Sunday, July 15, 2012

Recipe: Feeling German?

German roots run deep in my blood (both sets of grandparents are from the Motherland)... so it's no surprise that I enjoy German food... after all, I grew up on this stuff. So many people are familiar with the traditional dishes: Schnitzel with sauerkraut, Bratwurst on a bun, Goulash, etc. However, my favorite will always be a yummy pork roast with yeast dumplings and red cabbage. Yes, I've been eating "clean" for the last 2 weeks, and yes this breaks that streak (because of those yeast dumplings!) ... but it was for a good cause. Our dear friend is leaving Korea shortly, and he (like us) enjoys German food just about as much as we do... so we wanted to share one last meal together with him before he makes his way back to America.




Along with the pork roast and steamed dumplings, I decided to make a traditional red cabbage. So many people buy the jars full of this stuff (like sauerkraut) rather than create it all from scratch... but that is where the clean eating comes in. The idea is to avoid all preservatives/processed food... and to create with fresh ingredients... and that is JUST what I did with the red cabbage. Red cabbage is SUPER healthy for you...really, any cabbage is packed full with nutrients. What you may not know, is that sautéing your cabbage, is actually one of the best cooking methods that allows for concentrated nutrient retention. You can read more cabbage here.

I asked my sister for her scrumptious recipe (the way all the other ladies in our family cook it), and she delivered...

Ingredients:

head of red cabbage
bacon (5 strips)
1 medium sized onion
salt and peppercorns
2-3 bay leaves
vinegar
ground clove

Directions:

Thinly slice up, into long strands, the entire head of cabbage. In the pot you'll use to cook all the cabbage ( a large one) fry up the 5 slices of bacon that you have cut up into small bits ( if you have a lot of excess grease remove it but leave about a table spoons worth). Then add to that a medium sized onion chopped up...sautee until onion is opaque. Next add in cabbage and a little water so that it helps cook down the cabbage ( keep on about medium- medium low heat) Cover and cook about 10-15 minutes. Then stir up cabbage again, add salt to taste...add in the bay leaves, a small palms worth of peppercorns (about a Tbsp worth) and a swig of vinegar. The vinegar will make the cabbage lighten up a little. Stir and cook another 20 minutes or so until the cabbage is cooked but not totally mush. Taste test again and add more vinegar if desired. Also this is when I add some ground clove...don't go crazy with it...a little goes a long way.


and since I'm on this "purple" kick... how about some photos of the sweetest little blooms I picked up this week.



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2 comments:

  1. Yummy food and gorgeous flowers!!! Wish you lived closer to me. :)

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  2. I love cooked cabbage. Always have! This looks delicious and your table setting is so cute. I like the idea of eating clean but I'm sure it's okay to cheat a little every once in a while! : )

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