I never, ever knew where rivels came from. I only knew it came somehow from my mother's mother (born 1909), whose forebears were Hottels and Boehms from around Tom's Brook, but I had NO idea any other family ate rivels. And who knows how it has been changed since her forebears left the valley in the 1850s (to escape service in the Civil War). Anyway, here is how we make rivels. It really isn't a recipe, it's more like directions. Make a pile of flour (about 1 cup). Sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Crack an egg on the pile. Mix the egg in with your fingers. Eventually, the mixture should be a very dry dough. When it gets to that stage, crumble the mix with your fingers & thumbs into very small irregular cylindrical shapes. Crumble these further as you drop them into 3 or 4 cups of boiling chicken broth. When you've crumbled all the dough into the chicken broth, cover the pot, reduce the heat, and let it all steam for at least 5 minutes. (Depends on the size of your crumbles. Larger crumbles take more time.) The rivels are done when they are soft all the way through. We (siblings & I) imagined that rivels was spelled rivvels, but I don't know why. This soupy mess is still a favorite comfort dish for my 19, 22, and 24 year old kids and their cousins -- although I'm the only one of my siblings still making it. Glad to hear the old way might be living beyond our family! Could you let me know how you came to know about rivels? Jody Benjamin > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2008 22:23:05 EST > From: [email protected] > Subject: [VASHENAN] A recipe for Rivels > To: [email protected] > Message-ID: <[email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" > > Vashenan Listmates, > > Does anyone have an old fashioned recipe for Rivels from the Valley of > Virginia? > > Please share it! > Thanks. > Gloria Bushong > > >