Poetry for the Palette!

When I was 20 years old, and a supervisor in a girl’s boarding school, all I knew about cooking was that somebody does it and we eat it. When I was 24, Max and I married and moved to Switzerland. There I found out that I had to be that somebody!—Angela Thaler

Rum Balls



Somebody in Switzerland told me how to make them.. You have to have some fun too, you can't always be miserable just because you are a refugee in a camp. I always used to say, "The Lord doesn't give us a bonus for the years we've spent in here. If we survive it, we're not going to get more years just because we were in camp. We might as well live while we can." And, we would kid each other.

Well, my first rum balls were a rum sausage! We were in the refugee camp, and, we had a friend, Emil Pearlmutter ( He was a very good guitar player. We always played music together.) who didn't have a chamber pot. (In those days, when you had an outhouse, a chamber pot was an essential. Especially if it was 20 or 30 below outside.)

So, a group of us put our money together and bought him a chamber pot, a beautiful chamber pot, and the ingredients for the rum balls. I made the dough (without the machine in those days) and, we made a sausage, a very natural looking sausage, and put it in the chamber pot. He was shocked for a moment! He didn't know what it is, whether it is real, or whether it is real! But anyhow, that was Emil's Chanukah present, a chamber pot with a brown sausage in it. And that was my first time making rum balls--.

Makes about 50

2-1/2 Cups crushed Vanilla Wafers (or other cake or cookie crumbs)
1 Cup crushed Pecans (or available nuts)
2 Tablespoons Cocoa
1 teaspoon maple syrup (if available)
1/2 Cup Rum
1 Cup Sugar for Dough
2 Cups Sugar for Rolling (Some may be left over for next batch!)


In food processor crush vanilla wafers (app.1 box) or other cake or cookie crumbs and measure 2-1/2 cups. Crush shelled pecans (or walnuts or...?). Measure 1 cup. Add 2 tablespoons Cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon maple syrup (if available) and 1 cup granulated sugar. Add 1/2 cup rum. Be generous with ingredients!!! Mix into dough with processor. Scoop out teaspoons of dough and roll into balls. Drop in bowl with 2 (or more) cups granulated or powdered sugar. Shake until sugar coats the balls. Refrigerate until time to enjoy.
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Spiegel Ei
(Mirror Egg)


My father used to say,” One pound of sirloin & one teaspoon spinach!" Something like that. He wasn't much of a vegetarian....

Serves 4

2-Bunches spinach
(app.) 4 Tablespoons white flour
4 Tablespoons butter (or margarine)
Salt, pepper & garlic powder or fresh garlic to taste
4 Eggs

Wash spinach & cut off roots (stems are okay). Steam or boil in small amount of water until limp & dark green. Make Roux: In saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add flower until pasty. Put roux & spinach into food processor & cream. Spoon creamed spinach onto plates. Place one sunny-side-up egg in the middle of each serving of spinach.

Enjoy!!!
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Das Bubchen auf dem Eise
(Little Boy on the Ice)

Serves 2

Cream of Wheat
Milk
Butter (or margarine)
Sugar
Chocolate bar

Prepare Cream of Wheat with milk according to directions. ( 2-1/2 cups milk to 1/3 cup cream of wheat.) Heat the milk almost to boiling, then slowly stir in the cream of wheat.) When it has thickened, pour onto a flat dinner plates, stir in sugar and butter to taste, and place a nice chunk of chocolate in the center.

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Palatschinken
(Crepes or Blintzes)

Milk
Eggs
White flour
Butter (or margarine)
A flat frying Pan

In a blender mix one egg for each cup of milk and add flour to a creamy (not too thick) texture. Pour onto center of large flat, hot buttered frying pan. Lift pan off heat as you swirl the dough into a thin film that covers the pan. Lower heat and fry one side till golden brown then flip over. Roll up with jam, fruit, plain sugar, or even savory filling like cheese or vegetables, or, fill with the following for Topfen Palatschinken:

1 lb Cottage Cheese (for 4 Palatschinken)
1 egg yolk (you can add the white to the batter)
Raisins
Sugar

Mix to taste and roll up.

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Apfel Im Schlafrock
(Apples in Dressing Gowns)

I remember I was so disappointed when one of you, I don’t remember which one, said to me, “You don’t cook American.”

Milk
Eggs
White flour
White sugar
Butter (or margarine)
2 large apples
A frying Pan
Paper Towels

As in Palatschinken, in a blender mix one egg for each cup of milk and add flour. But now you need more flour, for a thicker texture. Peel and core apples, then slice into thick, even slices. Pour a cup of sugar onto a flat plate. Dip the slices in the batter. Melt a good chunk of butter into a hot frying pan, then turn down and fry battered apples over low to medium heat. Remove when golden brown, pat off grease on paper towel and coat with sugar .
Gnocci (Nockerl)
(Small dumplings)

Milk
Eggs
White flour
Butter (or margarine)

Make dough as for Palatschinken, but add more flour to thicken until it is very gooey. Drop by spoonfuls into boiling water. Boil until they float. Scoop them out and immerse in melted butter!

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Eier-nokerl und Salad

In a frying pan scramble nockerl with an egg or two. Eat with a green salad!

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Topfen Kipferl
(Cottage Cheese Pockets)


3 cups Flour
1 lb. Butter (or margarine)
1 lb. Cottage cheese

Apricot (or other) Marmalade

Knead the first three ingredients into a dough, roll out thin a with rolling pin, and use a glass to cut out circles. Put a dab of marmalade in the center of each circle, fold in half and pinch closed. Bake until golden brown at 350 degrees.

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Viennese Karfiol (Cauliflower)

The interesting thing about Viennese cooking is that everything you do adds calories, not like in America, where everyone is trying to lose weight!

1 whole Cauliflower
Butter (or margarine)
Breadcrumbs
Sugar

Wash whole cauliflower, put in a pot of water, cover and boil until soft to a fork (about 20 minutes). Remove from water, but save the water for soup. (It adds flavor.) In a separate pan melt a large chunk of butter. Add enough breadcrumbs to cover the cauliflower and fry until the breadcrumbs are saturated with butter and slightly toasted. Spoon the toasted breadcrumbs over the cauliflower. Sprinkle with sugar to taste. (This can be done separately for each serving.)

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Viennese Fisolen (Greenbeans)

Greenbeans
Butter (or margarine)
Breadcrumbs
Sugar

Wash beans and snap off ends. Either boil or steam until tender. Prepare breadcrumbs and sugar as for cauliflower (above). Sprinkle with sugar to taste.

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Kartofel (Erdapfel) Knodel
(Potato Dumplings)

Mashed potatoes (4 cups)
White flour
Egg
Butter or oil

Mix mashed potatoes with flour, egg and a dash of oil until a light, workable dough is formed. Roll into a long tube, and then cut into appx. 1 inch chunks & roll into balls. Drop into boiling water; boil until dumplings float. Melt about a 1/4 inch of butter into a glass baking dish. Roll dumplings in butter & keep in a warm oven until served.

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Zwetchgen Knodel
(Plum Dumplings)

Any guests would have to pronounce them in order to eat them!

Potato dough (See above)
12 Small dark plums
Sugar cubes
Butter (or margarine)
Breadcrumbs
Granulated white sugar

Prepare potato dough as for dumplings. Remove pits from plums & set aside. Stuff each plum with a sugar cube & wrap with potato dough. For the “Old Maid” wrap pits in dough too! Drop into boiling water & cook until floating. Remove from water, rub with butter & roll in breadcrumbs.

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Gleichgewicht-Kuchen
(Same Weight Cake)

3 eggs, weighed
Same weight butter (or margarine)
Same weight sugar
Same weight flour & 1 tsp. baking powder

Beat butter & sugar well, add alternately: eggs & flour. Put in shallow square baking pan, cover closely with apple or other fruit slices. Bake in medium oven.

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Nudeln (Noodles)

6 Cups Flour
1 Egg
Water

In a large bowl pile the flour into a cone or mountain shape. Punch a crater in the top of the mountain and crack the egg into it. Add enough water to make a workable dough. Roll very thin and slice to shape. Noodles can be dried and saved for later or cooked immediately. For ravioli or piroghi, punch circles out of dough with a cup or glass, stuff, and pinch closed into pockets.

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Apfel Strudel
(Apple Strudel)



6 tart Apples
1 lb. Raisins
1 cup Sugar
Butter (or margarine)
Filo dough
Cinnamon
Bread crumbs

A sheet or table cloth to work on
A Cookie sheet

In the old days we had to make the dough by hand. It was a terrible ordeal, spreading dough paper thin over the entire kitchen table. And it had to be done quickly, before it hardened. Thank heaven for Filo dough!!!

Thaw filo dough overnight. Set aside. Slice apples thin and mix with raisins, cinnamon, sugar etc.*

Lay out two to three layers of filo dough onto sheet or table cloth, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Spoon one layer of apple mixture onto dough, then add about three more layers of filo dough, again brush with butter, and again spoon on apple mixture. Continue until apple mixture is gone, then roll filo dough/ apple mixture into a sausage and roll the whole business onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown and bubbling juice.

*The best recipe, as my mother always used to say, is simply this: “Put good things in, and good things will come out.” You can add nuts, figs, some lemon juice... whatever... to the mixture.

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Compote
(Fruit Soup)

Apples or peaches or...?
Raisins
Sugar
Water

To peel fruit, drop into boiling water, then scoop out and peel under cold running water. The skin slips right off. Slice fruit into cooking pot, add raisins and sugar to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer until the fruit is soft but not mushy.
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