“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.

You can’t have Pierogi without sour cream. I added a little garlic powder and fresh chives from the garden to the sour cream.

So good! I’m thinking of adding some pumpkin puree to the potato mix when Autumn comes to give them a twist.

After my very relaxing days off going back to work on Monday was actually welcome. I felt rested and refreshed.

Until Next time.

Love,

Jennifer