Similar to our American hamburgers, German frikadellen are flat and pan fried. They are also a close cousin to our meatloaf because they have a variety of herbs and spices and use milk, eggs, and breadcrumbs as a binder. Ingredients Use Up Leftovers Traditional frikadellen use up leftover meat, traditionally veal or lamb, but beef…
More than a million Germans arrived in the United States between 1845 and 1855 [1]US History, Irish and German Immigration, and many more came after that. They were fleeing political strife and economic hardship. Even so, many had enough money to travel to the Midwest in search of farmland. That’s exactly what my family did,…
I grew up eating this cucumber salad with creamy dill dressing never knowing that it has a strong connection to my German heritage.
When I cook my Grandma’s red cabbage recipe, it always brings memories flooding back of times long forgotten. We didn’t eat it a lot – it wasn’t a favorite, in all honesty. As an adult, however, it is one of my go-to recipes when comfort food calls. It is also a recipe that reminds me…
This post is inspired by the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge by Amy Johnson Crow. The week 4 challenge is “Invite to Dinner”. Food has always been a central part of my life. From holidays to family celebrations to culinary travel adventures, food is part of my identity. When I was growing up, dinnertime was a…
My mom frequently talks about rum pots that the old German women made in the summer months when she was growing up. The traditional German Rumtopf (rum pot) is a concoction of fruit – berries work great – soaked in sugar and rum. The fruit is then used to top ice cream or cakes and…
I initially had trouble deciding about whom to write given the week 9 52 ancestors theme, Close to Home. I live in the same area where my ancestors on all sides have lived for as many as 200 years … so everyone is close to home. Then it hit me. I was moving some books…
Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small gave us a new 52 Ancestors challenge for 2015. Each week, we have a different theme about which to write. It’s quite the challenge, but I love meeting it and reading how everyone interprets each week. Week four is “closest to your birthday.” Discovering an ancestor who has a…
Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small gave us a new 52 Ancestors challenge for 2015. Each week, we have a different theme about which to write. It’s quite the challenge, but I love meeting it and reading how everyone interprets each week. The theme for 52 Ancestors for week 3 is “strong women”. It’s…
I have been fascinated with cemeteries for as long as I can remember. It feels a little morbid, but there is great history lurking among the grave markers! I’ve wandered through my fair share of cemeteries, too … sometimes just to imagine the lives of those buried in them. As the family genealogy nut (one of…
As I continue to answer the “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” challenge set forth by Amy Johnson Crow over at “No Story Too Small”, I find myself doing more and more research on ancestors I know very little about. I’m determined to make it to number 52, but I think it’s going to take longer…
Sophia Fredericka Arnold was barely 6 months old when she arrived in New York on June 19, 1843 from Hamburg, Germany. She came to America with her parents, Leonard and Christine; two sisters Katharine and Barbara; and a brother, George. Sophia is my maternal 3rd great grandmother. While the Arnold family is found on…
If you have Germany ancestors and need help figuring out where – on the map – they originated, this is a great resource! Personally, I can never remember where the different political divisions (L änder) are without looking. Map from PlanetWare.com
My Grandma Raines’ grandparents, Jake and Anna Mueller, were married on October 29, 1895 in Ava, Illinois. This wedding photo was nestled in a box of family portraits that Grandma kept on a shelf above her washing machine … a likely place for family photos, eh? Jake is the grandson of Jacob Heinrich…
My Grandma Raines kept all of the Schuster family photos in a box marked “trophies” on the top shelf of the linen closet. She would often get it out and show me photos of long lost relatives that were completely foreign to me. To her, however, they were memories of childhood and stories of the past….
Over 900,000 German men, women and children immigrated to the United States between 1845 and 1855. My 3rd great-grandfather, Philip Friederich Schuster was one of them. Philip was 13 years old when he arrived in New Orleans with his parents and younger sister. Philip Friederich Schuster was born on September 16, 1838 in Hassloch, Germany…
One thing I find most frustrating about being relatively young and tracing family history is that I don’t hold much of the actual history in my own memory. Someday I will, I suppose. Now, however, I rely a lot on older relatives and old books that have bits and pieces of the puzzle. Unfortunately, I’m…
Jacob Heinrich Mueller is my 4th great grandfather on my mother’s side. He was born in Darmstadt, Germany in 1798 to John George Mueller and Anna Maria Rhutz (1800-1844). He immigrated to America in 1828 and settled in St. Clair County, Illinois. He was employed as a blacksmith after he arrived in St. Clair County. Jacob married Mary Margaret Weber…
I’m continuing with my spaetzle (spätzle) adventure! After a bit of research on how this dish is typically served in Germany, I decided to mix the variations and … well … do my own thing! Cheesy Spaetzle After you make your spaetzle, melt 1-2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet and add your…
I remember the first time I saw my mom make spaetzle … I wasn’t quite a teenager … and I wondered what I had done to deserve such punishment! Spaetzle wasn’t something I was overly fond of as a kid, I much preferred spaghetti and meatballs as my pasta of choice. I wasn’t old enough…
German wurst (or wurste) can be loosely translated as sausage … and sometimes cold cuts. There are many different varieties of wursts, but only a few are readily available to us in the US. That’s too bad, because they’re all pretty amazing. My grandpa used to eat blood sausage (blutwurst), and there was pretty much…