Ok all of you vintage fans out there…can you name this handy dandy kitchen tool?
Did you guess?
Junkin Joe and I didn’t get it right! Let me tell you how we came upon this…Thursday was the grand opening of a new Goodwill Store so in the evening Joe and I went over together…sadly disappointed…there was a doorman?…the place was packed and may I say the prices were INSANE…insanely high. There was no sign of vintage anything…anywhere…but some how some way…our Junkin Joe seemed to zone in on the only piece of vintage in the place. He said this looks like an interesting cheese grater and I think the girls will like it (yes…he is in Junkin Joe mode as soon as he enters the store and it’s $1.00! I said cool, at least we will have something interesting from our venture. Now you have to remember that we are both Italian and some how automatically think in the cheese vein : )
Here’s a closer look to see if you can guess again… (by the way…I SCRUBBED this for an hour!!!)
Then this cute little (she was itty bitty…no more than 4 foot 10) older lady comes up to me and says…honey…that is not a cheese grater…it’s a Spaetzel Maker…
well immediately the little light bulb in my head went off and I got it!!! She then told me that she has one just like this and it is wonderful…much better than the new ones she said :)…I wanted to wrap her up and take her home she was so precious! So even though we walked out with 1 find (obviously not going to be one of JJ’s “regular” stops) we felt good about it.
Now all I have to tell you is this thing is AWESOME…I wanted to be able to tell you if it was as fabulous as the sweet adorable lady said it was and it IS!!! I tried it out…within 15 minutes I had this…
I even used vintage plates to make it look a bit more authentic…
the batter was made in an instant and I got to use some of my fresh herbs…
by putting the thick batter in the little cup and sliding it back and forth over a pot of hot salty boiling water…these were done in the blink of an eye! So that little visit to Good Will gave back instantly and will now become a much used piece in my kitchen!
This is the recipe I used…going to play with it a bit as time goes by but it is pretty picture perfect as is!
Fresh Herb Spaetzle
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I didn’t use nutmeg : )
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 8 teaspoons minced assorted fresh herbs (such as parsley, thyme, rosemary, and chives), divided
- I also added chopped basil..of course : )
Preparation
Blend flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in large bowl. Whisk in eggs and milk, forming soft batter. Mix in half of herbs.
Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Butter large bowl. Working with 1/3 cup batter at a time and using rubber spatula, press batter directly into boiling water through 1/4-inch holes on coarse grater, strainer, or wide ladle. Stir spaetzle to separate and boil 2 minutes. Using fine sieve, scoop spaetzle from pot, drain well, and transfer to buttered bowl. (Can be prepared 3 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
So many things to do with these little heavenly dumplings…top with roasted veggies…simply butter and cheese…mushroom gravy…floating in a delicious soup and the list goes on…if you see one of these…snatch it up!!!
(((((HUGS)))))
vintage grey says
September 26, 2012 at 2:27 amOh, I would never had thought that, but how neat! Looks so tasty!! xo Heather
koralee says
September 26, 2012 at 3:06 amOh my goodness…this looks amazing…I soooo want to try this. A million thanks my friend…comfort food for sure…I always need comfort food xoxo
Bliss says
September 26, 2012 at 12:27 pmA spaetzle shredder? Still not sure what that is but it looks yummy.
~Bliss~
Sheila @sZinteriors says
September 26, 2012 at 5:20 pmNo way! We have a spaetzle maker that my hub’s aunt passed along to him, but it’s not as vintage as this one is! I can’t wait to give your recipe a try! What a great find, especially since it’s not a cheese grater 🙂 Way to go Junkin Joe!
Karah @ thespacebetweenblog says
September 27, 2012 at 1:33 pmOh my gosh, this is so cool!!! I had never seen anything like it, but what a great find. I didn’t know of Spaetzle before this, but now I’m craving it. 🙂