Seven thousand vareneki, or as we call them, pierogies, will fill the hungry mouths of those looking to get a taste of Russia in upcoming weeks.
As part of an annual fundraiser to generate money to pay for the mortgage, the Nativity of the Mother of God Russian Orthodox Church will be holding its Taste of Russia event on Saturday, Nov. 22, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Parish member Nadja Jernakoff said this will be the church’s third event at which the sisterhood sells homemade Russian food and pieces of art at the church hall.
So the mortgage is rather high, and we need to pay it every single month, Jernakoff said. `The money goes toward that, and it is basically run by the sisterhood and they’ve been working very hard toward making this a success.`
While the fundraiser is meant to bring in money to the church, Jernakoff said families who come and experience the event have the option not only of purchasing the food, but of sitting and enjoying it with one another as well.
`We used to have craft fairs, but there’s so many of those. We thought after a while that maybe we need to think of something else,` said Jernakoff.
So, parish members got together and looked at fundraising programs offered by other local churches and decided on Taste of Russia, a program that would allow them to reach out to members of the community in one of the most effective ways possible ` through their bellies.
Sisters of the parish began cooking for the nearly five-hour event as early as September, according to Margo Beighey, treasurer of the church and one of the primary cooks of the event. The main entrees that will be served include vareneki, kotlety, which is similar to the American hamburger with a mushroom gravy, and stuffed cabbage. Also there will be borscht, served hot at the event, or sold by the quart to take home.
Beighey said one of the recipes that comes mostly from her own kitchen is the kotlety. She said that although it is similar to a hamburger, it has some delicious differences.
`It’s a much finer texture, like if you put onions in, rather than chopping them you grate them so that you have the juice of them in the meat,` she said.
Beighey credits parish member Nina Fedorov with the vareneki recipe.
Beighey said she has some concerns that the current state of the economy will prevent some families from coming out and spending money at Taste of Russia. The eat-in price for dinner is $5 and consists of one entrEe, a potato and bread. Any additional meats will be an extra $3. All food will be available frozen for purchase as well.
But if this year’s turnout is anything like last year’s of 200 people, Jernakoff said, then the church will not have a problem.
`I’m usually in the kitchen, but last year, I was coming out of the kitchen, and I was blown away. I had never seen so many people in a hall,` said Beighey.
`We started serving at 11 [a.m.], at 12:20 [p.m.] we had no food.`
While Beighey will most likely not spend much time outside of the kitchen during Taste of Russia, Jernakoff said there will be some entertainment for those who are enjoying their food.
`The young people will be singing. They’ll do that during the time that people are sitting and eating,` she said. Jernakoff said the songs they will be singing will be a mix of both folk songs and religious songs.
While the food is being served, patrons will also be able to get a tour of the church, which is located at 617 Sand Creek Road.
For information about the event, call 785-6780 or 869-3932, or visit the Web site at www.albanyrocor.org.“