The Great Pierogi Disaster of 2008

So you might wonder why there isn’t a picture of the finished Pierogi. I was waiting to take a picture at Easter dinner. Well as I was stepping out of my car I dropped the bowl. The glass shattered and the Pierogi fell into the street. I almost cried. Thankfully I brought some to work and ate a few myself before the great pierogi disaster of 2008. Next year I will take pictures at every step. Happy Easter!

Pierogi

This year I made pierogi all by my lonesome. I was a little homesick and some how doing this labor intensive family tradition soothed me. The walk back and forth to stove to table, stove to table. The boiling pot, the rolling and filling. It all felt familiar and bittersweet. We are the forth generation of our family out of Poland but yet making the same beautiful dumplings as the generations before.

mushroom pierogi

I’m making mushroom, cheese, sauerkraut, and plum pierogi. For the mushroom filling I’m using dried morels my father picked. The morels add a woodsy note when added to the button mushrooms. I tried to get as much moisture out of the mushrooms as possible. I mash the mushroom with some potatoes and a little ricotta.

Easter eggs

Turkish egg cups Originally uploaded by yellaumbrella

Dyeing Easter eggs really makes it feel like Easter. I love the truly unnatural colors. But, I would like to dye eggs with natural colors sometime. Maybe next year I will use onion skins and beets. These beautiful Turkish egg cups are a present from my sister. And of course the best part of Easter eggs is the promise of egg salad.

egg dye