Russian Monday; "Lenivie Vareniki" - "Lazy" Vanilla Ricotta Dumplings with Whole Wheat Flour

“Lazy” dumplings (or “le-nee-vye va-re-nee-kee” in Russian) are gnocchi-shaped dumplings made by mixing ricotta cheese or farmer cheese with egg and white/wheat flour into quick dough. It is an easier version for people who don't have time to make stuffed dumplings. These are great for breakfast and my mom used to make them for me many times. They can be served in many ways, for example - with sweet sauce, berries and cream. If you like to have a savory version, add shredded cheese, fresh green peas and serve them with melted butter or even tomato sauce. I used whole wheat flour for my recipe, but you are welcome to use all-purpose flour, that way your dumplings will come out whiter and lighter.

Russian Monday: Sour Cherry Vareniky

This recipe comes to me from childhood. My family lived in St. Petersburg which used to be called “Leningrad” at the time and every summer I used to visit my grandma’s in the village far out of town. She had log house with nice garden and lots of fruit trees. One among them was a cherry tree bearing a lot of small sour cherries. What’s interesting about my grandma’s house is that kitchen was completely separate in the small log cabin in the middle of the fruit garden. I vividly remember my grandma making berry and apricot jams, pressing apple juice and molding her cherry “vareniky” (pronounced as “va-re-ne-key”, i.e. dumplings). She has never been taking cherrystones out so dumplings were usually large and plump. I remember myself sitting on the kitchen windowsill and watching my grandma’s fast hands working the dough. I loved to spit those cherrystones out and never had a chance for it when my mom used to make vareniky with cottage cheese because cherries were not always easy to get in the city.