I am both the child of an immigrant and the grandchild of immigrants.  My mother moved from Germany to the US with her parents as a child and my paternal grandmother moved to the US in 1959 after having met and married my American grandfather in Heidelberg, Germany. It is that grandmother's (Omi's) story I will focus on here. The recipe I listed is her recipe, but written down by me.  She must have written this recipe down at some point, but I've never seen it. The only times I've ever seen it written is when I do it, or another friend or family member wants the recipe and they copy it down as she recites it. Omi always recites it and I'm pretty sure that is how the recipe came with her- by memory.  We have had spätzle at nearly every family gathering both in the US and in Germany. My family has the fortune to be able to maintain very close connections with both the place of Germany and the family still there, we travel to and from rather often. Stories of time we almost ran out of spätzle weigh heavily in family lore. 
 Omi and Granddad met while working in Heidelberg, Germany after WWII. Omi was a German translator and Granddad in the American army and stationed there. They got married in Heidelberg, honeymooned across Europe, and then moved to California.  Omi's flight from Germany to the US was the first time she had ever been on an airplane, but after that initial flight she would fly home to Germany often.  

– Danielle Wetmore

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant