Sustainable Tool: Spaetzle Maker

I make a lot of spaetzle in this house, which I have mentioned many times before.  It is a great way to get some free-range, farm-fresh eggs into our diet, I'm sure that I'm using organic flour, and I occasionally even sneak some homegrown butternut squash puree in there for extra veggies.

The problem is, the traditional way of making spaetzle includes forcing it through a grater or colander to make the little pieces. Sure, I once knew a woman who could just slice the batter off her spoon in tiny pieces faster than your German grandmother, but that's not me.  And my box grater winds up catching the batter too much, while my colander is too hard to hold above the boiling water.

This device is a pot strainer.  Designed to let you drain your pasta without taking it out of the pot, I have found it is also idea for making spaetzle. Just lay it on the edge of the pot (it has little feet to hold it in place), and force the batter through.  Rotate the pot occasioonally so your spaetzle doesn't all fall in the same spot.  Voila!  Spaetzle without the hassel!

The Analysis
Fast:  Forcing the spaetzle through the strainer is the only hard part of the job, so anything that makes this quicker means I'm more likely to make spaetzle on a weeknight instead of saving it for the weekend.

Cheap:  I think this was in the $5 range at my local grocery.

Good:  This strainer seems to be the answer to my needs. It would be ideal if I could find one that covered half of the pot or so, but right now, this is working just fine.