Peter's Birthday.

Sunny today with a bit of a bite in the breeze. Plenty of people out on the water including someone in a dinghy going around the rocks.

It's Peter's birthday today and he was very happy with the wetsuit. He'll have to wait a bit before he tries it on but he doesn't foresee any problems. 

Although Peter would rather not celebrate birthdays, or Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day or any other traditional special day I carry on regardless. That's why I spent the afternoon making a batch of koldunai, a traditional Lithuanian food that Peter really likes. It takes him back to his childhood. Basically they're a type of savoury ravioli/dumpling usually filled with meat, onions and mushrooms but there are many variations and I'm sure I've seen comments on a Lith FB group talking about adding buttermik/sour cream/ eggs to the basic flour and water dough mix. There are some heated debates about this and if the meat should be cooked or raw before boiling the koldunai (Lithuanaina specialise in heated debates.) but I think it's all down to however your mother, or in my case Peter's mum, made them. Ours are made with fried off mince with finely chopped onions and then mushrooms added at the last moment. They are simple to make but do take time which is why I don't often make them. The dough was a bit Goldilocks, the first batch was a bit stiff and I don't think I worked it enough, the next was a bit soft and then I got it right. When Peter asked me how much flour I used I had to inform him that it was that special measurement - some. He can't cook that way but it works for me, usually. We had the ones in the round container served with butter and peas which is the way Peter remembers. The rest have been frozen for later.

The not too messy aftermath. It was wonderful being able to stare out at the sea as I worked.

Both boys phoned to chat to Peter this evening which was lovely as we still haven't seen them.