A couple weekends ago, my grandmother invited me over to make perogies for Xmas dinner with her. She had floated the idea several months prior, and I don’t think she actually expected me to follow through. But, if I’ve learned anything from the recent passing of my other set of grandparents, it’s that I ought to take advantage of any change I get to spend time with the remaining ones. So I spent a Sunday afternoon making perogies with my grandparents.
It was actually a lot of fun, and more than anything I enjoyed listening to the stories they told. Making the perogies proper was a neat new activity for me, but my grandma had already pre-made all the dough and filling, so my job was simply to sit there and wrap dough around cheese balls for three hours. It wasn’t exciting by any measure, but it was something far different from my usual, so a worthwhile experience.
We came out with a good chunk of leftover dough, and my grandma then had the keep idea to use it to make blueberry perogies. Okay, sure. I love blueberries. This could work. So she brought over a bowl filled with blueberries… and blueberry Jell-o crystals. Uh… okay. that seems weird, but let’s be open-minded and give it a try. I know from experience that eating Jell-o crystals is not a great idea, but I’m willing to see this through.
After wrapping the blueberry mixture in dough shells (some of mine looked more like dumplings than perogies), they were off to the boiling station where my grandpa had been working. They were boiled for a while, and we decided not to freeze and save them, but to just eat them right then and there.
Let me tell you… don’t use Jell-o crystals in your blueberry perogies. They’ll come out way too sweet and be nearly inedible. And I’m a guy who cherishes his sweets. It was just way too much, though I firmly believe the idea would have been solid if we had only used blueberries as filling. Maybe it would have worked out better if the Jell-o had been made beforehand and then mashed into the perogies, but crystal form wasn’t quite right.
But in the end, I got a delicious home-cooked meal of roast beef, potatoes, and veggies. So the misstep of the blueberry perogies was quickly forgotten, and my tummy was filled to bursting with delicious foodstuffs. It was a far cry from the kind of dinner I’d have made for myself, so I definitely came out ahead that night. Plus, now I know that there will be home-made perogies waiting for me at Xmas dinner, and I cannot wait!
And that’s my little story. Also, a bit of a warning. Now you all know how not to make blueberry perogies. Happy Wednesday!