.....I thought perhaps you'd like to see what my mother and I accomplished one afternoon. Only two are shown, because it's either gluttonous or unfair to show you more.
My mom and I have had some lovely times making these delectable, dainty, dumplings. She's not able to make them all by herself anymore, and so I am learning the art of making "varenyky", or as most of you call them, "perohy" or "perogies".
The process starts the day before when I peel, boil and mash the potatoes. To them, I add fried onions. Lots of fried onions. Then, I take about a teaspoon of the mixture and form them into little balls and they are refrigerated until the next day, when the production line starts. Mom comes over and I park her at the kitchen counter while I proceed to make the dough. Mom used to make hers in her Cuisinart, but I prefer the old fashioned way....by hand. Can you believe it? I find it incredibly therapeutic to get my hands into the flour and to knead it until it transforms from a sticky, gummy mess into a soft, elastic, smooth round ball just waiting to be rolled out and cut. When the dough is rolled out (great workout for the biceps!), I cut them with my mom's old tin drinking cup, that is EXACTLY the right size and has been moved from their home of 40 years, to their condo, to my home.
Mom is the assembler of varenyky. She is riddled with arthritis in her hands, but still manages to expertly pinch the dumplings in no time flat.
Once they are done, I par-boil them and then they are cooled before being frozen. Our Girl took home 5 dozen with her to Ottawa last week and I hear they are almost gone. Sounds like a good reason to make more and take some to her!
What's important about this blog, isn't the varenyky, but about passing of traditions and recipes that will disappear if I don't get on this. It's about sharing time with mom and letting her know that someday, when she is gone, I will continue her recipes and her knowledge. And I will pass them on to Our Girl.
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