Australian romance writer Iris Blobel is with me today with a bowl of German Marrow Dumpling Soup. Bone marrow is something you don’t see too often in these parts but the only reason for that is squeamishness and a First World lack of familiarity with offal. My parents used to cook brains, tripe, kidneys and all those things that made my sister and I gag and run screaming from the kitchen. I remember my father sucking marrow from bones just to stir us up and lamb shanks were something you gave to the dog. But less of me and more of Iris…

What are your memories of your mothers cooking as a child?

I don’t think mum was, possibly still is not that fond of cooking, but boy do I miss her meals. Mum grew up in Germany after the war and was able to create a nice dish with few ingredients… and her cheese cake! Or the “Weincreme Pudding”. Yup, I miss mum’s cooking and always send a big wish list before we come for a visit.

What was your favourite dish as a child?

I’ve never been much of a food lover, but I loved most of mum’s cooking. Yes, I do have to admit, my favourite dish as a child was a Spaghetti Bolognese.

Do you like to cook?

I’ve never been one to enjoy my time in the kitchen, but since I had to change my diet about half a year ago, watching of what I can and what I can’t eat, I have learnt to appreciate the idea of ‘creating’ a nice dinner.

Who do you enjoy cooking for? If you don’t enjoy cooking, then what do you like to eat?

I basically cook only for my little family, but I make sure that my two girls get a yummy, but healthy meal. I can still remember the days when I didn’t like something. Mum didn’t make me eat it and I’m really grateful for it. I like my daughters to try the food at least, if they still don’t like it, that’s okay. When we have friends over, we usually opt for the typical Australian barbeque with a few nice salads.

Your favourite snack?

As mentioned above, until I had to change my diet, I often sat in front of the telly with a few biscuits, or a salada with some nutella. Nowadays, it’s mainly sliced apples or when I have the ingredients, I make some waffles – YUM!

What’s your latest book?

My latest book is “Fresh Beginnings” the 3rd book in the Beginnings series

What do you love most about this book?

We took our girls to the US last year and travelled through five states in a motorhome. We had so much fun and learnt so much about the country. The book is kind of our travel diary turned into a romance novel. It mentions the little things we came across, like the “PedXing” sign, or the difference in the language, which was even more obvious to me with English as my second language. It was heaps of fun to write.

Where can readers find it?

At Amazon,iBooks and all ebook platforms

Share one of your favourite recipes – anything you like, cake, martini, Peking Duck, cheese on toast…

Aha… the favourite recipe question . I suppose the simple Spaghetti Bolognese recipe won’t do the trick.

My (or I should really say, mum’s) recipe for you all will be for a Marrow Dumpling Soup. It’s definitely one of my favourite meals, especially at the moment during this cold weather. And a nice traditional German dish!

Ingredients:

1 piece of Osso Buco Meat (that’s what I’ve found is best to use here in Oz)

Carrots, Celery, and Leek

Salt

Butter

Breadcrumbs

1 – 2 eggs

Parsley

Nutmeg

Flour

Remove the bone marrow from the meat and place it in a separate bowl.

Place the meat, with the carrots, celery, and leek into a pot with water, add some salt and pepper. Let the soup simmer for about an hour.

To finish off the soup, add the dumplings.

Take the bone marrow and place it into a little saucepan with some butter. Melt all until golden brown and then take off the heat.

Add some breadcrumbs until all the melted marrow and butter is soaked up.

Depending on the amount of bone marrow, add one or two eggs and a ladle full of soup. Add some chopped parsley, salt and nutmeg, and mix in some flour until you have a nice mix, not too tight, but just enough to hold it together.

Roll the mix into small dumplings and add to the simmering soup.

The Marrow Dumplings are ready when they “surface”.

Guten Appetit!

I hope it makes sense, but the “hand-me-down” recipes don’t come with exact measurements.