Advice To New Husbands

Don't tell your wife that her cabbage rolls are good and then tell her how they could be more like your mother's.


I'm just saying.... :P

How to Make Cabbage Rolls

It was my mother's fault really. She suggested I try making cabbage rolls and that got me looking up recipes and buying ingredients. I've never made cabbage rolls before.

When you are first married (if you did it right) you are in possession of a great deal of brand new equipment and accoutrements for your kitchen. It's like being an antique car enthusiast who is suddenly given a key to Jay Leno's garage.

So, I started right in with a bit of a grin and cooked it... and cooked more, and then cooked some more and then cooked other things.... Cabbage rolls are very involved! Across town my sister was making cabbage roll soup, a simple recipe with none of the craziness and all of the flavor. By nine o'clock I was jealous.

A few notes from my experience:
Don't use the outer cabbage leaves (too tough)
Add more spices if the recipe calls for none
Use wild rice for a little crunch (or celery or both)
Drink riesling while cooking, but only after you've removed the hot pans from the oven and let them cool... : )

I would have taken a picture of my own cabbage rolls if I had had a camera handy. As is, I include a professional shot:


Recipe k_sra used for cabbage rolls

Pot Roast

So, after 29 years I managed to do something I've only till now dreamed about...

I made a pot roast!

I know you're probably as excited as I am (with the possible exception of the vegetarians in the room). A real live, honest-to-goodness pot roast (with pot and roast in it!). And now that I have made a pot roast and it even tasted good, I'm crazy to make some more crock pot recipes. I bought six and a half pounds of frozen chicken breast just for this unexpected turn of culinary events.

Wait, backing up. Perhaps many of you do not know to what minimalist accommodations I repair each evening. My kitchen is tiny. And by tiny, I mean, it has no stove. I've been juggling my cooking skills between a microwave, a toaster, a hot plate and a water kettle. I cannot bake anything. And whereas in my heart of cake-loving hearts this is a terrible burden to bear, still, it is not too great a price to pay for freedom of private and affordable living space. I love my pad.

Now, on to the triumphant story at hand...

I had been eyeballing rump roasts since the day my sister presented me (literally made a present of) a one and a half quart crock pot. The only cooking attempt since it's arrival was a rather doomed pile of cranberries I overcooked and then which gloomily garnished Christmas Dinner. Others claimed it was good, and that they couldn't really taste the burnt parts, but none of this was any comfort. I had failed. Again. To cook anything delicious. My culinary skills were right up there with my Java skills... not good.

So when I had finally decided to attempt a roast, it was not without some trepidation. I purchased an English roast, small potatoes and a large Spanish onion and proceeded to cram them into my tiny crock pot. I left for church, just like you are supposed to (seriously, to me, a crock pot cooking means it is Sunday) and returned home that evening to a gurgling, beautifully cooked Angus Beef dinner! Trala!

Now, I'm gathering recipes and have even found a new favorite website. If you have crock pot recipes and would like to share, please do! I'm all ears.

Moroccan Ksra

I found this recipe for Ksra Bread on the internet today. Don't ask me why I was looking for ksra recipes on the internet. It's none of your business.

I should definitely try to make this sometime and then regale you all with the disastrous results. Here's the recipe:

This tasty flat bread is usually made to be eaten with tagine, a spicy Moroccan stew. Original recipe yield: 2 loaves.

INGREDIENTS:
7/8 cup water
2 1/4 cups bread flour
3/4 cup semolina flour
1 teaspoon anise seed
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Place the first set of ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select DOUGH cycle; press Start. Do not put the olive oil or sesame seeds in.
When the dough cycle signals its end, remove the dough from the machine, and punch down. Divide the dough into two halves, and shape into balls. Flatten the balls to a 3/4 inch thickness. Place them on a lightly floured baking sheet. Cover with towels, and let rise until double in size, about 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Brush the top of each loaf with olive oil, and sprinkle with sesame seeds if you like. Prick the tops of the loaves with a fork.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the loaves are golden, and sound hollow when tapped. Serve warm or cool.

Summer Beverages

It is summertime. It is hot and sticky and mildly irritating. What we all need is a lovely Summer beverage or two to cool us down and keep us perky and hydrated. I'm fairly certain some, if not all, of you have super satisfying secret summer drink recipes hiding somewhere up your sleeves. So spill 'em!

Here's mine:

So-You-Can-See-The Sunrise

ingredients: 4 ounces cranberry juice
2 1/2 ounces orange juice
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Ginger Ale

how to mix: Blend the juices with ice until smooth and pour into a tall 12 ounce glass. Top with ginger ale, Garnish with a fruit stick and serve with a straw. Serve in a tall 12 ounce glass.

Pop Quiz

There will be a test next week on edible flowers so I'd study the list in the title bar now if I were you!

The Ciderhouse Rules

Worldgineer informs me that hard cider can be made at home.

Mmm, hard, hard cider.

Let's have a picture, shall we? That's lovely. (There's one bad apple in every jug! That's what gives it its hardness...) Hard cider is made from crushed apples, yeast and closure. Or rather vacuum. Or something. You put the apple juice in a bottle, add some yeast (the right kind), you can also add sugar if'n you want, but it's not necessary, shake it all up (also called pitch), seal it with a tube thingy and let her sit 2-3 days in warm room temp. Then 1-2 days in frig. Drink and enjoy! *

Use responsibly.

*More fun squirrel pictures!