When in crisis, cook!

Make Grandma's noodles.

I stood on a chair at the kitchen counter so I could reach the cutting board. They put an apron on me that was way too big. Break the egg. Measure three, 1/2 egg shells of water, she said, then add flour. (Flour that, no matter how careful, seemed to go everywhere.) The rolling pin was well worn, having seen its share of pie crust and noodles over the years. This 5 year old was proud to be given such an important task as rolling out dough for noodles.

(Photo credit to A Farmish Kind of Life.)

There is nothing-I repeat NOTHING-like eating the food you raise or cook yourself. I know I am wildly lucky to have experienced this.

Making food was a central activity of farm life. (There were no grocery stores down the street and eating in a restaurant was considered frivolous.) My people knew that no matter if you needed to be sustained, comforted, or celebrated, food was the answer.

Grandad and his helpers came in at noon for a hearty lunch.

When there was a funeral, a covered dish was delivered to the family.

Square dances at the grange hall meant a pie…or two.

And holidays? Extra tables had to be set up to hold it all.

So. Much. Food.

This was not a fancy kitchen but it was more than enough. It was the domain of my great-grandmother, Mae, who ruled this room with the precision of an army sergeant. Aprons were worn, dishes were done by hand, fresh produce from her garden was canned and stored in the basement with a dirt floor to be popped open in the winter months. And when they butchered a hog, this kitchen turned into meat locker, freezer paper everywhere.

(Grandnan directs her twin granddaughters in her farm kitchen. My mom has her back to the camera)

Making food from scratch requires serious planning and thought. So much thought that you really can’t think of anything else but the task at hand. My people knew that no matter if you needed to be comforted or celebrated, food was the answer.

And maybe that’s what we all need right now. To think about something else other than the crisis America is experiencing right now.

I think it’s time to make some noodles.

Her recipe is below the photo. (The recipe card is in her handwriting… and this was her handkerchief, proudly hanging in our kitchen.)

Nellie Lee’s Noodle Recipe:

1 egg

3 half egg shells of water (this makes me laugh!)

Use fork and beat until thoroughly mixed

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

Add to the above mixture to work into smooth, stiff dough.

Roll very thin, cut into narrow strips.

Drop in rapidly boiling broth. Cook 30 minutes.