The 2022 Let's Cook Hungarian Challenge

It’s time for the 2022 Let’s Cook Hungarian Challenge! Since 2018, we have hosted this challenge and each year we have added new elements so participants can make a deeper connection with heritage foods each month. We would love to have you join us this year!

Each month I give an assigned dish to make — it might be sweet and it might be savory.

Here is how it works — I will supply a recipe, but you are not bound to that recipe. The goal is to cook the dish and see what you think. If you have access to a family recipe that you love or have never even tried, fantastic! Use that one! Or use the recipe from a family friend or your favorite cookbook. You do not have to follow the exact recipe I give you.  If you need to adapt the recipe a bit due to allergies or strong food preferences, that is fine. The hope is that you will find some recipes that can work in your life. You might not love everything you make and that is ok, too.

Complete the dish of the month each month. Invite someone to cook it with you or eat it with you or drop off a little “care package” of the finished product to someone you know will enjoy it. If you can involve older or younger generations in this process, that is even better. If you are a grandmother or grandfather who lives near their grandchildren and can have a Hungarian cooking day, how fun is that? Or you and a cousin may decide to cook something together once a month – it’s a great family bonding opportunity! Maybe you have a non-Hungarian friend who loves to experiment with recipes – that sounds like one of the ingredients for a perfect afternoon! In these times of social distancing, maybe you have a video chat with an older family member and discuss the recipe — find a way to make it work!

How the Let’s Cook Hungarian Challenge Works

To participate, you need to email [email protected] and say you want to be in the Let’s Cook Hungarian Challenge. Then you need to sign up for our e-newsletter. We offer 4 options of the e-newsletter and they are all fun and interesting, but the 3rd week is the one that will always have the recipe! Sign up for the newsletter HERE.

1st week – Hungarian Events, News, & Organizations
2nd week – Hungarian Language, Genealogy, & Travel
3rd week – Hungarian Recipes, Foods, & Traditions
4th week – Hungarian History, Inventions, & Creative Inspiration

The recipe of the month (and other cooking resources) will always appear in the 3rd week of the Hungarian Living e-newsletter. I will start the year with emailing everyone the January recipe, but, after that, each month the recipe for the following month will be in week 3 of the Hungarian Living e-newsletter.

We have a Let’s Cook Hungarian Challenge private Facebook group. If you are on Facebook and you have signed up for the challenge, request to join our group

We have supplemental cooking and baking classes. CLICK HERE to see our upcoming classes — each month there will be class that lines up with the Let’s Cook Challenge, but the classes are entirely optional

We have learned a lot over the last four years of doing the Let’s Cook Hungarian Challenge. Cooking brings people together and when people are together, there is always conversation. You have great food stories with us and we have enjoyed reading all of them. Each month of participation brought another opportunity for meaningful conversations. We also learned that the participants enjoyed interacting with another via the Facebook group, especially as the last several years have played out. Our Facebook group allows for the sharing of tips and tricks and ideas as well as troubleshooting and success. If you are on Facebook, request to join our group Let’s Cook Hungarian Challenge. It is so much more fun to cook in community!

We recently received a note from a participant in the 2021 Let’s Cook Hungarian Challenge. Here is a snippet:

“On a side note, thank you so much for this challenge. I really enjoyed it! It helped me connect with my culture regularly. It gave me recipes for dishes I love but have never made, new dishes, and confidence to finally try things. Having the deadline to do it made me get it done, too….the best experience was when I shared a giant batch of the pörkölt [meat stew] after a family move, and when my mom and her brothers stepped into the kitchen they all exclaimed “oh! It smells like Hungary in here!” It was such a compliment. Thank you for providing us the vehicle to come together as a family over our food!” ~ Ann J. (Massachusetts)

Here are the details for the 2022 Let’s Cook Hungarian Challenge. Grab a cousin, sibling, parent, or friend and invite them do the challenge with you! If you don’t have anyone who will join you, that’s ok too, do it for yourself!

Find the level that works for you, follow all the steps, and let’s get started!

Level One

Participate in the Let’s Cook Hungarian Challenge

Choose level one if:

• You want to be inspired to cook more Hungarian food.
• You like knowing others are on this journey with you.
• You enjoy the challenge of having a recipe assigned to you each month.

Step One: Send me an email to [email protected] and tell me you want to participate in the 2022 Let’s Cook Hungarian Challenge.

Step Two: If you don’t already receive at least the 3rd week of the Hungarian Living e-newsletter you need to sign up for that HERE.

Step Three: An optional but a fun addition — if you are on Facebook, request to join our group Let’s Cook Hungarian Challenge

Cost: $0

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Level Two

Participate in the Let’s Cook Hungarian Challenge
+ Hungarian Food Memories Journal Pages

Choose level two if:

• You want to be inspired to cook more Hungarian food.
• You like knowing others are on this journey with you.
• You enjoy the challenge of having a recipe assigned to you each month.
• You are excited about making a regular and thoughtful connection with your Hungarian food history with our monthly Hungarian Food Memories Journal Pages.

Step One: Send me an email to [email protected] and tell me you want to participate in the 2022 Let’s Cook Hungarian Challenge.

Step Two: If you don’t already receive at least the 3rd week of the Hungarian Living e-newsletter you need to sign up for that HERE.

Step Three: An optional but a fun addition — if you are on Facebook, request to join our group Let’s Cook Hungarian Challenge

Step Four: Purchase the Hungarian Food Memories Journal Pages (details below).

Hungarian Food Memories Journal Pages
Each month for 12 months you will receive a pdf via email that can be downloaded and printed each month. The purpose of these pages is to encourage you to document your monthly cooking experience and jog your memory with a variety of questions each month. We hope these questions will ignite some additional interesting conversations with your friends and family. If you are don’t have a printer, grab a notebook dedicated to this project and answer the questions each month. Your purchase of these monthly questions can be used with your immediate family: parents, grandparents, spouse, children. If you want to involve a wider range of family members or friends, please purchase access to additional journal pages. Be sure to let us know what email to send the extra journal pages to. This can be a wonderful family activity.

Cost: $25 (about $2 per month) — 2022 Hungarian Food Memories Journal Pages

Click this link to purchase! Be sure to choose the $25 level.

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Level Three

Participate in the Let’s Cook Hungarian Challenge + Hungarian Food Memories Journal Pages
+ Apron

Choose level three if:

• You want to be inspired to cook more Hungarian food.
• You like knowing others are on this journey with you.
• You enjoy the challenge of having a recipe assigned to you each month.
• You are excited about making a regular and thoughtful connection with your Hungarian food history through our monthly Hungarian Food Memories Journal Pages.
• You want to purchase an apron for yourself or someone else.

Step One: Send me an email to [email protected] and tell me you want to participate in the 2022 Let’s Cook Hungarian Challenge.

Step Two: If you don’t already receive at least the 3rd week of the Hungarian Living e-newsletter you need to sign up for that HERE.

Step Three: An optional but a fun addition — if you are on Facebook, request to join our group Let’s Cook Hungarian Challenge

Step Four: Purchase the Hungarian Food Memories Journal Pages + Apron (details below).

Hungarian Food Memories Journal Pages + Apron
Each month for 12 months you will receive a pdf via email that can be downloaded and printed each month. The purpose of these pages is to encourage you to document your monthly cooking experience and jog your memory with a variety of questions each month. We hope these questions will ignite some additional interesting conversations with your friends and family. If you are don’t have a printer, grab a notebook dedicated to this project and answer the questions each month. You can also choose to audio or video record your answers. Your purchase of these monthly questions can be used with your immediate family: parents, grandparents, spouse, children. If you want to involve a wider range of family members or friends, please purchase access to additional journal pages. Be sure to let us know what email to send the extra journal pages to. This can be a fun and informative family activity.

Purchase an apron so you can use it as you cook all year long! Or, if you already have one of our aprons, send one to a friend or family member to encourage them to cook more Hungarian food! Choose from our Hungarian Chef Apron (red, blue, or green) or our Folk-Art Apron (red only). Mention your choice in the comment section when you check out.

Cost: $50 — 2022 Hungarian Food Memories Journal Pages + Apron

Click this link to purchase! Be sure to choose the $50 level.