Lumpy Dick
What is Lumpy Dick? (Ok, its probably not what you’re thinking…) Pioneers and some of our ancestors cooked with basic items they had on hand. Flour, eggs, milk, and salt and pepper may be what many families existed on as the winter turned into spring. Lumpy Dick was usually made from flour and water or milk and turned out like thick mush. Also, served with milk. Lumpy Dick graced many tables during the pioneer days or during the depression.
Although I didn’t live during the depression, my mother and father did. My father didn’t care for Lumpy Dick, so mom made it only when he worked the swing shift at the power plant. We ate it with milk, butter and salt, and I may have added some syrup. The lumps remind me of the dumplings my husband makes for his potato soup.
However, my grandfather liked it. After my grandmother died, my grandfather married again and moved to the neighboring town. One day, he called Mom and asked her if she knew how to make Lumpy Dick like her mother made it. She said yes, she did. She asked if he was trying to make Lumpy Dick. He said that his new wife didn’t know how to make it like my grandmother did. Grandma used an egg to make the lumps, along with the flour.
Grandma's Method
First, she beat an egg or two, depending on how many people planned to eat. Second, she dropped the beaten eggs into about a cup flour and mix lightly with a fork to make lumps. Then, she set it aside and heated up milk to a boil, with a tablespoon or so of butter mixed in. Lastly, once the milk boiled, she mixed the flour and egg mixture into the milk, just lightly stirring to wet the flour. When it thickened, it was done. She served it with cold milk, butter, salt, and pepper.
Grandma's Lumpy Dick recipe written out by Aunt Theresa - I added bullet points
- Bring 2 cups milk to a boil with some butter.
- (In a separate bowl)
- Add 1 egg to 2 cups of flour (mix) a little at a time to make lumps.
- When milk is scalded, stir in flour and egg mix.
- Stir enough to moisten the flour.
- Cook until thick.
- Eat with butter, salt and pepper, and cold milk.
My Experience with Lumpy Dick
My mother turned 91 in March. So, I decided to try to make Lumpy Dick for her to see if it would taste the same to her. I cut most of the recipe in half because the two of us done eat much. However, I didn’t cut the egg in half. First, I put 1 cup of milk in a pan to begin heating. Second, I put 1 cup of flour in bowl and mixed in one egg. When the milk started to steam, I added the flour/egg mixture and stirred. Help! The mixture got very thick quickly. I panicked and added a little more milk.
Then, Mom told me the mixture should be thick. The extra milk made it a little sticky, but I served it to my mother anyway. She put some in a bowl and added salt, pepper, and milk. She said it tasted just like she remembered. My brother couldn’t believe we ate it. I remember I liked it as a child, but he didn’t, he was more like Dad. I added the left over Lumpy Dick to a soup I made the next day as dumplings.
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