Update #2 on the New German Adventure

Let me start off by planting some music in your brain- you know the kind of tune that played on The Price is Right when the contestant lost and over-guessed the price of things?  That whomp....whomp...whoooooomp thing? Ya, play that in your head for a few minutes. 

I am obviously not going to be a kraut maker, and I'm perfectly ok with that. It was just an experiment in "Can I Do This?" anyway, and I'm not a huge kraut fan to begin with. So no tears of disappointment and fits of frustration will happen here. Just a stinky pot of "stuff" to dispose of.

As I discovered while making a wellness check, I had not a pot of kraut fermenting, but something that looked like it belongs in Alexander Fleming's lab- a pot of mold. Weird mold. Curly, bendy, ruffly moldy in colors I never knew existed, and no, I didn't take any pictures. Gross.

Sir Alexander Fleming, playing with nasty and
disgusting stuff in his lab. Photo courtesy of
Wikimedia.

Out the back door and off to the compost pile with that nonsense. And now........off to the farm for some vegetables I actually know what to do with!!

Dinner from the garden

What a terrible thing it is- to be able to step out in the yard, pick an armful of fresh veggies and make dinner happen. Just terrible. Especially right now, with all the tomatoes, zucchini, herbs, onions, garlic...... just awful.

Tonight we're having dinner from our garden! Fresh yellow summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, onions- the only thing we didn't grow was the hamburger and Parmesan cheese. This is a quick to put together dish, pop it in the oven and relax for 20 minutes or so, then get some pasta water going, toss in some pasta to go alongside and voila! Dinner is served.

Italian Stuffed Summer Squash

• 1 medium yellow summer squash or zucchini
• 1/2 medium red onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• big pinch crushed red pepper
• 2-3 tb minced fresh marjoram, basil, oregano or a combo
• oil
• 1 lb hamburger
• 2 cups tomato sauce or puree

Wash squash well and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and discard. Also scoop out some of the flesh leaving a half inch shell. Chop squash flesh.

In large oven-safe skillet heat a couple TB oil. Add onion, garlic and chopped squash. Saute for 1-2 minutes. Crumble ground beef into skillet. Cook and stir until beef is cooked. Add herbs and pepper. Add half the tomato sauce to skillet, then stuff the squash halves with mixture. Add all remaining sauce to skillet, stir, and nestle the squash in the mixture. Sprinkle with topping mixture (see below). Place in 425 degree oven about 20-30 minutes until squash is tender but not mushy.

Remove carefully to plates, cut in half if you like, and serve with pasta and extra sauce.

Topping-

• 1/4 cup panko
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• pinch of herbs used in dish

Combine in small bowl. Sprinkle over squash. Drizzle with a tiny touch of oil. The topping bakes up crunchy from the panko and salty from the Parmesan cheese and makes the perfect textural element. 

You'll notice I did not precook my squash before stuffing. I prefer mine to still have some hint of crisp to it, but you can certainly precook yours if you like it softer. Put on a microwave safe plate,sprinkle with a few drops of water and cover tightly with plastic wrap- cook for a minute or two until barely tender.

All you need now is a hunk of crusty bread and a breezy spot on the patio to enjoy a perfect summertime dinner!

Canning Cookbook- Chinatown Plum Sauce

Ohhhhhhh I have been waiting a year to be able to make this sauce! Ever since hitting the jackpot- finally, after 2 years of searching the Iowa countryside, I finally found wild plums last summer. So now that I know where all the trees are, I just needed to get through winter, spring and summer again and voila! Plums! I have been wanting to make an Asian plum sauce. Why a plum sauce? Iowa's native wild plums ripen to a gorgeous ruby red and become juicy and sweet like other plums but they are TINY- and that makes it hard to do much with them other than sauces and jams. I have a huge stockpile of jam already so, plum sauce it is!

Just the other day they were green!!

I love learning new techniques and new styles of cooking and Asian foods is definitely a weak spot. Maybe the perfect plum sauce will inspire me to explore Asian recipes and sharpen up my skills! Anyway, let's round up some plums and make this sauce. I am using Iowa wild plums but you can use any plum you like, you just need 10 cups pitted and chopped. Peel the plums if you like, I didn't- they break down well in cooking. You will need-

• 10 cups chopped, pitted plums, peeled if desired
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup regular sugar
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 medium onion, finely minced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 tb finely minced/shredded gingerroot or 1 tb dried ground
• 3 tb crushed red pepper
• 1 tb salt

In crockpot, combine plums with all other ingredients. Cover and set to high. When boiling, turn heat to low and cook several hours until thickened. 

Since it's VERY early in the wild plum season, I had to
supplement with store bought plums, cut up.

To get the perfect smooth sauce, buzz in a blender or food processor for a few seconds. Reheat if necessary.

Red onion, freshly garlic and spicy ginger make the sauce pop!

Ladle hot sauce into half pint or pint jars leaving half inch headspace. Wipe rim, fix lids and rings. Process in boiling water bath for ten minutes. Remove and cool, check for seals after about 12 hours.

This sauce makes an awesome dipping sauce for egg rolls or a great base for a stir fry sauce. You can tame the heat by using a little less crushed red pepper if you like. It's also great for tossing with chicken wings for a Asian take on wings. Depending on the plums you choose you will get a beautiful sauce anywhere from golden yellow to deep purple. 

Hurry up and ripen guys!! I have plans for you!

This recipe is safe for home canning- it's very similar to the recipe featured by Bernardin in Canada. The only differences are in seasonings, the acid is still in there. Safety should always be on the forefront of your mind as a home canner. The internet can be a scary place when it comes to canning recipes with a lot of people touting outdated and unsafe methods. Please check a reputable source before trying a recipe if you're not sure if it's safe.

A new German adventure !

Ok, I have decided. I am taking the plunge. I am going to master this. I've decided it's time that I start to embrace some of the foods I think I don't like (there aren't very many by the way) and try them, and even better, learn to prepare them. So armed with loads of info from some very experienced people to guide me, I am embarking on a new adventure. A German one. A stinky one. I am going to make sauerkraut.

What's the big deal you ask? I have been convinced most of my life that I don't like sauerkraut. To be perfectly honestly, I never really did. Having a mother who was born and raised in Germany meant more than my fair share of sauerkraut on the dinner table, and with the exception of oysters, if Mom made it, we ate it or went hungry. Lots of celebrations at the German American Society meant.....more kraut. An entire summer spent in Europe.....more kraut. When I reached adulthood I swore I'd never cook any of those foods, the ones I was forced to eat as a kid- turnips, kohlrabi, rutabaga........sauerkraut!

I am very fortunate to have so many experienced canners, preservers, and homesteaders as friends. Most of not all of them have some experience with fermenting kraut, and since I'm a total newbie, I need the advice! After spending a lot of time talking with several people I feel like I can do this- and it's much easier than I ever imagined it would be. Two ingredients- cabbage and salt. The amount of cabbage is up to me. Since I have zero experience, I am definitely starting SMALL- using a good size head of cabbage and a small bucket. I'm thinking a few quarts of finished kraut will be a success if this novice can pull it off. 

The process is simple. Slice the cabbage finely. Obviously, the actual size is up to you. You don't want big HUNKS but you also don't want thread-like shreds. You can use whatever method of slicing you like. My friend Ben advised me to not cut it TOO small but to get a good chop on it. I can see why- adding the salt will release the juice from the cabbage, which is what forms the brine. The more cut surfaces, the more brine will be made faster. The Ball Book recipe for kraut uses about 25 lbs (5 heads) and one cup salt. I am planning on about a head to start my small experiment so I will need to do some math with the salt. Too much salt, I'm told, will prevent fermentation, and I'm sure won't taste very good. 

Once the cabbage is sliced, you need to layer it in the CLEAN container you plan to use for fermentation, alternating with salt and using hands, work the salt into the cabbage well, massaging it, crushing it a little, to help break it down and get the juices going. If you get this step right you will have enough brine to cover the cabbage completely. Ball has a brine recipe on their website if you don't get enough from the cabbage. Then weigh the cabbage down with a plate to keep it submerged, cover with a towel to keep multi-legged friends and junk out and place in a 70-75 degree area and let nature do it's thing. It should take a few weeks for the process to finish, and you'll know when it stops bubbling. Skim off any scum as it forms. 

You can do a few things to make your kraut a little different. You can add caraway seeds or juniper berries for a different flavor. You can use white or red cabbage- pink kraut- that's an interesting idea. I didn't do any of these things this time. For me it was a learning experience and I'll try those other ideas later. 

After it's been fermented you can either can it (it's a waterbath canning item so it's easy) or just store in the fridge. It stores well in the fridge for a very very very very long time.

So, now I have my cabbage brined and covered and ready to do its thing. You'll have to stop back by in a few weeks and see how it turns out.