Making Russian Dumplings — Pel Meni

Last night I did something I've been meaning to do for...over 3 years now...I learned how to make Pel Meni.

Russian Dumplings are called Pel Meni. They're the consistency of a pot sticker, and are often times stuffed with meat or potato.

Pel' Meni is also the name of a Russian dumpling restaurant in Bellingham located on N. State Street. I loved this place, and I frequented it quite a bit back in college.

I have long craved these dumplings, but alas, I'm no longer anywhere near Bellingham. So it was time to learn how to make them. I was lucky enough to find their ingredients for toppings awhile back, so it was just a matter of some internet research to figure out how to make the dumpling itself.

My dumplings were not the exact consistency of the Bellingham ones...but I'm sure after practice I'll get it.

First I made my mashed potatoes for the stuffing. In the future, I may make the stuffing more interesting with onions and such, but for now I was mainly interested in making these exactly the way I had them in Bellingham.

The dough was just flour, eggs, and water. Simply put...I need more practice with the dough. But it worked.

Add a little potato (not too much). Pinch the dough around the filling to make a half moon shape, and then pinch the two ends together to make them more circular.

Drop them in boiling water. They quickly rise to the top, and then you cook them 3 minutes. Just do a few at a time so they don't stick together.

And the best part—toppings! White vinegar, curry powder, hot sauce, cilantro, and sour cream. It tasted so good! Just as I remember them in Bellingham.

I made a bunch of extra dumplings that I put in the freezer (careful they weren't touching each other) and will be ready for a quick dinner in the future.

If you live in the States, near a Trader Joe's, you can buy frozen potato dumplings and make this meal in about 5 minutes.

If you're curious about the recipe, let me know and I'll send it to you.

Pride Weekend 2011

There are two massive parties that happen in this city every year. One, is Queens Day, that happens April 30th. I unfortunately missed Queens Day this year, but I look forward to partaking in next year's festivities. The other massive party is Pride. Last Saturday the city was decked out in pink everything (down to garbage bags) and rainbow colored balloons, flags, and streamers appearing over doors, in trees, and on people...

It was quite the sight.

There were events happening all over the city from concerts, to films, to exhibits. The large central event was of course the parade that took place on Saturday afternoon. The Princengracht canal was overflowing with people on the streets, hanging out of windows, and partying on boats. The parade consisted of tons of boats carrying dancing people adorning matching costumes and spraying confetti everywhere. It was fun to see a lot of corporate floats. One of my favorites was the postal service sporting a giant blown-up muscular guy. Come to think of it...I wonder how they got that guy under the low canal bridges...

As the parade drew to an end, the boats that were lining the canal followed the parade out of Princengracht onto the Amstel where they partied well into the evening.

The events for myself that day:

Woke up early and went to Ikea. I know. Not too exciting. But I got a bed, and that makes me very happy.

Around 1:30 I headed over to Katja and Jas's (a couple of work folks) place for brunch. The brunch theme was Village People. I was a little late on that note, so I didn't have a costume, but the rest of my friends were looking smashing. After a couple hours of nibbling vittles and sipping mimosas we ventured out the check out the scene.

Our band of policemen, cowboys, and Indians wandered/danced up Princengracht taking in the scene. Found ourselves in a bar once a very short but violent downpour started. And ended the evening in another bar. It 'twas a gay 'ol time.

Photo credit Jas:

A video clip of the scene:

I should not have trusted Ward to do my face paint. I mean look at the guy—he's wearing two pairs of shades...if that doesn't say 'crazy' I don't know what does.

The aftermath:

A family outing:

Daisy's lovely drink:

The canal boats following the parade out:

The garbage on the streets when everyone cleared out was quite impressive. Also impressive was how the cleaners materialized immediately after the crowds were gone.

SUNDAY:

Sunday was a fairly lovely day out. I started the day with a movie in bed (Delicatessen) and then did some grocery shopping. Rachel came over and made some snacks with me and we shared a small feast out on the terrace, followed by some lounging and watching another movie.

(Afternoon feast: Pitas with spinach and tzatziki / lox, mango, avocado salad / basil, mozzarella, tomato salad / artichoke hearts )

Ikea delivered my bed, and after a couple hours of assembling, I can now proudly proclaim I'm no longer sleeping on the ground :)

Earlier in the day I discovered refried beans at the store at the end of my block, (a very exciting event for yours truly), so we feasted on some grandly delicious burritos for dinner; joined by Cari, and her adorable new kitten, Uncle Peit.

Solid weekend.

New Apartment

Well, it's official, I have a new place!

I took off Friday for the move. Waking up early in the morning I took my first load over to the new place. You'll see the picture below. Pack in front, pack in back, and another bag on the back rack. It looks like a lot, but it wasn't too bad; mostly clothes. The second, and final trip was the real challenge—food. Apparently 75 pounds worth. Yes I have a scale, yes I measured it, and yes, I'm impressed that I did not wreck. AND wow! That's a lot of food! Apparently my old bachelor diet of eating out all the time has gone to the wayside and I now make my own food. And apparently everything I buy comes in very heavy glass. Thank goodness for well-constructed bags.

By 2:30 the rest of my stuff arrived that got shipped over from the states. Unfortunately I didn't get to see them use the hook to haul my stuff up...but instead I got a very modern lift. It's a platform that elevated my goods from the street, 4 stories up, into my window. Pretty nifty. I kept thinking my stuff would fall off the lift, but it managed to stay on. Here's a video:

In a half hour everything was unloaded, and the moving men were on their dandy way. And so the unpacking began! I discovered a pair of Mom's homemade beeswax candles in one of the first boxes. These particular ones were made from a very old mold that she recently (-ish) got from Nana. I don't know if any smell has filled me with so much joy as these did. The other pairs in my hands (wrapped up) are ones we dipped this past Christmas. Nothing like homemade beeswax candles to feel at home.

Kitchen during the unpack:

Kitchen after:

Kitchen after:

Living room before:

Living room after:

Living room after:

Bedroom—I still need to get a bed, so the bedroom is still in disarray. I had one delivered yesterday, but it couldn't fit up the stairs (or in my window) so I had to return it. I'll hopefully be getting a replacement soon. Something that comes in pieces that I can assemble. Until I get that, the bedroom won't quite be complete. For now I'm happy sleeping on the foam mattress on the floor though. Here's a little peek of a nook in the room that has the main window that they hauled all the boxes in through on Friday:

Here is a video of the place. Since it was too large of a file, I had to cut it into pieces.

So, I apologize for any weird slices.

The Place — Video 1 of 3:

The Place — Video 2 of 3:

The Place — Video 3 of 3

Bedroom Is Complete (Updated Aug 13th):

Friday night. The first supper. What shall it be? Spaghetti of course! First time I've had a gas stove since living with mom and dad. I'm pretty happy about it.

Bon Appetit:

After having clouds much of Sunday, the sun decided to peek out it's head right around dinner time. So it was the perfect opportunity to test the terrace. And the terrace worked most swimmingly.

Parting shot—Video of terrace sunset:

It's been a long weekend of unpacking, but I'm happy so say it's nearly over and I have a place I can call home :)