By Betty Kuss Schumacher, Valley City, North Dakota

Oh Michael, I can taste the noodles just reading the email.

I will never be as good a cook as my mother but I have on occasion made these. Of course mom always made these noodles when she was baking bread, you can't beat the original home made bread for these noodles.

Second best is using the frozen bun dough at the grocery store. You need to set them out on a section of your cupboard that is floured so that they can raise. Once they have doubled in size, I use an electric frying pan (as my mother did in her final years), cover the bottom with about a quarter inch of water and a half or full stick of butter. Melt the butter and salt the water/butter. I don't remember the exact temperature but it had to be hot enough so that the water/butter would start to boil. Then place the raised buns in the pan leaving a little between each for further expansion. Cover and keep covered. I'm guessing about 10 or more minutes but can't say for sure because we would always know they were done by the smell. When you can smell the crisping buns your mouth starts watering.

About a half hour before putting the buns in the frying pan, we actually cooked both prunes and raisins (since some of us preferred one over the other). Both would be put in sauce pans and covered with water (just a little over the height of the fruit). I like adding a light touch of salt to this but not necessary. These are then started to boil and then the heat is reduced until tender. The prune juice was usually thicker which I guess was one reason I liked the raisins.

As you remember it was always important NOT to open the dumplings until they were done frying but before they started burning. Once the dumplings were nicely fried they were served with the prune/raisins used as a topping.

Gosh, now I'll have to think seriously about making these. Hardly cook any more with the kids gone.

Betty