I remember often visiting Grandma Maidenberg at her home in Marion, Indiana. On the steps down to the scary dark basement, she would keep jars of dill pickles, more precious than gold to her descendants. In her kitchen she would often prepare another favorite: varenikes. These were meat-filled dumplings that are called pierogi in Poland. Grandma would bring them to many family dinners. When she recorded a message to me when I was in India, she promised varenikes as a special treat. You can listen to it here. I have come across references to varenikes in books about life in Bessarabia, the region in historic Rumania where many of our family lived. The word “varenike” is Ukrainian, and means “boiled.”