From the Kitchen of Linda Rakszawski
Chicken Stock (homemade or bought) � about 10 cups
3 eggs
2 T. margarine, softened
� tsp. dried chicken bouillon
About 1 c. Farina Cereal
Start with a basic chicken stock. You can make your own by boiling chicken with some carrots and celery. The chicken can be added to the soup or eaten separately. If the stock does not have enough flavor, I add Knorr bouillon cubes. You can also use canned chicken broth or bouillon prepared from Knorr cubes. Bring the stock to a boil in a 4-quart pot. It should be about ? full for 6-8 servings.
Prepare the dumplings as follows. Beat 3 eggs. Add about 2 tablespoons softened margarine and � teaspoon powdered chicken bouillon mix (I use the Herb-ox jar type). Whisk together with a fork, and then gradually add Farina dry cereal. The cereal should be absorbed but do not add too much or the batter will be too stiff. You should be able to see the imprint of the fork when pressed onto the batter, but it should still look wet. After cooking the dumplings you will see if the consistency was right, and you can adjust accordingly the next time you make this recipe. If the dumplings fall apart, you need more Farina. If they are too hard, you used too much Farina. Trial and error!
When the soup stock is boiling, take a tablespoon and dip it into the stock to wet the surface of the spoon.
Then scoop about 1/3 of a spoonful of dumpling batter and drop into the soup. (I fill the spoon lengthwise to obtain an oval shaped dumpling.) Quickly repeat the process, wetting the spoon each time you drop the dumplings into the soup, so that they do not stick to the spoon. The soup should continue boiling gently and the pot can be covered to speed the cooking time of the dumplings. The dumplings should rise to the surface when fully cooked. Add chopped carrots and/or chicken to soup if desired.
Recipe Note: This is a soup that Linda�s mother made, which originated from her native country of Yugoslavia. It is a favorite of our own children, since the tender dumplings in the soup were easy for them to eat from a very early age. The ingredients for the dumplings were never measured exactly, and the recipe becomes perfected with practice.