Blini

3 c. whole milk
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. salt
2 T. sugar
1/2 t. baking soda
1 T. milk
3 T. butter, melted
3 t. baking powder

- In a large bowl, pour milk. Add 1/2 c. of flour at a time, incorporating slowing and whisking thoroughly after each addition. If there is one thing I can stress about these, is that after each addition, a vigorous whisking is required to keep it smooth and velvety.
-Add salt, and then one egg at a time.
-Mix in sugar and the 3 T. of butter, followed by the baking soda + 1 T. milk. Beat, and add baking powder.
-Let rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a heavy-base, reliable frying pan to about medium-high heat. Melt 1 T. of butter, refreshing every 3 or 4 blini. To cook, pour 1/4 c. of batter into the pan and tip so that it spreads over the bottom of the pan. Let rest until the edges begin to lightly brown and curl away from the sides. Flip. Cooked side should be honey/amber coloured and almost dry to the touch.
- While other blinis cook, finished blini can rest on a plate in a slightly warm oven (200f) until ready to be filled with various sweet and savoury fillings, and rolled.

Pictured blini are filled with lingonberry jam and whipped cream.

Strawberry Cheesecake

filling
500 g. cream cheese
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 t. vanilla essence
2 eggs
15 - 20 ripe strawberries, quartered.

crust
1 c. crushed biscuits, of any sort.
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. butter

- For the crust, add sugar to biscuit crumbs and mix until uniform. Add butter and rub until the constancy is pressable into a pie pan. (or as I have done, press into the bases of a"jumbo" muffin tin)
- Refrigerate
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, blend cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Fold in the strawberries just enough until incorporated into the batter, then pour into pie crust / tartlettes.
- Bake at 350f for 35 -40 minutes, (25 -30 for individual cheesecakes) or until the centre of the pie doesn't wiggle when you shake it. Chill for 3 or more hours, overnight is ideal, and decorate with leftover strawberries.

Perogy Casserole

12 Lasange noodles
2 c. cottage cheese
1 egg
1 bunch of fresh chives
1 t. onion salt
1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese, grated
2 1/2 c. mashed potatoes
1 onion
1/2 c. butter
bacon

- Cook noodles according to package. lay across the bottom of a casserole dish of your choice.
- Mix cottage cheese, egg and and 3/4 of the chives, snipped into small pieces together. Stir well, mix in 1/2 t. of onion salt and spread as bottom layer. Lay over another layer of noodles.
- Meanwhile mix mashed potatoes with cheddar until they make a uniform, butter-yellow paste. Add the rest of the onion salt. Spread as next layer and cover with noodles.
- Fry onions in butter (yes, it will be very liquidy!) untill onions are transparent, and pour over casserole.

Bake at 350f for 40 minutes.

Serve with sour cream and the remaining chives.

This is the vegetarian version - if you perfer it with bacon, as I know my taste-tester and resident boyfriend, Ian would, simply fry some up and add with the mashed potato layer.

Whats all this, then?

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