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| Grand Marshalls of the 2010 Atlanta Homecoming - Clifford and Virginia |
Today I made some comfort food for Clifford and Virginia
Grubbs. My relationship with this sweet couple goes back to before I was born –
our parents were friends and neighbors. Then I was born, and a month and 10
days later their daughter Kathy was born. Kathy and I were classmates and have
been friends for longer than I can remember.
Since Virginia is recuperating after a hospital stay, and Clifford needs
to put on a few pounds, I decided to make baked chicken, mashed potatoes,
noodles, green beans, sweet potato hot rolls (the recipe is already included in
a previous post), and zucchini bread (because we have an abundance of
zucchini).
As I made the noodles, with no written recipe, of course, I
reminisced about the ladies who were responsible for my noodle-making skill.
First, my sister Dianna gave me her mother-in-law Nellie Bealmer’s recipe years
ago. Then, my mother-in-law Elaine Harvey demonstrated many times the process
of rolling the dough out and cutting the noodles. Later, my daughter Vanita
shared that her husband’s grandmother, Nanny (Lois) Weber, always added a pinch of
baking powder and a little bit of melted butter. I love cooking for people I
love. I also enjoyed remembering all of
the women whose cooking skills were passed down and went into making the
noodles. Thanks, ladies! Virginia called
soon after I returned home from delivering the food to them and said the food
was delicious. She said Clifford especially enjoyed the noodles and rolls. As
my mom would have said, “That made my day!”
Noodles
You will need: 3 eggs (you can always reduce the number of
eggs and the flour for a smaller amount), milk, flour,
baking powder and melted butter for the dough. You will also need chicken broth. I also use
Amish noodle seasoning for some extra flavor.
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| My eggs were beautiful big brown eggs, raised by my grandson Lance |
Process: Crack the eggs and reserve half of the shell. Fill
the shell with milk three times (one for each egg you use. If you use two eggs
then just two.) Beat the eggs and milk together, then add about a tablespoon of
melted butter and a pinch of baking powder. Stir in enough flour to make a
stiff batter. I tried to measure this time so I could tell you how much. I put
in two cups of flour.
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| You can see zucchini in the background, too. |
Then I added more
flour to the cutting board and kneaded it in. Just keep adding the flour as you
knead it until it is not sticky. Do not overwork the dough, though, or your
noodles will be tough.
Using a rolling pin, roll out the noodle dough thin. I just did a third of the batch at a time, so it would fit on my cutting board.
I cut it into thirds, then piled
them on top of each other and cut that in half. Lastly, I cut the noodles. You
can make them thin or thick, whichever you prefer. I like to try to cut them
thin, because they puff up. Put them on a cookie sheet to let them dry a little
before cooking.
Boil chicken broth in a large pan. I used about two quarts,
then added a little more as they cooked. I added about a tablespoon of the
chicken noodle seasoning. Drop the
noodles in a handful at a time. Boil them, but watch them and stir them
occasionally to keep them from sticking.
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| My rolls are raising in the background. |
