A couple of poems by Grandma

"Spatzen Soup"

A sparrow is a Spatzie
If you say in in German
But of course it's Spatzen
If you mean more than one
It would take forty sparrows
To make a full pot
So here's how it's done
With what you've got
Go capture a chicken
And throw it in a pot
Lots of celery and onion
And what have you got?
Oh, you're not finished yet
No, you don't need the coop
It's the start of a dish
called "Spatzen soup".
Cook the chicken 'til done
Water up to its wings
And now you'll need
A few other things
Take some flour and eggs
Just the eggs, not the shell
Dash of salt and milk
And stir it up well
Now the broth is boiling
As you add the dough
A teaspoon at a time
Because it will grow
Let it cook a few minutes
And serve it up hot
An old German soup
That's what you've got!

--Millie Kueffner 9/29/93

"Der Stollen"

It was mid-December nineteen-ninety-five
Time to make the Christmas Stollen
How can I put enough yeast in
So all that fruit won't be fallin'?
All was assembled the night before
Three eggs in my banana basket
The fruit and nuts in a nice warm place
So I wouldn't blow a gasket
Next morning I mixed and stirred the dough
And added all the good stuff
Sugar and margarine and lots of yeast
The mixing got pretty tough
After all was mixed in a nice dough ball
And put in the oven to rise
Three eggs were still in the basket
Much to my surprise!
Wow! It's much too late to add them now
I just won't breathe a word
I'll make believe it's a new recipe
One that nobody ever heard
After much watching, baking and cooling
I sawed off a slice to see
It has a good taste, like Christmas
A little on the heavy side, like me!!!

--Millie Kueffner 12/20/95