Church Lady Pierogies

It is almost that time again.  It’s the high point of winter.  It’s better than Valentine’s Day, almost as good as Christmas, and it motivates even the faint of heart to brave the snow-covered roads.   And you don’t have to be Catholic to enjoy it.

 

It’s Pierogi Season.

 

Every year at lent, the Catholic churches in Western Pennsylvania offer Friday night fish fries.  Locals study their church bulletin to see which Church offers the best fare, and this is based almost wholly on one solitary item.  French fries are fine, mac-n-cheese is even better, but no fish fry worth its salt would be complete without good, old fashioned Church Lady Pierogies.  

 

Making them is a dying art, and it’s a tradition worth saving.  Those women, now in their seventies and eighties, have served their communities long and faithfully.  But in another ten years – perhaps if we’re lucky, twenty –  our luck will run out.  Unless we press these women for their secrets, we may soon be stuck with Mrs. T’s. 

 

Don’t get me wrong.  Mrs. T’s makes a tasty product.  But there’s that certain something, whether it’s the freshly made pasta, the savory potatoes or those lovely buttery onions, that the Church Ladies have mastered and the factory cannot.

 

I implore you if you’re reading this to take swift action.  Seek out one of these Master chefs and get yourself trained in the fine art of Pierogi-making.  Bring your daughters and sons with you.  Hell, get your whole town in on the project.  But don’t let the Church Lady Pierogies disappear forever!