EUREKA!

As I may have mentioned (a time or two) before, I come from a wonderful place called EUREKA.  Isn't that a most wonderful name for a hometown?  

It's true, there are more Eureka's in the U.S.  One of my college history professors hailed from Eureka, CA, and David and I just happened to drive through Eureka, IL, on our way to Indiana one time on a road trip.  But, there's no place like Eureka, SOUTH DAKOTA.  

Really.  

If you're up for a little social experiment, tell someone--anyone--you are from Eureka and 9 times out of 10, they will say, "Do you know_____?"  If they don't know someone or someone's parents/grandparents personally, they may mention Al Neuharth or the fact that Eureka is listed daily on the USA Today weather map.  Or, maybe they will tell you that they know it is the Home of South Dakota's Official State Dessert. Shouldn't every state have an Official State Dessert?  

Yes, I think so. Some hard-working Eurekans thought so back in 2000 and they got it done for South Dakota.  

One of the most wonderful aspects of Eureka is its authentic German cuisine.  Many of the first generations to make these delicacies have either passed away or are now too old to make them themselves, but thankfully recipes have been handed down, and, with a little practice, we young ones can make them almost as good as Grandma's.  As I've written before, these German specialties are generally simple in nature and were made to 1) Feed a large family on a tight budget and 2) Use what was readily available on the farm.  This means plenty of flour, sugar, eggs, cream and lard make an appearance.  

Eureka has quite the population of centenarians, so they are proof enough to me that these foods MUST be good for you!  

Of course, one of the most famous and delicious of these foods is KUCHEN!

Landen was the one who inspired me to try making kuchen.  Eureka has at least three kuchen sources and I always bring back kuchen for the family when I make a visit there.  Why couldn't we make it ourselves?  Well, I didn't know why not!

We used the recipe for Thin Crust Thick Custard Kuchen from www.eurekasd.com.  Just click on Unique to Eureka and it's right there for you.  Really, what more could you want?  The name says it all.  We used thawed frozen strawberries for our fruit and I spread it in a jelly roll pan.  Next time, I will try to put it in pie tins to make it look more authentic.  This recipe actually reminds me of the kuchen the Eureka Bakery used to make when I was growing up.  

Life would be better if we all came from Eureka.  But, since that's not possible, eating kuchen is almost as good.  If you don't want to make it yourself, get some for yourself at http://www.eurekasd.com/Businesses/listing.htm#Food.