mastering the art

of course, shira and i read the exact same article about making soviet pirozhi (pierogi), so when she showed up in the state of north carolina last weekend, we set aside some to hang out in the kitchen and make them. we also both failed to notice that soviet pierogis are baked, not boiled, so we were surprised with the end result.

the recipe comes from a new cookbook/memoir entitled "mastering the art of soviet cooking," which was appropriate due to our respective russian backgrounds. not that it made us any better at making the pirozhi.

 to mix it up a bit, and because i had an acorn squash kicking around, we made half with a cabbage-mushroom filling and half with a squash-farmer's cheese filling. we roasted the squash first and then just scooped it into a bowl, where it got mixed up with shredded cheese. otherwise, we followed the recipe pretty closely.

consumed with sour cream and applesauce, they were a delight--though not really the polish version we'd imagined. such is life.

all i ever wanted.

veselka. new years day. with my favorite russian and her boyfriend, a potential descendant of the moors (moops, perhaps).

the deluxe vegetarian: 3 pierogis (potato, cheese, mushroom & sauerkraut), kasha with mushroom gravy, meatless stuffed cabbage. christmas borscht. a salad with some sort of dill dressing. sour cream.

all of my favorite foods. and people.
we laugh as the glass of orange juice is so small, even for a child.