The best recipes are not created in a test kitchen for the latest issue of a magazine and you cannot find them in time-lapse videos on Facebook. The best recipes come from families. They are the tried-and-true recipes for your favorite dishes, the dishes you ask to have for dinner on your birthday every year. You cannot find them in a magazine or on the internet and that is just the problem. No matter how hard we try to pass recipes down and keep tradition alive, the reality is that they can be lost in an instant.
Some family recipes never are written down. This is probably due to the lack of measurements. When asked how much paprika to put in the Chicken Paprikash, my Great-Grandmother would say, “As much as it takes.” It took me some time but I finally figured out how much it takes, got it written down and tucked it away in my recipe box that could easily be tossed in the trash by a generation who does not have time to cook or is obsessed with their Keto diets. Fortunately, Landesverband Frauengruppe has preserved more than 500 recipes from families throughout the US and Canada in their new cookbook.
The Landesverband Frauengruppe Cookbook contains a variety of recipes from Easter Bread to Gypsy Steaks, but the cold January weather had me searching for a soup recipe. I decided to make Charlotte Bomba’s Farina Dumplings (recipe submitted by Julie Baker – Chicago Donauschwaben). The recipe has simple ingredients, exact measurements and easy-to-follow instructions. The warm broth and tender dumplings paired perfectly with my low-carb bratwurst cabbage wrap with beer-braised onions. I cooked the bratwurst according to Marlene Fricker’s instructions found on page 66 of the book.
Both the soup and bratwurst cooking method required little time at the stove. I was able to set the timer and go get some work done. The book is full of flavorful yet simple recipes for real food that you can make no matter how busy you are or what diet you are on.
By Jenn Lineman Blank
Farina Dumplings (Griessklösschen)
1 cup milk Pinch of nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter ¾ cup Cream of Wheat
Pinch of salt 2 eggs
Bring first four ingredients to a boil and then remove from heat. Pour the Cream of Wheat into the hot milk and stir with a wooden spoon until it all comes together into one big ball. Let cool a bit and then stir in one egg until totally incorporated. Then stir in the second egg until totally incorporated. Using 2 teaspoons, form oval shaped dumplings, and drop them into your hot soup broth (I used 6 cups). Cook them in the broth for 10 minutes and then turn off the heat and put a cover on your pot and let them rest in the pot for 15-30 minutes before serving.
