when I was a little kid, halupki were a staple in the fellin family’s diet. pretty frequently, the little beauties would be boiling away in a pot on the stove, and the ketchup would be set out on the table, and then it would be time to stuff our faces with stuffed cabbage. it wasn’t until high school that I realized many people had no clue what halupki was. and in college, I got a few strange looks when I would bring up the topic. but when I think of halupki, I always think of family, especially my mom. even though I love to eat them, I have never actually made halupki myself. enter my mother, who asked in a phone call whether I’d like her to make a batch when she visited in late january. she didn’t even have to ask the question!

I wasn’t the only one excited when patsy got working in the kitchen. dave has always been a big fan of all of my mom’s cooking. and halupki is no exception!

my mom was working so furiously, it was all I could do to scratch down the ingredients and directions as she worked and talked. I grabbed the closest piece of paper and tried to keep up!

we ended up with something like 3 dozen halupki.

and when she was all done, and the halupki was either eaten or put in containers in the freezer, nana got on her cozy pajamas and snuggled up to her little friend, phoebe!