Cabbage with Bacon and Apples

Cabbage with Bacon and Apples

I have terrible allergies and am having autoimmune trouble, so my doctor has asked me for the next 30 days to eat no dairy, no grain, no sugar, no legumes, no preservatives, and no night shades (tomatoes, white potatoes, peppers, or eggplants.)  When she told me this, I wondered, “What’s left?”  Veggies and meat and creativity.  So in an effort to heal myself I have really stretched my imagination.  I wrote down a list of all the food I was allowed to eat and began to think.  I remembered that my grandmother used to feed us veggie heavy meals with meat as a seasoning instead of the main ingredient.  That was probably to save money more than it was to be healthy, but the food was tasty.  She often made cabbage soup and cabbage rolls. So she was my inspiration for this dish.

I went to a grocery store in town that makes its own bacon.  The butchers do not add any nitrates or preservatives.  They sell bacon ends, which are meaty rather than fatty.  If you do not have access to a good butcher then use ham ends instead.  You can use purple cabbage or a mixture of green and purple for added color.  Just know if you use purple, it will color everything.

I will continue to make this even after I am allowed to eat normally again.  It is delicious.  It is also really fast and easy to make. I actually caught myself craving the leftovers today.  It is savory, sweet, and a little tangy.

Serving: 4 main dishes or 8 side dishes

Time: Prep: 10 minutes, Cook: 35 minutes
Hardware:  Measuring spoons and cups, cutting board and knives, a bowl of water, a large (5.5 quart) sauté pan, tongs

Ingredients:

• ½ pound nitrate free smoked ham or bacon ends
• 1 large head cabbage
• 1 medium onion
• 1 cup matchstick carrots
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
• ⅛ teaspoon celery seed
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup water
• 2 Granny Smith apples
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• Salt & Pepper

1. Slice the cabbage into thin ribbons. Slice the onion into rings. Chop the garlic. Wash and chop the apples.  Put the apples into a bowl of water until you need them.
2. Put the bacon in the cold pan and place over medium heat.  Allow most of the fat to render from the bacon, tossing often enough to stop the bacon from burning (7 minutes). Drain all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan.
3. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic. Cook until the onions are soft (about 5 minutes) tossing often.  Add the cabbage and toss.  Sprinkle on the fennel, celery seeds, and salt.  Add the water.  Cook until the cabbage is tender (about 15 minutes.) Drain the apples and toss them in during the last 5 minutes of cooking.  Toss often.
4. Add the vinegar and adjust the salt & pepper. Serve warm.

Gurkensalat (Cucumber Salad)

My friend Pat’s mother is from Germany. She has served this many times at picnics. It is creamy, bright, and refreshing. I tried to recreate her dish. This isn’t quite as wonderful as Maria’s, but it is still tasty.

Servings: 4
Time: 20 minutes
Hardware: Measuring cups and spoons, a vegetable peeler, cutting board and knife, a colander, a bowl

Das schmeckt sehr gut.
This tastes very good.

 Ingredients:

• 1 English cucumber, these are long, skinny, and seedless (You can substitute 2 regular cukes, but you must seed them.)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons chives
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• Fresh black pepper

1. Peel the cucumber. Slice it into very thin 2 inch strips.
2. Place the cucumber in the colander and sprinkle with salt. Allow it to rest over the sink for 15 minutes.
3. While the cucumber is resting, mix together everything but the pepper.
4. Squeeze as much of the water as possible from the cucumbers and mix them into the dressing.
5. Top with a few grinds of pepper.

You can serve this right away or place it in the fridge to allow the flavors to meld.

Black Forest Cherry Cake

This cake is not my creation.  I borrowed it from my friend Christoph and his mom.  However, it is too good to keep to myself.

• 1 tablespoon butter, softened -> for cake pan
• 6 tablespoons or 3/8 cup flour -> for cake pan
• 10 tablespoons or 5/8 cup sweet butter
• 6 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract         
• 1 cup sugar
• ½  cup sifted flour
• ½  cup unsweetened cocoa

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. With a pastry brush or paper towel, lightly coat the bottoms and sides of three 7-inch round cake pans with soft butter (about 1 tablespoon). [ If you don‘t have 3 cake pans just use one and slice the cake after it is baked and cooled into 3 disks.] Then sprinkle 2 tablespoons of flour into each pan, tip them from side to side to spread the flour evenly, then turn pans upside down to remove excess flour.
2. Slowly melt 10 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over low heat without letting it brown. Let it rest for a minute off the heat, then skim off the foam. Spoon the clear butter in a bowl and set aside. Discard the milky solids at the bottom of the pan.
3. Combine eggs, vanilla extract and sugar in a bowl and mix on high speed for at least 10 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and fluffy. 
4. Combine the ½ cup of sifted flour and the unsweetened cocoa in a sifter. Sift it over the eggs, folding it in gently with a rubber spatula. Finally, add the clarified butter 2 tablespoons at a time. Do not overmix. Gently pour the mixture into the cake pans , dividing it evenly. 
5. Bake in the middle of the oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes. (It is done when cake tester inserted in center comes out clean). Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool in the pans for about 5 minutes. Then run a sharp knife around the edge of each cake and turn them out on racks to cool completely.

 Syrup:

• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 cup cold water
• 1/3 cup kirsch

1. Meanwhile, prepare kirsch syrup in the following fashion: Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. Boil briskly, uncovered, for 5 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and when the syrup has cooled to lukewarm stir in the kirsch.
2. Transfer the cakes to a long strip of wax paper and prick each layer lightly in several places with a fork. Sprinkle the layers evenly with the syrup and let them rest for 5 minutes.

Filling and topping:

• 3 cups chilled heavy cream
• ½ cup confectioners‘ sugar
• ¼ cup kirsch
• 1 cup drained and rinsed canned sour cherries
• A few drops of red food coloring
• Fresh cherries
• Chocolate sprinkles

1. After rinsing the cherries, make sure they are completely dry (you can use a paper towel) before further use. In a large chilled bowl, beat the cream with an electric beater until it thickens lightly. Sift the confectioners‘ sugar over the cream and continue beating until cream forms firm peaks on the beater when it is lifted out of the bowl. Pour in the kirsch and red food coloring.  Beat only until the kirsch is absorbed.
2. To assemble the cake, spread the top of one of the three layers with a ½-inch-thick layer of whipped cream and strew the dried canned cherries over it leaving about ½ inch of cream free around the perimeter. Gently set the second layer on top of the cherries and spread with ½ inch of whipped cream. Then set the third layer in place. Spread the top and sides of the cake with the remaining cream.
3.  Decorate the cake with some cherries and chocolate sprinkles on top.