My Grandmother and Grandfather came to this country from Kaunus and Babtai, Lithuania, right before WW I. My mother used to make this recipe for us, when I was a child, before I tasted soft drinks or fast food. I have never seen it anywhere else, although I don't know why. It is not a pastry, but that is the closest description I could give for it.

This recipe uses Farmer's Cheese, but large curd dry cottage cheese can be used, instead. There are no measurements. Start by placing about 8 oz or so of cheese in a large mixing bowl. Add about 4 - 5 eggs and mix in. Add a couple of tablespoons of floor. You should end up with a large, sticky ball that is slightly yellow and sort of holds its shape but is limp. If not, add more floor.

On a flat surface or large wooden cutting board, dust with floor and roll out cheese/egg ball flat, using a rolling pin, till it is about a half to 3/4 inch thick. Take a sharp knife and draw parallel lines about 1 1/2 inches apart through the surface, and then cut across so that the pieces are a diamond shape.

Boil a large pan of water. Ok to add salt. using a spatula, drop each diamond shaped piece into the water and let it sink to the bottom, only cooking about 3 or 4 pieces at a time, so you and pick them back out of the boiling water. When they start to float back up to the top, they are done. Using a flat spatula, lift each piece out of the water and drop them into a frying pan filled with melted butter, breadcrumbs, cinnamon and sugar. Flip and fry on both sides, letting each piece stick to the cinnamon breadcrumb mixture and using plenty of butter or margarine. Place on a paper towel and let cool. Serve warm.

This is an authentic dish, straight from my great grandmother, Stephania Dogwillow Towianski, passed to her eldest daughter, Helen Towianski Bilida, to her daughter, Johanna, my mother. It is not meant to be healthy, but it will give you an idea of what European cooking was like, before the arrival of spices and chocolate. This is what we do with Farmer’s cheese.