I was watching Townsend's Youtube channel and he was talking about "Hasty Puddings".
That brought back a memory that I thought was worth recording.
Background
My father's father's people were from just north of the Balkans and his mother's people were from just east of the Baltic. In spite of his origins, he tanned very, very quickly and was short and stocky.
His mother never heard a word of English until she went to school at the age of five in Allegan County, Michigan.
His mother was widowed when he was nine or ten and she was 33. That was in 1936. Times were tough.
When Dad was 18, he went to Detroit to register for the draft. It was during WWII and gas and tires were scarce. He hitchhiked since nobody in the family had a car.
A young man stopped and gave him a ride. That man was also going to register for the draft. They were both deferred (my dad because he was the sole support of a widow and Adam because he was born in Canada).
They became friends. Adam had a business and hired Dad. In time, Adam offered Dad the chance to purchase some swampland in Michigan that had a 12'-by-20' shack on it.
Fast-forward 25 years...
The shack was expanded as finances allowed. Cabinets and indoor plumbing was installed. It graduated from a "shack" to a "cottage".
Early one spring, I (and a spare brother or two) assisted Dad in opening up the "cottage" for the season. Time got away from us and there was nothing to eat. Dad solved the problem by dredging up memories of when he was a kid and the cupboard was bare. He made us something he called "Gleece".
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| An image from the internet. |
He mixed flour and eggs and maybe some water together to the consistency of pancake batter. Then he loaded up a large spoon with the batter and holding the bowl of the spoon just above the boiling water, he dribbled-and-drooled a stream of it into a pan of boiling water.
Half-hearted attempts to find a recipe met a stone-wall. I assumed it was just something he made up on-the-spot or it was something that only his family did.
God Bless the Internet
Guess what, "Gleece" is real.
Gleece/Glace
Ingredients for One Generous Serving
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup all purpose flour (not self rising)
1/4 cup (scant) water
Start with boiling salted water in a pot. Beat together ingredients
and drop by small spoonfuls into the boiling salted water. Gleece are
done when they rise to the top of the water. They do expand in size. Let
them boil for an additional minute or two and then drain off the water.
Gleece can be used in chicken broth or green bean soup. They can also
be fried with sliced potatoes (or boil your potatoes ahead of time and
fry the boiled potato slices with the gleece). Season to your taste.
They can be added to mashed potatoes and a little butter or put sour
cream, butter and onion slivers on the boiled gleece.
Dad's versions were more icicle/round-noodle shaped than than dumpling-like. But the name is identical and the provenance matches.
Cheap. Quick. Simple. Easy. Very filling. Cheap.