Golubka is a three year old record of my cooking, where I share stories of whole foods-focused recipes and ingredients I find exciting at the moment. It is also very much a collaboration between my older daughter, Masha, and I. Masha takes most of the photos and helps with the editing and recipe testing. I live in Florida and she lives in New York, and Golubka is our creative outlet together and a nice way of keeping in touch. We first published in January of 2010.
Tell us your cooking philosophy in three words.
Growing up, my favourite season was definitely summer. It has since changed to winter, after I moved to tropical Florida, where winter is the mildest season of all. I also very much miss Spring, when talking about a regular four season climate.
Sweet or savoury?
Savory in a sense that I never choose anything sweet when hungry and can only enjoy dessert after a savory meal.
I’m obsessed with all good food and any authentic meal is exciting to me. Among my favourites are Middle Eastern, Indian, Vietnamese and Ethiopian. And being Russian, I am always homesick for a homemade Russian meal.
Mark Bittman, Sarma Melngailis, Leif Hedendal, and the team behind The Jewels of New York. I have also been spending a lot of time with Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbooks and really enjoying his approach to cooking. As for bloggers, there is an endless amount of talent in the food blogging world, and I’m afraid I could never name them all. I cook the most from Green Kitchen Stories and My New Roots. Recent blog crushes include Manger, The First Mess, Hungry Ghost Food and Travel, and Apt. 2B Baking Co. And of course all the blogs on Golubka’s blogroll.
Yes, my mother was always a passionate cook and I definitely inherit my love for food from her. My maternal grandmother, who went through the hardships of World War II and could make the tastiest meal with few ingredients, is also a major influence.
Potato pancakes or latkes, homemade tart yogurt, and heaps of toasted sunflower seeds.
I’m a terribly indecisive Libra, a Russian who has a hard time with the cold, and I have an electric engineering degree.
Your up and coming cookbook is due to be released next year. Can you tell us a little bit about it and name one of your favourite recipes from it? (And huge congrats by the way, you know I’ll be first in line to get a copy once it’s out!)
Thank you, cannot wait for your book as well! My book The Vibrant Table will be published by Roost Books and is due to come out in the Spring of 2014 (Our autumn down here!~Emm). It will feature around 100 recipes, centered around seasonal whole foods – all vegetarian, mostly vegan and gluten free. The recipes celebrate the use of the healthiest ingredients possible, framed by fresh herbs and spices, and each one will be illustrated by a photo taken by Masha. There will also be a Play Time chapter devoted to cooking for and with children, where I talk about raising my five year old, Paloma, to be a healthy and adventurous eater.
All the recipes in the book are so close to my heart, and it is very difficult to choose a favourite, but here we go: Black Bean Spaghetti with Black Sesame Sauce, Cherries and Dandelion comes to mind, as well as the Squash Blossom Ricotta Quiche and Mango and Lime Tartlets.
Inspire me: Kelsey from Happyolks
14 Responses
Emma, thanks so much for this introduction… Anya, lovely to meet you. Popping back into your blog now.
Your'e so welcome love! xx
I love this series, so inspirational. I eat meat nowadays but still love the Golubka blog – so many incredible flavour combinations!
So nice to learn about someone new and all those nifty intriguing dishes. 🙂
Lovely interview! I'm so glad I read this since it lead me to Anya's blog! I'm really enjoying your "Inspire me" posts. Thank you!
Yes, thanks for the introduction to Anya's work and blog. So much great stuff!
I hope you're well too Emma.
xoxoxo
E
Those parfaits are beautiful!
Those recipes look so fresh and colourful indeed! The parfaits are just gorgeous!
so great! I am excited to see that book!
Adore Anya and I love this series – always look forward to reading it. 🙂
Thanks so much, Emma! Such an honor to be here 🙂 Much love,
-Anya
Right back at ya! xx
You are a good person, Emma. Thank you so much for a great introduction to Anya's blog. There's so much more to see in her posts, and I am happy that you were able to introduce her to your blog.
Another spot-on feature 🙂 I remember keeling over when I discovered Golubka at the height of my raw food fascination, too… it's really good to learn more about the mastermind behind her blog! Thanks for this, Emma.