Dumplings and Peaches

Last night was...interesting.  I think we agreed this wouldn't go on our list of favorites, but it was still interesting and not the worst thing we've tried so far.  (Have I mentioned how much I love that Nick is going along with me on this adventure, BTW?  Apparently it gives him good chit chat material for discussion with middle aged women.) 

Overall, the meal cost a grand total of $7 to make.  For both of us.  I can see why this was a depression-era staple...but I can also see why they would've celebrated never eating it again.

So with that glowing endorsement, let's start with the pictures, yeah?

First up, Farina.  I'd never heard of this stuff before, so thank you Google for helping me find it.  Turns out Farina = Cream of Wheat, and you can find it in the cereal aisle next to the oatmeal. 

Next up, my fancy schmancy new apron, which my friend got me for a wedding gift.  It's pretty nifty - the neck and waist strings are the same, so you can resize the neck easily and just retie it.  It's spiffy.

So the recipe says to add 1/4 cup of Farina at a time until you have a doughy consistency, then to add water.  Make sure you add water.  I forgot, and they were dry.  I added about 9/4 cups (so about 2 & 1/4 cups, for those of you who left fractions in the 3rd grade) and the consistency was fine.

She also says to use a tablespoon to cut the dough into balls...I think they could've been better smaller.  Maybe closer to teaspoon size, but you can use a regular spoon (or a cookie dough scoop).  I used a regular spoon.

The breadcrumbs fried up nicely...another "huh, never done THAT before" moment for me.  You NEED to use seasoned breadcrumbs.  The Italian ones sufficed, but this could've used more herbs, IMHO. 

The peaches I just got some bottled ones (slightly nicer than canned) and warmed them up in the same pan that I used for the breadcrumbs.  They went surprisingly well with the dumplings, but adding salt DEFINITELY helped a lot.

So over all, this was ok.  The dumplings were too big, so they were really dry and bland.  I cut the potatoes into  big slices (she never said what to do with them other than boil them) but they could've been smaller too...if I had a bigger frying pan, I probably would have thrown everything into the frying pan and fried it all up instead of just mixing it around to cover the potatoes and the dumplings.  There were a lot of ways this recipe could've been improved, but I probably won't bother to try it again, to be honest.

We ended up with a TON of leftovers, but still opted for a big bowl of popcorn later on in the night. 

I think tonight we'll try the pasta...I'm a little wary, but it could be interesting.