Weekend Journal: Fall Fashion Haul & Making Homemade Pierogi .

“Be grateful for the home you have, knowing that at this moment, all you have is all you need“.

This past weekend I felt like I had gone on vacation. Something about moving slowly and choosing activities where I could be completely in the moment made my usual 4 days off feel like much longer. I love when that happens.

There’s a field that I often cut through on my walk to work. By May each year it’s bursting with colourful wild flowers; red and purple clovers, bright yellow St. John’s Wort. Then as Summer moves in, the wild black berries start to ripen just in time for August. My husband and I went Thursday evening and picked enough to make 4 jars of jam. Quick recipe: 8 cups of mashed berries in a pot, 2 Tblsp of lemon juice and 1 cup of sugar cooked down for about 45 minutes. I canned them to store in the pantry; An Autumn pancake breakfast with wild blackberry preserve sounds delightful.

I’ve been thinking about Autumn a lot in the past weeks even though we’ve been having some of the hottest weather on record I think it’s because my kitchen calendar has notes like “time to prepare Fire Cider for Fall” and “update wardrobe for Fall”. I’ve done both; 6 very large jars of Fire Cider are sitting in the pantry, they’ll be ready to start taking a Tablespoon a day by mid September. I also went through my closet and took inventory of what I really need. To my surprise, it’s very little. I ordered 3 sweaters and will likely need a few pairs of opaque tights which I wear almost everyday in Fall and Winter. I may also buy a pair of boots. These are the sweaters I purchased.

These are from & Other Stories

This one is from H&M

I’ve began harvesting the herbs in the garden. This year I grew all of my favourites: Thyme, Rosemary, Oregano, Mint, Chives, Basil and Sage. I put them on a drying tray in my studio where it’s warm but I keep the window open all day and night. They’ll take about a week to be fully dry and be ready to be stored in glass jars.

Extra time on the weekends means I can delve into new recipes. One evening I made Pierogi from scratch. They’re actually very easy to make just time consuming. I don’t mind though; I played some gentle music, served myself a little Blackberry Cordial and got to work.

My Homemade Pierogi Recipe

You Will Need:

For the Pierogi Dough

1 cup of flour (and more for kneading and rolling)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 large egg
1/2 a Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil
3 Tablespoons of warm water

For the Pierogi Filling

1 cup warm mashed potatoes
1 Tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheese (preferable cheddar – I used tex mex ’cause it’s what I had in the fridge leftover from another meal).

Instructions

For the Dough:

Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the egg and oil. Add about 2 tablespoons of warm water and start mixing the dough with a fork until it comes together. (Adding a touch more water, only if needed.)
When the dough comes together, transfer it to the counter or large cutting board and knead the dough with your hands until smooth.
Create a ball with the dough and place on a platter. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.

For the Filling:

Mix mashed potatoes with 1 Tablespoon butter and salt and pepper to taste. Add the cheese and mix .

Assembling the Pierogi:

On a lightly floured surface roll the dough out about 1/8-inch thick. I ran my dough through my pasta maker and created 2 long sheets.
Using a cooking cutter or a cup, cut as many circles as you can. I was able to get 15 pierogi.
Place about a tablespoon of filling in the middle of each dough circle.
Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges together. (Use a little water on the tip of your finger to help the edges stick.)

Cooking the Pierogi

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pierogi and stir gently with a spoon so they don’t stick together. The will first sink then start to float to the top after 3-4 minutes, this will indicate they’re done.

To Pan-Fry Pierogi

In a large skillet warm butter or vegetable oil and saute pierogi on both sides, until they are lightly browned and a little crispy. Remove to a plate

I fried up some onion, cabbage and bacon to go with them. Start by adding a little oil or butter to a pan on medium heat. I wanted to caramelize the onions for a little so I let them cook down slowly then added the bacon and fried it up for a few minutes. Last I added the cabbage and mixed everything together until cabbage was nice and soft.