I am not a morning person. Heck, I'm not an anytime-before-noon person. So waking up this morning at 5 a.m. was not fun. But you know what made it better? I made сырники for breakfast. There is no real American name for them, so in English I would just write syrniki. These are a Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Polish staple. Basically they are little fried pancakes made of farmer's cheese. In fact, the root of our word is the Russian word for cheese-сыр. And like any good Russian dish, you can eat it with sour cream on top. Personally, I just sprinkle some sugar on the сырник and I'm good to go. Here's my simple recipe(there are variations)

• Some farmer's cheese ¹
• 1 or 2 eggs
• Some flour
• Sugar to taste
• Dash of salt
• A pinch of baking soda with a tiny bit of white vinegar, so it foams. (I swear it adds a lightness)

Mix all the ingredients to a cookie dough-like consistency. Roll about a tablespoon of the mixture in some flour and form thin patties. Fry in vegetable oil until golden.

It's the simplicity and low cost of this dish make it so popular.

Моя мама научила меня правильно готовить сырники.
My mom taught me the right way to make syrniki.

Я пожарила сырники, и их хватило на всех.
I fried up syrniki, and there were enough for everyone.

Ой! Этот сырник с изюмом!
Oh! This is a syrnik with raisins!

Что мне делать с оставшимися сырниками?
What should I do with the leftover syrniki?

¹ Don comments: Russian actually make сырники from творог, a milk product that resembles a soft cheese. Farmer's cheese is the closest equivalent in American grocery stores (if they have it at all). Творог is not considered a type of сыр, which is why the first time I saw someone make them in Russia, she said: «Мы их называем сырниками, хотя в них сыра нет» “We call them syrniki, although there isn't any syr in them.”