Blintzes, A Recipe

We are a sleepy house these days, as you can readily imagine:

Anthony and I take starlight shifts with the bub, ensuring a decent night's sleep for both of us - but still -

it's never enough sleep

so we catch up a bit during the day.

Living this way, time takes on a dreamlike state

and we languish in the peace of our new dynamic

and the love of our parents (both sets!)

who have taken such good care of us this last week.

I don't write much here about my father or how much I adore him
and right now it seems like a shame.
As the years pass his magnificence becomes precious to the point of ache;
he is a gentleman and a scholar, an environmentalist and an engineer.

When he tips his chin up and says something tender to me
(perhaps as we say goodbye at the airport)
I well up like a spring
both in my heart and spilling over my eyelids.

My father's influence on my soul is huge.

He is the kind of person who embodies the word 'capable'
and pours himself wholeheartedly into his interests -
volunteering
jazz music
biking
tending to an old house in need

 Poppy does not cook or bake

very often, 

but every once in a while he makes magnificent blintzes.

This particular recipe comes from his Aunt Ethel

who gifted my parents with the book

"How to Cook Like a Jewish Mother"

when they were first married.

My father's Jewish heritage is not something I have ever known very much about;

his father emigrated to Ellis Island as World War I was picking up steam

and he never spoke of his faith or his struggles

to generations next:

a lost history.

When I was growing up Unitarian Universalist
(my mother led our little nuclear family into that faith base and it was so good to us!),

the church would host fundraising meals and my father's contribution was

the blintz brunch,

now the stuff of legend!!

I can remember the handful of times that I was sent back to college

or New York City or L.A with a cold pack of blintzes

bound for my freezer to be rationed

and eaten when my heart was heavy

or in need of comfort;

I have bragged to friends about the awesomeness of these

delicacies and the handful of them who have tasted the blintzes 

can attest:

these are some powerful 

wonderful

delicious

soul-nourishing

edibles.

When my parents arrived I asked my father if he would make 

blintzes with me to put up and freeze

(and share with my in-loves and the Schmill, of course)

and he most certainly obliged, giving over

some four hours of yesterday's afternoon 

to the creation of 36 perfect little rolls.

This is love in a tender package,

an embrace of sorts for me.

Because you all have been so amazing

and supportive and out-of-this-world kind

I wanted to pass this recipe on in the hopes that you will make them

for someone you love

starting with yourself, of course!

Make note of my Poppy's chicken scratches (4X the batter, 3X the filling, etc) -

they are the result of years of testing!

Here are a few more tips:

substitute melted butter for melted shortening

.

2% milk is the milk of choice for my Poppy

.

Farmer's Cheese can be found at most Whole Foods

or gourmet specialty stores

.

Blintzes freeze and thaw very well

Enjoy

and 

eat well!

With Love,

Allisunny