudel recipe which includes pignoli (pine) nuts. Thank you to Erika Bruno (Sonja's daughter) for assisting Sonja with the presentation and for all the prep work beforehand. Sonja and Erika arrived with a batch of dough ready to be stretched out, after the apple strudel was prepared and in the oven, Sonja demonstrated how to make the dough. Alenka Ravnik-List also tried her hand at preparing a batch of dough to get a feel for how to do it (with Sonja right next to her for guidance). Thank you to new member Tanja Vajk who offered her photography skills and to Ria (Polajner) Whitmire for bringing the refreshments.

We had a potica demonstration June 6th. Thank you to members, friends and guests who attend. We were happy to have 23 participants! Mia Branch, who caters for all events at the Church of St. Cyril, conducted the workshop and provided samples too! Thank you to Ria (Polajner) Whitmire for her help with the refreshments and set-up/clean-up. Thank you to Tanja Vajk for again lending her photography skills.

A few members independently attended a screening of Pokrajina st. 2 (Landscape No.2), a Slovene feature film which premiered at the Brooklyn International Film Festival on June 14 and won an award for Best Screenplay.

Lynn Zalokar corresponded with Erica Johnson-Debeljak, author of Forbidden Bread, a witty and touching memoir of an East-West romance set in the tumultuous years of post-communist Slovenia, advertised in the Jan/Feb issue of Zarja – The Dawn. The book which was ordered and read by a handful of branch members would lend itself to an interesting book discussion and is on the possible list of upcoming branch events. Read an interview with Erica Johnson Debeljak published in the April 17 newsletter from the Embassy of Slovenia in Washington, DC.

The Slovenian Heritage Weekend at AMC is confirmed for the first weekend in November 6th-8th at the Mohican Outdoor Center in Blairstown, NJ with Lynn and Ria as co-hosts. Last year’s event generated much interest and was a great success and we hope for the same this time as well.

Planning committee continues to meet and welcomes comments and suggestions from all members. Please email us and share your thoughts!

Planning committee meeting


New York City Branch of Slovenian Women's Union of America