During the Great Depression I remember two dishes my Mother would make to feed our family during those lean years. One was KAISER'S SCHMARN and the other was Grundbarra Und Knoedel (Potatoes and Dumplings with Breadcrumbs). The dumplings were the basic Farina Dumplings cooked in water, served with peeled and cooked cut up potatoes and then served with breadcrumbs that were fried in a lot of butter. Not a dish to serve up for someone on a diet, but in those Depression years dieting was not a concern.

We never went hungry, always went to bed with a full stomach. Potatoes and flour were always available and we always had a nice cooked fruit, like plums, peaches or a nice cucumber salad or cold slaw to eat with these meals. This dish still is a good lenten dish, or a respite from meat dishes. It is tasty.

We children never knew how hard it was for our parents to survive this era. We did notice the concern on our parents faces when our shoe soles were worn out before the shoes were paid for.

Regards, June Meyer.

• 4 Tbl. butter
• 4 eggs
• Farina
• 1/2 teas. salt
• 4 med. sized potatoes
• 1 cup of good Italian bread crumbs
• 1 stick of butter for frying the breadcrumbs

Mix the 4 Tbl. butter, 1/2 salt and the 4 eggs well.
Add farina 1/4 cup at a time till you have a dumpling dough consistency.
Then add a little water for moisture.
Put on a large pot of water to boil.
Add the raw potatoes to the pot and cook till allmost done.
Cut the dumplings into the water with a tablespoon.
When they come to the top, cook about 5 minutes more.
Drain potatoes and dumplings and toss into pan with fried breadcrumbs. Toss together so that breadcrumbs are evenly distributed.
Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Good to serve with a cold Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream and a cooked fruit like peaches, plums, etc.

Serves 4.