This recipe for Rustic Eastern European Bread makes two large loaves with a seeded topping (poppy and sesame). The beauty of this dough is that it keeps refrigerated for three days. So bake one today and bake another three days later!

The crumb is very slightly sweet and has an off-white color from the honey in the ingredients. This would be a great accompaniment to grilled food or with butter and fruit butter or jams, jellies or marmalades. And dad would be tickled pink with a loaf on his special day. This dough can also be turned into Apricot Cream Cheese Coffee Cake Recipe or Jewish Challah Recipe

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Of all Orthodox Christians, only Serbians have a slava -- the custom of celebrating a family's patron saint's feast day. Other Eastern Europeans celebrate their personal name day instead of a birthday, but Serbs pick a patron saint for the entire family which is passed on from generation to generation. When a woman marries, her new patron saint becomes that of her husband.

The tradition dates to the ninth century when Serbs gave up their pagan beliefs and accepted Christianity. One theory is that each village or tribe adopted a collective saint as its protector. Another is that the saint on whose day a man was baptized became his family's patron.

Central to this largely religious holiday are certain ritual foods including slavski kolac (slava bread) and zhito also known as koljivo (boiled wheat with honey and walnuts) and red wine, which are blessed by the parish priest. A special beeswax candle is lighted and only then can the feasting and merrymaking begin. Read more about krsna slava or Serbian name day.

Compare this with Polish Name Day or Imieniny.

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I love the brilliant contrast of colors in rhubarb -- the magenta-hued stalks and the bright green leaves. One word of caution. Don't eat the leaves, they're toxic. But go crazy with the stalks as I have. This darling of spring is so versatile. Oh, and yes, rhubarb is technically a vegetable even though it is often used like a fruit.

Eastern Europeans love rhubarb and its sweet-tangy taste that fits the flavor profile beloved by Slavs and Balkans. Check out these Eastern European rhubarb recipes if you need inspiration. You'll find recipes for soup, salad, compote, sauce, ice cream, pie, crisp, cordial and more.

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The beloved white storks (bociany) of Poland return every spring from Africa where they overwinter in the savannas between Kenya and South Africa. According to naturalists, about 50,000 pairs of the birds nest in Poland each year, which amounts to a fifth of the world's white stork population.

They can be seen in both the city and countryside and are considered good luck, bringing prosperity and fertility, so Poles encourage them to build their nests on their property.

Some nests are as large as 6 feet in diameter and 9 feet deep and weigh several hundred pounds, if not a ton. They are used over and over again, with new "rooms" added each spring by both the male and female storks. The nests are made of branches and sticks, and lined with twigs, grasses, sod, rags and paper.

Watch a live webcam of white storks here.

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