Same here, a break from Vietnamese food. Yesterday was spaghetti with home grown cherry tomatoes and pesto, pork chop grilled with a teppanyaki sauce.
Wow! Thank you for a lovely Spätzle photo library! The Spätzle tool they used is made by Tupperware and they packed it in their bags since it is very lightweight. And yes, it went into the dishwasher. The Spätzle dough was not easy to clean, and being young cooks, they dirtied a huge number of dishes and spoons with the dough.
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I still do it now, complained often by husband, though I’m not that young anymore. 
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Since you know I am very precise about Schwäbian cooking, please do not be offended. What you have there is a Knöpfle maker. Knöpfle is when the same egg dough is pressed through a sieve. Knöpfle are easier to do if you are making lots, you also see these in restaurants.
Spätzle are made using the same dough on a board with a special edge and either a long straight knife, or something called a “Schaber”, which looks like this:
The spätzle are then hand “geschabt” from the edge of the board directly into the boiling salted water. This video shows how this works, the accent is pure Südwest ( if you understand regular German you may get a few words here and there):
The correct way is to make some thin and some thick. Also need a good high protein flour and plenty of fresh eggs. Real spätzle are made with eggs only, no water added to the dough.
Yeah, I know. Once I tried to make hand-cut Spätzle and it was labour intensive. After that I only use store-bought.
Spätzle making gets easier with practice and does not take long if you are only doing for 2-4 people.
There are, however, a lot of dishes to clean up after.
Your young guests are most probably Swabians. If anyone who packs a Spätzle sieve it must be a Swabian. They are also known for being frugal. I would also pack one if I had a plastic sieve like that. Spätzle is like rice, you could make different dishes to eat with it. Also, it’s economical and good to eat with most things whether or not one’s travelling on a budget.
Next time you have German speaking guests I think they would be impressed if you know your Spätzle, or make it.
Typical/traditional meals are often served with giant dumplings* in Bavaria which I don’t like so I always ask if it’s possible to swap them for Spätzle. They usually oblige. The partner always says maybe in my previous life I was half Frank and half Swabian. That’s because I like Franconian food but then with Spätzle.
*A type of Bavarian dumpling. Tastes nothing like Spätzle or Schupfnudeln.
Haha… I don’t like this part so much. I let the dough (stuck on the sieve) dry on its own and scrape it off the next day. Pour boiled water all over it to remove the rest with a coarse brush.
The reason this couple brought the Spätzle sieve is that their next stop is to visit her father. She wants to make Spätzle for her American side of the family during their stay. I have no idea what would constitute a Swabian since this is a new word for me. They are both from the Baden-Württemberg region of the country.
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Over to you, VikingK. I believe VikingK can explain it better. He is precise when it comes to Swabia and its cooking.
In short, Baden-Württemberg is a state in south western Germany (officially in the early 50’s). But before that it was 3 different territories.
Vietnamese-esque chicken curry. Having a strong aversion to curry I had to omit the powder. I used fresh tumeric and extra minced lemongrass. The braising liquid is coconut water. Being the partner’s favourite I do make it sometimes.
The thighs were SV because I already made them weeks ago and froze them (of course you can use fresh chicken pieces). Now I only had to make the braising liquid and the stuff that went into it. Then the thighs were added and cooked gently for a little while. For breakfast you eat it with baguette, and for other times round rice noodles or rice. We ate noodles.
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whoo-hooo emglow, congrats!
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Taco bowls for dinner tonight - seasoned ground beef, pickled jalapenos and radishes, olives, sour cream and lots of cilantro. Lots of prep for a BBQ tomorrow as well - I’m smoking pork shoulder and serving with spicy cilantro slaw, German potato salad, and whatever looks good at the farmer’s market - I’m tentatively planning grilled corn on the cob and peach pie for dessert, if the market cooperates, plus crudites and tomato bruschetta with pesto and ricotta for an appetizer. I normally bake my own bread but it has been too hot to turn on the oven, so I am going to let one of the local bakeries do the hot work for me. Some deviled eggs might make an appearance if I am feeling ambitious.
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Well to completely explain this you would have to go back to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.
But to give you the short answer, the area considered to be Schwaben includes parts of the modern German Federal States of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, but not all of these States.
A modern map by local district (Landkreis) is here, Schwäbia is considered to be those districts in red:
The modern area of Schwaben on the map is roughly the same as the medieval duchy of Schwäbia which was ruled by the dukes, then princes of Württemberg, who had their seat in Stuttgart.
Baden has never been considered part of Schwaben since it was a separate state with its own ruler before Gerrman unification, and its people are known as Badenserle, not Schwobbe. The dividing line between Baden and Schwaben runs right through the Black Forest.
Also the part of the old medieval duchy that is now in Bavaria is called Bayrisch Schwaben, just to confuse things a little more. This corresponds to the thick dark line running through the red region on the map.
Further confusing is the two towns which sit next to each other will actually strongly identify with one region or the other, and take this stuff seriously. At one point they were probably border crossings, with all that entails.
The dialects in the different parts, while similar, are not the same. But they are all considered to be Allemannisch, which group further includes Swiss German and refers to the tribe (Allemani) who settled in this area when the Roman empire fell.
Finally the food ways in the entire area are also similar, and include the best food and wine in Germany. The cuisine has more similarities with Northern Italy, the Jura, Alsace and Burgundy than with the rest of Germany. Farm to table never stopped here, and has been going on for centuries.
I would just ask your relatives about this, I am sure they will be able to clarify their exact status and further bore you with lots of details about their origins. I also guarantee they will be particular about food and what they eat.
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Another relatively boring meal, but this one didn’t look all that bad. So a picture. YMMV.
Big-ass BISO chicken breast seasoned with a mix of olive oil, lemon juice, Penzey’s Tuscan Sunset, salt, pepper, and ground sumac. Roasted until roasty-toasty.
Herbed rice (sort of) - some Penzey’s Fine Herbs and a garlic powder/dried orange peel blend, and sauteed carrots, red bell pepper and sugar snap peas sprinkled with the same herbs and garlic blend.
Wine.
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Picked up some stealhead trout and salmon from Costco today. After skinning the trout and portioning all the fish, I used the tails and bellies and dry brined in dark brn sugar and salt then tossed on the smoker.
Served with a tomato and cucumber salad with cubes of a garlic loaf
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Riviera in Ardsley carries bread from Sullivan Street, not sure what you are looking for
Their customer service leave a little to be desired, but they are not far from Yonkers
The farmers market may have something interesting
I hope so! I’m planning to go to Hastings, and Bread Alone and Bien Cuit are both supposed to be there, so I should have options.
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Go early … you will be fine … have fun
