Ever since I was a little girl I can remember my Mom and Dad making perogies by the stockpot-full!!
The house would be filled with simple aromas from boiled potatoes and sautéed onions. The moment those smells hit your nose your stomach craved for what was to follow.
Tender pockets filled with harvested potatoes & onions combined with good ol’ Canadian Cheddar served softly boiled with a dollop of sour cream. But of course their secret (aside from a solid dose of black pepper) was the love Mom & Dad pinched into every piece! (I’m pretty sure Love is a true pantry ingredient!)
Being the youngest of eight I had seen many family gatherings but the best ones were those in which our family grew even bigger!
Seriously …we just kept adding & adding. Yes I’m talking about weddings! It was our family’s tradition to prepare all the food by hand for all weddings.
It was all hands on deck! And boy did we have hands. Our typical feast consisted of: borscht (beet vegetable soup); cabbage rolls (2 types); perogies (2-3 types) meatballs with gravy; roast beef packed with garlic cloves plus a host of common veggies, and some special mixtures like pepanke (a type of mushroom with gravy) and my favourite garlic mashed beans mmmmmm.
For Us, (a poor Ukrainian Prairie Family) food was more than something you needed to survive. It was a foundation, a source, a way of showing love & a way to pass along traditions. Today I’m happy to believe that this holds true for many families as well as mine. Be sure to always stock your pantry with my Mom & Dad’s secret ingredient!
Perogie Pinchers of Victoria was created out of necessity and a desire to share the Ukrainian culture. Our recipes have been handed down since 1863 from both Bella’s Mother and Baba. To be a part of the sustaining community, all of our vegetables are products are Canadian. Starting with Canadian products grown in B.C. allows us to showcase our families traditional fillings bursting with sensational flavours! Bella sells her product online & through local stores like the Market Garden in Esquimalt and the Artisan Kitchen in Saanich.