sorghum syrup: history, health benefits, & use

Sorghum syrup from Muddy Pond Sorghum Mill

The History, Health Benefits, & Uses of Sorghum Syrup

Have you ever heard of sorghum syrup, also known as sweet sorghum or sorghum molasses*? I learned about it recently through my Uncle Ronnie, who was telling me his fond memories of eating it drizzled over biscuits as a child in North Carolina. I happened to mention I'd never eaten it, so he sent me a batch! Gotta love uncles.

{*Note: Although some people call it sorghum molasses, sorghum syrup is not actually molasses, which is a byproduct of the sugar refining process and is made of sugar cane, not sorghum cane}.

Aunt El's cinnamon rolls

Aunt El as a WAVE, Miami, FL, 1941

Author's note: I originally published this post on February 8, 2012. In honor of yesterday being Food Day--which encourages us to get kids cooking--I am reposting my Aunt El's recipe for cinnamon rolls (and dinner rolls) today. It is my children's favorite dish to help me make. I love it because I get to play with them and tell stories about Aunt El, allowing me to--as Kim John Payne says in Simplicity Parenting--"emphasize the importance of now while introducing the infinite."

My Great Aunt Eleanor is one of my favorite people. I happen to believe she was one of the best people ever to have graced the Earth, but I suppose I'm a bit biased. My family ascribed to whatever knowledge El shared with us as the absolute, 100%, golden truth. Perhaps it is because she was the big sister, or because she raised six children, or because of her big personality. Perhaps it was a little of all of those, and it didn't hurt that she always gave darn good advice.

a family dinner by any other name

Selfie in Sweden, pre-kids

After graduating college, Nate and I embarked on a journey as a newly minted family, leaving behind our home state for adventures in the uncharted beyond. Moving away from our families of origin was exciting! Graduate school and moves to the Midwest, the US capital, and across the Atlantic Ocean opened our eyes to different and interesting ways of thinking and living.

Along the way, we became parents. Welcome to the best learning experience of all! While we were thrilled about our growing family, we also encountered our share of challenges and foibles. None of our friends had kids yet, so we navigated the choppy new waters solo while they smiled and did their best to understand the dark circles and panicked voices. Without family in town to assist us, we floundered quite a bit on just what to do with our new bundle of joy. We relied on our nanny to tell us what and when to feed Vivi. I chuckle to remember how we browsed stacks of parenting volumes promising new and different ways to achieve better results, as though she were a new iGadget instead of a person.

Although advice was still only a phone call away, the temptation of “the unknown better” beckoned louder. Eschewing family secrets for propaganda, we replaced the village with pop science. Whereas pride in continuing our families’ traditions was once the goal long ago, shiny-new-object syndrome stepped in and took over.

Unfortunately, our manic pursuit of novelty did not improve our lives. The promise that the latest parenting trend would solve our problems didn’t deliver. We were paralyzed by choice and growing dizzy from the pendulum of polarized philosophies. Put simply, we were not happy parents.

******************

reboot family dinner {+ a giveaway of two great books}

{Note: Congratulations to Emily and Jessica, the winners of the giveaway books. I hope you enjoy them, ladies!}

I enjoy our summer lazy routine where we let the girls watch more TV and eat more ice cream, but there's also a quiet bliss to our back-to-school fall routine. We begin spending more hours indoors, whether in school or in our living room, and our busier schedule makes those rarer family trips outdoors to pick apples or play t-ball all the sweeter.

With school fully ramped back up, I am getting back into the swing of family dinner. I admit to struggling a bit at times, continuing to serve the girls summer staples of deviled eggs or tuna salad before Nate and I have our own dinner hours later. And pretty please don't ask me whether they've been eating lots of snacks.

We've had our successes too. On Sunday, for example, we went out to pick apples and filled our bellies to the brim with fruit, so we weren't as interested in a full dinner that night. Instead, the girls played happily in the next room while we chopped and simmered apples close by in the kitchen. They loved to sample a bit of still-cooking, piping hot applesauce, and Daddy whipped them up a quick grilled cheese sandwich and mug of tomato soup while we were still mixing and canning apple creations.

Charlie's favorite part was the bluegrass band playing at the farmstand. Girl after her mama's heart.

We've all heard in recent months about the importance of sitting down to dinner as a family. Lately I've been pondering the definition of "family dinner" and wondering if there's more room to bend the rules a bit. I'm happy to be working with The Family Dinner Project (FDP) to experiment with my neighborhood pals and see if we can make family dinners better together. They have some fantastic ways to fit in food, fun, and conversation with your children into your day.

I'm betting you can guess Vivi's favorite part of the day...

On apple-picking day, we didn't all sit together at one time to share a big spread of food; however, we did connect as a family in picking and putting away a bounty of fall's delicious harvest together. Later on in the evening at bedtime, we played a game FDP calls Rose & Thorn, asking them what their favorite and least favorite parts of the day were and sharing our own.

If you are interested in making family dinner better in your household, I encourage you to check out the FDP website. They have so many wonderful (and free!) resources. I'm also happy to be offering a giveaway today of two books that have helped us keep the kids interested in trying and eating new and different foods, which is one of the important pieces in the family dinner puzzle. Thanks to their generous publishers for making it possible to share these books!

Here are the books you can sign up for a chance to get for free (sign-up is below, and it will be open until Sunday September 22nd, 11:59pm ET):

1. French Kids Eat Everything. I wrote about this book in April, and the post was syndicated on BlogHer. A publicity manager of the publisher, HarperCollins, found what I wrote and offered to share the book with two readers of this blog. I absolutely loved this book; it changed the way we eat dinner forever, and it has made the experience so much more pleasant. See more of what I wrote here.

2. End of the Rainbow Fruit Salad. Here's what I wrote about it in July. The publisher offered to give y'all one of these books as well, so sign up below if you're interested! My kids love this one and still to this day call it the pickle book because of the illustrated pickle who helps make the salad.

WIN THE BOOKS!

Use Rafflecopter below for your chance to win! It's that easy. Just submit a comment or drop me a line by email or Facebook if you're having trouble figuring it out. Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

soak it up

A break from all the fun with the film Robots. It's a cute one!

Most days I love staying home with my kids, but I admit the little stinkers bring with them a fair amount of absurdity. Sometimes I find that my cup overfloweth with nonsense. But the great thing about having a grandpa visit is that grandpas are nonsense sponges. They ooze their own fun and silliness while simultaneously absorbing all the excess foolishness around them. Hence, Nate and I managed to squeeze in an actual relaxed adult conversation on a walk down to the hardware store, while the tomfoolery ship trailed behind us with Cap'n Grandpa at the helm.

Sorting, playing with, and keeping track of Legos is another of a grandfather's many talents

Along our route, I noted that there were many edible plants, and I thought of Elle. I have been wanting to make salad from the greens that grow in public spaces, but what about dog pee? It seems to me that with all the dogs in our neighborhood, any leafy edible not growing in my fenced-in back yard would be anointed with animal urine. Perhaps it is a given that one should eat their own backyard weeds, but we seem to be lacking in them, possessing minimal dandelions, no violets or chickweed, nor any other weed that I can find. I'll check back in a week and see how it's going back there with the weeds.

In other backyard growth news, we have some seedlings at work now, and Vivi's fairy garden is looking splendid, as our our lilacs. They really are the best of flowers, so fragrant and hopeful.

Our entire fence line looks like this. Thank you previous owners!

Tomorrow is the raising of the big playhouse, and I have pinned all my hopes of relaxing out of doors on its ability to entertain/babysit the girls, so I'll let you know how that works out for us.

Strawberries, lettuce, future fennel, and mint. We will also do tomatoes, carrots, and maybe potatoes.

So, tell me, how does your garden grow?

xoxo
~J

on the range {week 18}: updated

{On the Range} is my weekly series where I discuss what we're doing, reading, and eating. It's a little bit 52 project and other photo projects, and a little bit {Did you Read?} and {In the Ranger Kitchen}.

On the Range

April 30 - May 6, 2013

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2013."

I can't claim credit for my post title today. My aunt has a framed photo of herself and her sister as little girls, and she wrote a variation of this sentence below it. It always made me chuckle as a kid, even the thousand and fortieth time I read it, so I've been dying to steal it ever since.

Update: So, apparently it's not a good idea to use certain words in your post title, for they attract p*rn sites. Thus, I removed a sentence in my title that said "A coupla [warm baby birds] standing around." Except I didn't way "warm baby birds" but other words that mean the same thing as those words. You got me? Sheesh, the stuff you learn blogging. It could fill a house. Or at the very least a single-wide trailer.


Milestones

• Vivi came inside after playing to tell me with a serious look on her face..."Mommy, I've realized something. Bubbles are not fantastic, they are terrible and not fun. AND a mess." Then she showed me her hands, which she then proceeded to wash carefully after throwing away the bubble stuff. Is she her father's child or what? Ha! The whole scene makes me giggle every time I think about it again.
• Charlotte is a common name up here, as is the nickname "Charlie" for boys, so one way I like to distinguish my Charlie is to give her lots of other nicknames. Chuck is my personal favorite (did you ever see that short-lived program, Pushing Daisies?). Lotti is not really that cute in my opinion, but it's fun when you add something to it, like Lotti McSniffles when she's sick. I change it up for added interest, like Chuckles McFussyBritches when she's tantruming. Vivi's been playing around with it too, but the other day she said something like "Charlie McFuckles," totally by accident of course, and I still haven't recovered from all the laughing. 
• My little brother turns 20 today. If that doesn't make you feel old, I dunno what will. Happy birthday bro!

Media

• You can't spit without running into a fairy garden these days. They are the terrariums of 2013. But who cares? They are awesome! Whatever gets my kid in the dirt is ok by me. One of my favorite how-tos is this one by Beth of Remarkably Domestic. I think the pipe is too much for me, but I'm all for grouting some rocks onto an old pot I have lying around. Cute, huh?
• Do you love IKEA as much as me? If so, you will love this Apt Therapy article compiling ideas for hacking their furniture to create cute stuff for your kids. I wish I were that crafty.
• I'm not sure if this LA Times story would have always made me so steaming mad or if it's partly because I just got done re-reading Lee's novel. I mean, really, the nerve of people! Will we never live down the stories of old people being swindled by snaky men? Let's hope she gets herself an Atticus-worthy attorney.
• Yet another reason to love Jenny Lawson, cuz she ain't gonna let no door tell her what to do.
• I am so glad I know better than to "birthday jack" Facebook posts about my kid turning 5. So creepy. If this ever changes, friends, you know what to do. 

Meals

• Beef vegetable soup
• I tried a new thing at Trader Joe's, which doesn't happen often. They are called aloo chaat kati, found in the frozen meal section, and they look like Indian hot pockets--except they are way more delicious. Like the samosas at TJ's, it's a vegetarian meal that is greasy enough that it satisfies me the way eating meat does--no easy feat in my mind.
• In the interest of full meal disclosure, I had not one but two bowls of Trader Joe's mango sorbet last night, with coconut sprinkled on top. So yummy.

Vivi's laissez-faire birthday party

The little dears have finally moved away from the age when a group photo involves children standing higgledy piggledy and wizz wuzz all over the place to the age when they put their arms around each other and smile. Or pout, as it may be, but look at the camera all the same.

If you know me only through the blog and not in person, it is possible I have not communicated to you the extent to which my elder child ADORES having a birthday. This little human schemes and hatches her party plans year-round. Some days she wants a Batman rainbow unicorn cake, and some days she wants to go to a water park (dear God why), but the universal components are friends and food. I like that she understands the important aspects of party-planning and doesn't get bogged down in details, which allows me lots of wiggle room.

For me, it is important that party-planning and execution be simple and relaxed. A core element of my personality is that I can't be bothered to fuss when entertaining guests. Adding a secondary layer to my character onion, I think all the focus on children's birthdays has become bananas, and I refuse to take part. The expense, the cheap plastic crap, the stress. What are we teaching our children? I won't go into details since it's a well-covered topic, but I will share my favorites of others who have covered it, e.g. UMN Birthdays without Pressure, a Boston Mamas article, and a Minimalist Parenting article.

Thus, about three weeks before Vivi's fifth birthday, I started running the potential itinerary by her, and darned if she didn't accept all my ideas graciously and even enthusiastically, bless her. I enjoyed sharing her party last year (see my original post and/or when it was featured on Apartment Therapy), so I thought I'd share the party details again this year.


Genevieve's laissez-faire fifth birthday party

The Planning

Going off our rule from years past, she was allowed to invite 5 friends, one per year of age (plus siblings. Poor Charlie had to endure a confusing moment when Vivi said "You don't count at my birthday, Charlie." Her pouty bottom lip will slay you). She has two best friends at school, so I cleared some possible dates with the moms ahead of time, figuring if they couldn't be there, it wouldn't be worth having a party at all. Really, this kid is a fiercely loyal friend.

The Activities

I knew from last year that 2 hours was a good amount of party time and that we only needed one or two scheduled activities. A few months ago, her grandparents gave her and C tie-dyed t-shirts from their island vacation, and she was enamored with the dye process as I explained it from my summer camp days, so I knew we had settled on a good activity with tie-dying shirts.

Tie-dying might be good for older kids, but for five-year-olds, it was mostly me & moms doing all the work. Meh.

Because we normally plan her party close to Cinco de Mayo (giving me a good excuse to serve my favorite snacks, salsa and guacamole), I mentioned to a friend we might get a piñata, and she told me about this great kind with ribbons the kids pull instead of beating it to death a la Steve Martin. Sold!

An activity we didn't do that I still love the idea of is to get an old big white sheet for a picnic, and then when everyone's done eating, give the kids fabric pens and let them draw on the sheet. What fun that would be!

The Food

On the morning of her party, I did a quick shopping trip to our local farm and Trader Joe's to get everything except the avocados and kiwis, which I purchased a few days ahead to give them time to ripen. The kiwis are part of another birthday tradition I started with her last year, which is to buy her exotic fruit. She gets to watch it ripen all week, which just adds another layer to birthday excitement.

I got veggies and strawberries at the farm (a rare time for us to buy out of season). At TJ's, I bought all of the other party stuff: that tray of four kinds of hummus, a bunch of various chips and salsas, and brownie bites and lemon squares. For refreshments, Nate got beer and hard cider (an elderflower type from Angry Orchard, so good), and I got a bunch of those fancy sparkling juices from TJ's. The kids had a big serve-yourself juice container of watered down pink lemonade.

As for the dessert, we have noticed she doesn't love birthday cake but obsessively craves ice cream, so I brought up the idea of an ice cream sundae bar. YES YES YES! I knew at that point we were all set. The kiwis and strawberries went into a bowl, and the brownie bites and lemon squares in another bowl, to serve alongside the ice cream sundaes. Thanks to my mom, who bought Vivi some cooking supplies at Christmas, we already had a bunch of fancy sprinkles to go on top. Oh, and I got the ice cream and mini cones in bulk at the supermarket for cheap a few weeks ago and stashed them in the basement chest freezer I love dearly.

The Party

When the guests arrived, the kids ran around the backyard playing with our hastily purchased dollar store accoutrement, sidewalk chalk and butterfly nets. Watching them enjoy the unscheduled play time, I realized that even with short activities, I was still over-orchestrating the whole event. Next year I'm filling up the galvanized wash tub with water and bubbles and putting some tea pots and cups out there, and I have no doubt it will be enough. You should have seen them chase each other around the yard with those nets, trying to nab their friend's heads instead of bugs. The parent crowd eyed each other, shrugged, and passed around more food and drinks. Three cheers for good friends!

After-Party Run-Down

Here's another party tip: have the right adults present. I had fretted over the possibility of Vivi getting a bunch of crap we don't need for her gifts and pondered the idea of telling them not to bother ("Your presence is the present" kind of thing), but in the end I opted to let them make their own decisions, and it worked out perfectly! All the gifts she got were thoughtful and not what I would call a waste of resources. A fairy garden, a date to paint pottery, and some retro games like a Jacob's ladder. As time goes on, I am more convinced that all I need to do to raise good kids is to surround myself with a good tribe. The rest of the details fall into place on their own, if I have the courage to let go.

Tie dye was a bit of a mess. The kids were into it for about three minutes, until they realized the moms were doing most of the heavy lifting, and then they slowly wandered off. It was nice to be able to send everyone home with a t-shirt, but it wasn't an expected addition so I wouldn't do it again.

The ribbon piñata was fun in that it's much easier and more civil to have the children take turns without having them blindfolded, dizzy, and swinging a heavy bat, but I will tell you that the ribbons did not make the dang thing open. In the end, Nate still had to do the Dad Maneuver (sans wood saw, fortunately) and rip it apart.

To my surprise, the kids didn't dive in and elbow each other to get candy; they were all first-timers, so most stood there with dazed expressions, except for one girl who wisely grabbed a butterfly net and shoved it under the ladybug just in time to catch the spilled candy guts. I high-fived her mom for raising such a practical kid. My mom found these adorable peanut butter and jelly wallets on sale, so we let the kids put their piñata score in them, and I counted those and the tie-dye shirts as "goody bags."

I'm repeating myself with this last party rule, but it's worth saying again, as it is probably the most crucial element: invite a close friend of family member you can boss around, preferably of the female species. Of all the days I say "I wish I had a wife," the day of a party is the day I most need a clone. Last year we had my friend Liza, who stepped in beautifully to pull off the Spiderman (and Spiderwoman!) cookie cakes. This year my mom agreed to come and help wrangle, and I couldn't have done it without her. You want her and Liza on your party-planning team. Thanks Mom!

p.s. I'm not raising toilets either

Among members of my dad's family, there are some well-known parenting phrases that came from my great grandmother, who had eight children and lived to be 92. It's hard to pick a favorite. When asked how she raised so many children so well, she always replied "With one blind eye and one deaf ear." I love that one because it's basically the only way I've stayed sane since becoming a mom.

The one I've got on my mind this week is "I'm raising children, not furniture." She would say it whenever one of the kids would spill, break, or generally mistreat an object in her home. I love it because it's so true! Whatever angry outburst that I am inclined to have when my kids break something is never worth it compared to the positive and lasting worth of the patience and love I can show them instead.

That's not to say I don't erupt from time to time, like when they combined forces to make the toilet overflow yesterday, just so they could "use the potty fixer thing like Mommy does," and I walked in to find water drowning the floor, the kids, and my humility. La di da, la di da.

I find another use of this phrase--perhaps unintended by Great Grandma--is an internal mantra when I'm pondering whether to play with my kids or clean up. Tonight we voted for playing dominoes at the dining room table instead of doing the dishes. And so, okay, dishes aren't furniture, but the general meaning is the same.

Random assortment of above-the-sink collectibles. Items change weekly but never disappear completely.

The likely reason I've got the phrase on my mind this week is that instead of doing my nightly cleaning and organizing, I've been writing and reading. I have gotten back into the swing of writing every day, even if it's only a paragraph, and I'm immensely enjoying myself. NaBloPoMo (the blogging every day thing) really helps me get the gears turning. Tonight I'm doing more reading than writing, since I am doing my part to vote for The Bloggies. Check it out, but don't say I didn't warn you about the potential for time suckage.

Be well and stay dry,
~J

{this moment}: love seat

{this moment}. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

I remember when they first started forming the sisterly bond about a year ago, and it's so wonderful to see it continue to blossom and change.

via SouleMama

rocking out with the fam

Think your family rocks? Check out my post today about how you can enter a cool contest and strut your stuff.

{this moment}: fall vests

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

p.s. As usual, I broke the "single photo" rule. Sometimes a moment stretches on, you know?...

well, at least there's meat involved

Today is our eight year anniversary. Eight years! I feel like it was just yesterday we got married, that is until I look at photos and see my buff arms and striped hair. Oh time, how you do pass.

Check out those guns.

at least the house is clean: {vacay recap & recovery}

We just returned from a trip to see the grandparents and Aunt Katie in sunny Florida. It was a great vacation! The upside of returning was that we went from 90's to 70's in just a few hours. The downside is of course leaving the fam. Vivi has been distraught ever since we left. She lives life with such an admirable energy and thrill of every moment. Here's where she could be found 99% of the time we were there:

Alice's simple life

Hi again, friends. Now that I'm back home from my trip and list-making, grocery-shopping, and laundry-washing, my life hardly feels simple right now (even though I am serving the supremely simple breakfast of graham crackers with cream cheese, two of the last items of food in my kitchen). That's why I'm thrilled to be sharing another snippet of my resourceful cousin Alice's life overseas. Hope you enjoy! If you like this post, be sure to check out Alice's blog to learn more.

My wonderful cousin Justine has asked me back to share a bit more about my ‘simple life’ here on our small farm in Portugal. You may remember me as the surly, androgynous seven year old who talked about living for a year without a refrigerator. Well, that’s part of it; we also don’t have an oven, freezer, television, washing machine, dryer, heating or air conditioning. We do, on the other hand, have twelve beautiful acres consisting of a mix of pasture and forest on which we keep seven beehives, a few geese, some chickens, a small heard of heritage breed cattle which will be arriving to the new property in a few weeks and a wonderful vegetable garden that provides about half our food needs in the summer.

my childhood, the redux

Cousins.

Does it go without saying that we had a great time visiting the fam? Because we did. There, I said it! I should probably wait until I've processed the trip more to talk about it here, but I can't wait to show you some of my favorite pictures.

my birth partners: great natural labor companions

Welcome to the June 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Embracing Your Birth Experience
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have written about at least one part of their birth experience that they can hold up and cherish.
***

I've written before about the births of both of my daughters (here and here), but those posts were about the run-down of events, so I appreciate the chance to highlight a favorite part of my natural birth experiences to share with you today. It will be no surprise to those of you who know my recent career move (I became a birth doula this year) that I attribute most of the success of my natural births to having great birth partners. I was lucky enough to have both my mom and my husband present at my births, and in addition to their excellent support, my births were guided by intelligent midwives.

off to prove Thomas Wolfe wrong...or at least eat some peaches

Tomorrow begins my weeks-long R&R with the fam down in the heart of Dixie. There will be plenty of dog walking, mountain hiking, card playing, soul food eating, and clothes shopping (I am completely unable to shop for my own attire alone and thus rely on my mom's sage clothes advice). All I know is that I plan to stick my face in a peach cobbler, and the rest of the time is up for grabs. Oh, and my little bro' is graduating high school, y'all! Much to our delight and playfully sarcastic surprise.

While I'm gone, I will be blogging from the road but also inviting a few guests to stop by and chat with you about simple living, parenting, recipes, and their general awesomeness. If you're interested in guest posting some time, drop me a line at lonehomeranger {at} gmail {dot} com. I may not be able to squeeze you in this round but am always looking for contributors!

the call of the summer wild

Mud, beautiful mud, makes me feel good

Should we play in the mud? I think we should

Will you play in the mud with me?

Then the two of us can be happy.

~The Mud Song, High Meadows Camp

I know summer doesn't officially start for a few weeks, but for me, June 1st is when I begin to celebrate summer. When does summer begin to call to you?

I think one of the greatest gifts I can give my kids is to let them play in the spring and summer mud. If the form she filled out with her camp paperwork is any indication, I'd say Vivi quite agrees with me:

The middle entry, in case you can't tell, is "DIRT" spelled backward.

I admit I bare some influence on the fact that she knows camp is where you play in the dirt. She won't attend camp until July, so it's my job between now and then to find ways to get dirty.

"Playing" in the camp mud. It might look as though I'm being ganged up on by three
men here, but I assure you I gave as much mischief as I got.

I got some great inspiration for getting muddy from this Rhythm of the Home article. Though she's specifically referring to the the spring thaw in Canada, there is still plenty of mud to be found after the rain during the rest of the warm season. Yesterday I found some great rain boots for the girls in preparation for the four days of rain we're about to get. I'm so glad it's finally warm enough to play outside in the rain! I'll be sure to follow up with some pics.

Speaking of Rhythm of the Home, their summer issue came out today, and I have two articles featured in it! Check out my features (linked via images below) and the others. It's a great online magazine, and I predict you'll gladly spend a few quiet and peaceful hours reading it, as I have. Happy reading!

Call of the Summer Wild: Cultivating a Love of Nature

Homemade Cheese Crackers!

Editor's note: This post is part of Seasonal Celebration Sunday and Simple Lives Thursday.

love the place you live: Belmont Town Day

There is a town near us called Belmont, and even before today I would have said it was the quintessential New England town. And then! They hosted a "Town Day" today, which was such a perfect way to spend a warm spring day and a great spot to visit for this edition of Design Mom's {Love the Place You Live} series!

recalling my German heritage: making spaetzle

My Grandma Jackie, seventh grade

"In wine there is wisdom,

in beer there is strength,

in water there is bacteria."

-German Proverb

I grew up hearing stories about my Great Great Grandma who was German. When I close my eyes, my memories dazzle with all the times my Grandma Jackie would pass on the wisdom of her mother and grandmothers. She is full of pearls like the one above (which actually isn't one she gave me, but it shares the sentiment of her zingers). The one thing she hasn't passed down, unfortunately, are German recipes.

Luckily, a few months ago our great CSA farmer shared her own recipe for German spaetzle, and I stashed it away for a later time when Nate was home from his two-month international trip. After all, who wants to make such a hearty, cheesy comfort meal when serving a table of one? No, this is a dish that is made with love and labor, and it is so gluttonous it practically demands being shared.