Cukes! Cukes! Cukes!

These gallon jars of dill pickles are rather grandiose.  My cucumber patch reminds me of the story “Jack and the Beanstalk”.  Perhaps they are growing fast and furious because I put my patch where my composter used to be.  We are getting a little saturated with gummere salat, so I decided to make crock dills.  I did not have a kettle large enough to can and seal these jars, so I made pickles the way my mother used to.  She would pick the cukes fresh, wash them thoroughly, and then place them in a large crock in the cellar.  She added pickling salt and fresh dill (which she grew in her garden) and then filled the crock full of water.  A plate was placed on top of the cukes and she put a large stone on the plate to keep them down in the brine.  We could hardly wait for the brine to ferment the cucumbers (4-5 days) and turn them into delicious kosher dills.

RECIPE FOR DILLED CUCUMBERS

20 cucumbers - 4”to 6” long

1 garlic clove

Fresh dill

Brine solution:   3 quarts of water to ½ cup salt.  Use pickling salt.  (Do not use salt with iodine in it).  Heat solution and pour over cucumbers.

If you would rather can pickles, try this recipe.  It is from the cookbook Kuche, Kochen published by the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1973.  

GRANDMA FLEGEL’S DILL PICKLES  -  Cleo Flegel

Medium cucumbers

8 cups water

1 cup vinegar

Pickling spices—tied in cloth bag

Dill

Bring vinegar water and pickling spices to boil.  Wash cucumbers and fill jars with dill at the bottom and top of jars.  Add 1 clove garlic and 1 ½ tsp. salt and alum if desired.  Fill jars with vinegar and spice water and seal tight.  Put jars in large canning kettle and cover with water.  Boil until pickles change color, about 20 minutes.

Note:  Cleo Flegel passed away in 2009.  Cleo’s husband, Arthur, is one of the original founders of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia.  

       

Gummere Salat, and Kartoffel and Knepfla

Summer is here and so are the garden veggies.  

My cucumber patch is growing wild and we have been eating gummeres (cucumbers) most every day.  One of my vivid memories is when Mom made salat and kartoffel (potatoes) and knepfla (dumplings or glace).  As a kid I was not a big meat eater so this was a favorite meal of mine.  Like I tell my husband, if we had flour, eggs, sugar, and cream, my mother could make a meal.

Growing up in Nisland, we Elenbergers always had a large garden.  Many days we scrubbed the dirt from under our fingernails.  Gardening is hard work, but then we German Russians think sometimes that “work is better than eating”.  We feel exhilarated when the blood is pumping through our veins and the warm perspiration runs down our forehead and over our cheeks. 

In the spring, there is much to do to prepare the soil, and then you plant, water, and keep out the weeds.  A time to rest is when the plants are growing, blossoming and the fruits of your labor start to appear.  The garden gives birth and you find yourself laboring again reaping the benefits of mother earth and feeling the joy of eating the abundance of your garden. 

When I work in my garden, I feel close to my parents.  I think about how we never went hungry.  My father made sure of that.  Mom worked hard canning vegetables and meats, and making preserves.

Photos of my parents working in their garden, July 1967 

My recipes for Gummere Salat and Kartoffel and Knepfla.

Gummere Salat

Slice cucumbers, add a little green onion (plus tops) and sliced radish.  Use buttermilk with a dab of sour cream to cover the salad.  Do not salt ahead of time as the cucumbers will wilt.

Kartoffel 

Peel several potatoes and cut into large cubes.  Boil in salt water until done. Remove from water.

Knepfla

1 egg, beaten

1 Tablespoon melted butter

1/2 cup milk

½ teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons baking powder

1 ½ to 2 cups flour (to make a stiff dough)

Sift the dry ingredients.  Pour beaten egg-milk and melted butter into mixture.  Mix and knead.  Cut into small pieces.  Drop into boiling salted water.  Cook a few minutes until the dumplings rise to the top.  Drain and add to potatoes.

Add 1 cup sour cream to the mixture.

Brown one medium, chopped onion and a handful of cubed bread in butter.  Spoon over potatoes, dumplings and sour cream.

ENJOY!!

 

Freedom and the American Dream

4^th of July 2011

Freedom and the American Dream

Today I want to honor the many courageous immigrants who began new lives in this country.  They came clutching their belongings: trunks, baskets, and bags, children tagging along beside them. They came pledging their loyalty to America.

The forces that drove many to leave their country were famine, war, religious persecution, political upheaval, fear of military conscription, and unhappy family situations.  Some sought adventure, but most wanted a better life for themselves and their families. 

 

Some newcomers had to make the journey to America under arduous conditions.  Many were steerage passengers who did not enjoy the elegant dinners and luxurious quarters that first and second class travelers had.  Instead they suffered from lack of food and poor ventilation, traveling in the jam-packed quarters. 

 

Fred Schwartz, a family friend told me, “When we came over from Russia we slept above the cattle.  It must have cost more to ship the cattle then us because they treated them better.  We slept head to head, foot to foot.  Mom was sick all the time.”
 

I asked Fred more about when his family came to America and he told me something interesting.  “In 1912, we took the train to Berlin and then Antwerp.  The smell from the toilets was fowl.  We boarded the ship, a freighter called Mount Temple", Fred said.  “And now here’s another thing.  When the ship experienced problems, the Titanic was called to the rescue.” 

  

At Ellis Island, the immigrants were divided into groups according to how they were listed on the ship’s manifest.  When they entered the building, they lined up in long rows and doctors sized up each newcomer.  If the doctor had suspicions that anything was wrong, they had to be examined.  My maternal great-grandfather, Adam Kreutzer, wife Anna, and two daughters Anna and Marie came to Ellis Island in 1913, but were rejected because Adam had an eye disease.  I am not sure if it was conjunctivitis or trachoma, but years later he became blind.  After being turned away at Ellis Island, the family traveled on to Quebec, Canada and was allowed entrance.  My paternal grandparents were refused because they did not have sponsors.  They also went to Canada.

1907, the year my mother and father were born, was the peak year of immigration to this country.  Not all who came got to stay.  Because of disease, failed inspections, and lack of sponsorship, 13,064 of the 1,285,349 were sent back to their country.   

My family is blessed to live in this country where we enjoy freedom and prosperity.  They never regretted leaving Russia and coming to the United States of America.  They were farmers and craftsmen, factory workers, housemaids, and construction workers. They came from the villages of Hussenback, and Brunnental to America full of hope and a willingness to work.  If a family needed money, everyone had to work, young children included.  Many times kids as young as five were farmed out to work for other people. 

Below is the Certificate of Naturalization that my grandfather John Elenberger received in 1942.  He pledged his loyalty to this country.  They had sons, grandsons, and great grandsons who served in our military.  What I remember most as a child is the gratitude my parents had for their freedom.

Today, let us continue to be a country that embraces newcomers who want to live a life of freedom and enjoy the privilege’s we all enjoy.

Happy 4^th of July and God Bless America!     



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Grebble and Kuchen

In May my sister came for a visit.  When Gladys and I get together, we like to cook German Russian.  One day I invited my neighbor friends over for tea and to meet her.  That morning Gladys and I decided to whip up some grebble.  We lined up the ingredients on the counter: eggs, sugar, sour cream, buttermilk, soda, baking powder, salt, flour, oil for frying, and powder sugar to sprinkle. 

Recipe for Grebble

3 eggs (beaten)

½ cup sugar (beat into eggs)

1 cup sour cream

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. soda

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

6 cups flour (makes a soft dough)

Roll out on floured surface.  Cut into rectangles.  Cut two horizontal slits.  Slip one end of grebble through the slit.  Fry in hot oil.  Sprinkle with powder sugar when cool.

 

 

We were pleased with ourselves as we gobbled the delicious donuts commenting on how these were sure to be a hit.  But, maybe not!  True Germans Russians, (1) do not disappoint their guests, and (2) they make sure there is more than enough food.  We decided to make kuchen!  We put our aprons back on, added new ingredients to the crowded counter top, and got busy.  Soon we were taking kuchen out of the oven.

Recipe for Kuchen 

Spread bread dough onto 12 x 16 greased pan

Mix: 1 egg, ½ cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup half & half or sour cream, 2/3 cup flour

Spread on dough then top with fruit.  I use cherry or blueberry pie fill or sliced apples

Rivvel topping:

½ cup butter, 1 cup white sugar, 1 cup flour.  Mix together until crumbly and then sprinkle onto kuchen.

Bake in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.