Pork and dumplings with sauerkraut

This weekend I had the fantastic opportunity to travel to the Czech Republic and visit a good friend of mine studying in Prague. I had an amazing time. Prague is a beautiful city and full of things to do and see. I also loved the food! Typical Czech cuisine is very heavy, consisting primarily of meat. They are famous for goulash (a type of beef stew) and pork, both of which I was able to try (and enjoyed). They are usually served with a side of dumplings, either bread or potato based, with which to mop up the sauce, as well as cabbage or sauerkraut (and of course, beer with which to wash it down). Prague is famous for Pilsner Urquell, a beer brewed in nearby Pilsen, and the original golden beer. We also tried the beer at two pubs and microbreweries, U Fleků  and Pivovarský dům. U Fleků is possibly the most well-known pub in Prague and a tourist hot spot. It was therefore overpriced but has arguably the best beer in the city. The atmosphere is very traditional, with long wooden benches and loud locals singing traditional patriotic songs. Pivovarský dům is less well-known and therefore much more reasonable. They promise to offer at a minimum 8 kinds of beer. We got the sampler, with dark, light, wheat, coffee, sour-cherry, banana, vanilla, and nettle beer.

Czech pancake with blackberries, sour cream and whipped cream (and mint garnish)

I also got to try a variety of traditional desserts, such as the sweet dumplings, which are filled with fruit (usually plum) and covered in a sweet cream-cheese sauce. Delicious! Pictured above are traditional crêpe-like pancakes covered with blackberries, sour-cream and whipped cream.

Sprat’s Pork Hocks with Apples and Sauerkraut

Start with all the ingredients for this delicious meal.

Add veggies to the pot covering the pork hocks.

Add beer, I chose Red Stripe….but any beer will fit the bill.

Simmer over a medium to low heat.

Cook up the bacon and sausage separately to add to the pot.

Add the apple throughout the cooking process.

This german dish has a unique and fabulous flavour with the spices and beer. An Octoberfest specialty but tastes wonderful anytime of the year.

Ingredients

1 package sauerkraut, rinsed well under cold water and drained
6 slices bacon, sliced
1 or 2 links of sausage, sliced
4 pork hocks, skin on
1 whole onion, diced
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 apples ( 3 chopped – 1 halved and baked )
1 1/2 tbsp flour or cornstarch
2 tbsp brown sugar
1.5 (12-oz) bottle beer
4 cups water
1 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp caraway seed
2 small bay leaves
1/4 tsp garlic spice
8 small potatoes, halved
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare

Season pork hocks with celery seed, pepper and garlic spice and caraway seed.

In a skillet, saute bacon and sausage over medium-high heat until fat is rendered. Do not brown, then set aside.

In a deep pot, submerge pork hocks with sauerkraut, beer and water. Add chopped carrots, celery and onions. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce to simmer and add bacon, sausage and chopped apples. Add bay leaves, cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours stirring occasionally. Add brown sugar to taste.

Cook chopped red cabbage, and white potatoes separately. Bake apples in the oven with a small amount of water.
When pork hocks are cooked, thicken juices with cornstarch or flour to desired consistency.

Serve pork hocks with red cabbage and potatoes, smothered with sauerkraut and veggies. Garnish with baked apple on the side.

Serves 3-4

I’m making cucumber pickles and Brussels sprouts pickles right now.  At least, that is my goal.  I say it that way because I did not have any available Mason jars when I bought the Kirby cucumbers and Brussels sprouts on the spur of themoment, so I used glass jars I had on hand (mayonnaise jars with plastic tops and a hot pepper paste jar with a metal lid)

This will be interesting to see… must the jars have those two piece lids where juice can seep out, or is that optional.  Either I will get pickles, or I will not.

The making process was as follows:

I cut the Kirby’s in half lengthwise and stuffed them in a jar they fit into.  Then I put mixed 1 T sea salt with @ 1 C spring water, 1 T acidophilus, and @ 2 T dill weed, and poured that into the jar.  ( I know that you are supposed to use dill seed, but I did not have any, so this is a big experiment)  I filled the jar to @ 1 inch from the top, squashed the Kirbys down to be under the liquid, and capped it tightly.  It is sitting over there on the counter, and I am hoping.

With the Brussels sprouts, I did much the same thing. I cut them in half, packed them into a jar that fit, and filled it with the same mix as above.

I’ll test in a week. Either I will have delicious pickles, or I will have learned how not to do.

Meanwhile, I  am out there looking for where I can get Mason jars in different sizes in New York City, and I haven’t tried the pickle/sauerkraut maker that I received in the mail (I need about 4 cabbages to fill that baby, and I still have about 1 qt of delicious cabbage/watermelon radish/daikon sauerkraut… should start a ne batch in a few days, so I will use it then)

Like many of you, I am still recuperating from having inhaled massive amounts of protein, potatoes, and pies. My brain is still in a state of mash-potatoes, so all I can manage is to pull together a slide show of what I consumed over the course of the 4 day eating binge. Dim the lights and start the projector!

First, there was the 25# butterball…

with requisite stuffing….

add an injection of starch….

home-made sauerkraut with bits of smoked pork belly…

a “light” Waldorf Salad…

and that’s just the savories!

and honorable mention goes to the green beans, orange-ginger carrots, and cranberry relish.

And then there were the deserts:

Pumpkin Pie, Apple Crumble with hot Vanilla Custard…

and a lemon cream pie….

oh and what didn’t even have a chance for a photo-op was the box of 50 chocolate truffles courtesy of Mr. Chocolate, Jacques Torres.

Of course, CB’s Dad couldn’t let us leave on our trip back without making sure we had a belly full of scrapple. I’ve never had scrapple before so I was in for a real down-home treat. Scrapple consists of everything except the “oink.” It’s a Pennsylvannia Dutch country classic that is a loaf of pigs scraps (i.e., offals, heart, liver, head) that is binded with flour, herbs, and spices. It looks like a pate and tastes like pate before pate went to college to study abroad in Paris in its junior year.

Here’s Dad slicing up the Scrapple….

and here it is after it’s fried so that there’s a thin, crispy layer on the outside and a soft, custard-like oozy inside.

I certainly enjoyed the heck out of it!

Sauerkrauteintopf, Baechu Kimchi aus Korea und Fenchelbratwürste. Das Was-isst-Du-Stöckchen, Rösti und Rindstournedos an Sauce Béarnaise mit Pommes Anna. Kürbis-Quiche und fränkische Tapas.

- Cocoba Nuss-Nougatcreme, Equita Schokoaufstrich, Cocoba Crème Nuss-Nougat-Brotaufstrich, Coop Max Havelaar Haselnuss-Brotaufstrich

28.08.09 Isst ihr Sushi gerne?

27.11.08 Hier zwei Links auf zwei Seiten von zwei Blogs auf Deutsch über das Kohlchen und das Sauerkraut.

Opera, ein europäischer Browser, und Mozilla, Linux und Apple

- Für SüdtirolerInnen: Neomedia

- Dein Lieblingssong – Abstimmen

- Eure beste Reiseziele? – Abstimmen

27. November ‘08

verändert am 30. November 2009

calogeromira.wordpress.com – e-mail

Vielleicht Watt/Stunden speichern

Learn how easy it is to make your own sauerkraut, kimchi, and other vegetables at home from Sandor Ellix Katz aka Sandorkraut, author of Wild Fermentation:

The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods.

Video directed and edited by Matthew Feliss

Sauerkraut – einfach und lecker!

Unser pinkes Sauerkraut

Der Herbst ist da und im Garten wird es ruhiger. Die Bauern verkaufen Kohl und wir decken uns für den Winter ein. Unsere Lieblingslagerungsart für Kohl (und anderes Gemüse) ist in Form von Sauerkraut. Jetzt denkt mancher Leser sicher, “Sauerkraut, das schmeckt mir nicht.” Aber wer schonmal richtig frisches Sauerkraut gegessen hat, weiß, wieviel besser das ist als das Sauerkraut aus dem Laden, das schon eine Weile in der Verpackung sitzt oder womöglich noch das abgekochte Sauerkraut aus der Dose.
Außerdem ist Sauerkraut total einfach zu machen!
Also, los gehts:

Man braucht:
Gemüse
Salz
ein Messer/Raspel/Küchenmaschine
ein Schneidebrett
eine Schüssel
ein Gefäß für das Sauerkraut (Größe je nach gewünschter Menge von Sauerkraut)
ein Gewicht

Erst wird das Gemüse geschnitten. Je nachdem ob man das Sauerkraut lieber grob oder fein mag, schneidet man es entsprechend.
Dann wird das Gemüse mit 2% Salz vermischt (sprich: auf 1 kg Gemüse kommen 20 g Salz). Gut durchmischen, damit das Salz sich gut verteilt.
Danach wird das nun salzige Gemüse entweder gestampft (mit einem Sauerkrautstampfer, Fleischhammer, etc.) oder mit den Händen gut gedrückt. Das bringt die Zellwände zum Platzen und das Salz kann dem Gemüse die Flüssigkeit entziehen, die dann mit dem Salz zur Sauerkrautlake wird und das Kraut haltbar macht.
Das Gemüse wird dann in das saubere und trockene Gefäß gestopft, wobei so wenig Luft wie möglich zwischen dem Gemüse bleiben soll. Schon nach wenigen Minuten hat das Salz dem Gemüse soviel Flüssigkeit entzogen, dass es mit Lake bedeckt ist, wenn man drauf drückt. Das ist der Trick beim Sauerkraut: Die salzige Lake verhindert Schimmel – allerdings nur, wenn wirklich alles Gemüse unter Wasser ist! Deswegen braucht man jetzt noch ein Gewicht, das das Gemüse unter der Lake halt. Bei richtigen Gärtöpfen sind meistens Steine mit dabei, aber wenn man kleine Mengen von Sauerkraut in Einweckgläsern macht (so wie wir, wenn wir experimentelle Ansätze machen), reicht auch ein kleines Schraubglas, das mit Wasser gefüllt ein gutes Gewicht abgibt. Am besten hat das Schraubglas eine solche Größe, die es gerade so durch die Öffnung des anderen Gefäßes passen lässt, damit möglichst wenig Luft an den Ansatz kann (daher haben Gärtöpfe eine Wasserrille als Luftschranke). Alternativ kann man auch einen Teller von passender Größe mit Gewicht darauf benutzen. Gegen Fruchtfliegen kann man ein Tuch über den Ansatz legen.
Das Sauerkraut in spe sollte besonders am Anfang an einem warmen Ort (~20C) stehen, damit der Gärvorgang in Schwung kommt.
So, das Gemüse ist unter Wasser; das Gewicht ist drauf; jetzt heißt es warten!
Gärtöpfe fangen meistens nach einigen Stunden an, rhythmisch zu “blip!”pen, kleinere Einweckglasansätze schäumen meistens ganz schön und können auch überlaufen. Nach einigen Tagen läßt die Gärungsintensität nach und das Blippen wird seltener und das Überlaufen hört ganz auf. In den ersten zwei Wochen sollte darauf geachtet werden, dass die Lake auch wirklich immer alles bedeckt und ggf. jeden Tag das Kraut runtergedrückt werden.
Ab etwa zwei Wochen ist das Kraut essfertig, aber man kann es auch länger gären lassen. Der beste Aufbewahrungsort für Sauerkraut ist im Gärgefäß, weswegen man immer nur so viel rausholen sollte, wie man direkt essen möchte. Nach dem Entnehmen von Kraut muss das verbleibende Kraut wieder gut unter die Lake gedrückt werden, um Schimmel zu vermeiden. Dann wieder Gewicht drauf, Tuch drüber, fertig. Jetzt kann man das Sauerkraut auch an einen kühleren Ort stellen.

Wir essen unser Kraut am liebsten roh oder mit Käse überbacken auf Toast.

Noch ein paar Gedanken zum Sauerkraut:

Hm, lecker!

Traditionell wird Sauerkraut mit Weißkohl gemacht, aber Rotkohl enthält laut der US-Behörde für Landwirtschaft und ihrer tollen Ernährungsdatenbank ungefähr die doppelte Menge an Nährstoffen. Daher mischen wir beide Kohle und erhalten ein sehr hübsches, pinkes Kraut.

Sauerkraut enthält viel Vitamin C, was gerade im Winter wichtig ist. In Korea wurde zum Beispiel beobachtet, dass Kimchi, die koreanische Version des Sauerkrauts, gegen Vogelgrippe half.  Außerdem wurde Sauerkraut früher auf Seereisen mitgenommen, um der Vitamin-C-Mangelkrankheit Skorbut vorzubeugen.

Sauerkraut entsteht durch Milchsäuregärung. Die Bakterien, die hierfür verantwortlich sind, sind überall – in der Luft, am Kraut, … – man braucht also nichts zuzusetzen, sondern hat kostenlos kleine Helfer. Falls man aber schon einen gärenden Ansatz hat und dem neuen Ansatz einen kleinen Schubser geben möchte, kann man vom gärenden Ansatz ein wenig Flüssigkeit nehmen und es mit in den neuen Ansatz geben. Das beschleunigt den Prozess etwas.

Sandor Ellix Katz schreibt in seinem empfehlenswerten Buch „Wild Fermentation“, dass gegärte Lebensmittel leichter verdaulich sind und die Gärung teilweise Nährstoffe umwandelt, so dass man in Gärprodukten zB. Vitamin B12 findet, das sonst hauptsächlich in Tierprodukten zu Hause ist. Außerdem zitiert er zum Thema Sauerkraut eine finnische Studie von Eeva-Liisa Ryhanen, die herausgefunden hat, dass so genannte Glukosinolate im Kohl durch die Gärung zu Isothiocynaten umgewandelt werden – und letztere bekämpfen wohl Krebs. Toll, oder?

Also dann, guten Appetit!

________________________________________________________

Sauerkraut – easily made and delicious!

Our pink sauerkraut

Autumn is here and the garden is slowing down. The farmers are selling cabbages in bulk and we’re getting our share ready for winter. Our favourite way of storing cabbage (and other vegetables) is as sauerkraut. Now some reader might think, „sauerkraut, I don’t like that stuff“. But if you have ever had really fresh sauerkraut, you know how much better that is than the packaged stuff.
Also, sauerkraut is very easy to make!
So, here we go:

You need:
Vegetables
Salt
a knife/grater/kitchen aid
A cutting board
a bowl
a container for the sauerkraut
a weight

First we cut the vegetables small. Depending on how you like your kraut, cut it finer or coarser.
Then you mix the vegetables with 2% salt (that is: 20 g salt per 1kg of vegetable). Mix it well so the salt gets everywhere.
Now you either pound the vegetables with a wooden sauerkraut pestle or whatever you have handy, or you squish it well with your hands. That makes the cell walls burst and they release the liquid that together with the salt makes the brine that keeps the kraut from molding.
The vegetables are then stuffed into the clean and dry container. Stuff well so that as little air as possible remains. After only a few minutes the salt will have drawn enough liquid out the vegetables to cover everything when you press it down. It’s important that all vegetable bits are covered by the brine because exposure to air will make them mold. So that’s why you need a weight to keep them from floating up. Real sauerkraut crocks usually come with weight stones, but if you have another container a plate weighted down or a little jar filled with water will suffice. It’s clever to have a jar that only just fits into your container, so that it keeps the air out as much as possible. Sauerkraut crocks have a little grove that you fill with water and when the lid sits in there, it blocks the air out, but the gas can still get out. Clever, hu?
Unless you have that, you can also put a cloth over your container to keep fruit flies out.
Especially in the beginning the kraut needs warmth to start fermenting. Temperatures around 20C are good.
Ok, vegetables are under „water“, weighted down, now we have to wait!
After a few hours, maybe longer, sauerkraut crocks start to go „blip!“; other containers might start to foam and overflow. After a few days, however, the fermentation slows down and the blipping and foaming decreases and eventually stops. The overflowing stops pretty quickly, too.
From about two weeks onwards the sauerkraut is ready to be eaten, but you can also let it ferment longer.
The best place for the sauerkraut is the crock/container, so it’s best to only take out as much as you’re going to eat. After taking some out, you should press the rest down to make sure everything is covered by the brine to avoid mold. Then you put the weight back one, the cloth over everything, done.

We like our sauerkraut best raw or on toasted bread covered with molten cheese.

A few thoughts about sauerkraut:

Hm, yummy!

Traditionally, sauerkraut is made with white cabbage. However, according to the USDA’s lovely nutrient database red cabbage contains more nutrients, so we mix it both to get lovely pink coloured sauerkaut.

Sauerkraut contains high amounts of vitamin c which is respecially important in winter. That’s why sailors used to take it on long journeys to avoid scorbut, a vitamin c deficiency. In Korea, research has even shown that given kimchi chickens suffering from bird flue recovered quickly!

Sauerkraut is fermented by lactic acid bacteria which live everywhere – in the air, on your vegetables, … – you don’t have to add anything to your vegetables, but get loads of little helpers for free! If you already have a sauerkraut going, though, you can just take some of its brine and add it to your new kraut as a starter. It will speed up the beginning some.

In his very recommendable book „Wild Fermentation“, Sandor Ellix Katz writes that fermented foods are much better digestable and that the fermentation even changes nutrients into others, meaning you can for example find Vitamin B12, which normally only appears in animal products, in fermented foods!
Also, he cites a Finnish study by Ph.D. Eeva-Liisa Ryhanen, who found out that so called glucosinolates in cabbage are turned into isothiocynates during the fermentation – and the latter fight cancer! Great, hu?

So, off you go, make and eat sauerkraut! It’s great food!

it’s hard for me to imagine a time when i was intimidated by making fermentations, but i was.  the thought of making sauerkraut or sour pickles or even miso was just too daunting.  but then i had the honor of hosting sandor katz for a fermentation workshop.  he is the writer of the wonderful how to book on fermenting just about anything called “wild fermentation” not all of it is wild, quite a bit of it uses cultures.  at the time i was living in a housing collective, and the whole house went fermentation crazy. all the sudden there were buckets, jars, and crocks stuffed in every corner bubbling away.  i’ve never really looked back, and i’m happy that at this point that making kraut is a relaxing after dinner activity not an intimating process full of trepidation.

step 1. – quarter and core the cabbage

a quartered and cored cabbage - say that 3 times fast!

you can if you prefer use the core too, just take it and slice it very thin, i don’t really like the harder texture that the core makes, so it goes to the chickens.

step 2. thinly slice

you can use a mandoline but when making small batches a knife works just as well.  i like to slice mine quite thinly, but there is no reason you can’t cut it thicker, it just means that it will take longer to ferment.

step 3 toss with salt in a bowl

cabbage in bowl with carrots too

this batch i added some carrots cause i had them handy, and i like to mix it up a little.  feel free to throw all kinds of stuff in, my only recommendation is you stick with firmer veggies as soft ones tend to get slimy and gross. eww.   toss the cabbage with some salt, you want to use a good amount, as the salt is what makes the cabbage juices come out, and also makes the enviroment good for the lacto bacteria we are looking to promote. how much salt?  i tend to do it by taste and eyes these days not by measurement but that’s not going to help you.  sandor’s recipe in wild fermentation calls for 3 tablespoons of salt for 5 pounds of cabbage.  i think that’s quite a bit saltier than i usually use, but a lot less than some of old-time guides you see that call for much much more.  i use sea salt, though any sort of salt that is not iodized will work as long as it’s just salt, not pickling salt or anything like that.  as you toss the cabbage you should see a good amount of moisture coming off, the cabbage will look wet and glistening even though you have added no water.

step 4 pack it in a crock

packing the cabbage in a crock

it doesn’t have to be a crock, it can be any food safe container, i’ve used mason jars and food grade plastic buckets with great success.  the best thing about the crock is the straight sides, make it easy to insert lids, which we will get to in a minute.  of course crocks for whatever reason are a collectable item, and finding good ones for a good price can be difficult.  if you find them i recommend snatching them up.  when my whole house went kraut crazy and then it spread to the rest of the city, there was a sudden run on crocks at all the junk shops in the city.  crock levels are just now starting to return to normal levels.

toss a few handfuls in and then pound it down with you fist, or i have a wooden mallet type thing i use for pounding it in when making a big batch.  the idea is to pack it in as tight as you can, but you are not looking to actually turn the cabbage into mush.  once you start packing it’s pretty amazing how much cabbage will fit into one little container.

step 5. apply lid and weight

lid and weight on cabbage

you need something that will fit inside the crock/bucket and cover most of the cabbage, it’s ok if there is a little around the edge.  the normal item used for this is a plate, though i’ve used plastic yogurt lids cut to size with good luck.  you also need something to weight it down.  i usually use a mason jar full of water on small batches and big batches where i need more weight i use glass apple cider jugs with water.  the nice thing about jars/jugs with water is if you want less weight you just pour out some water, want more weight?  add some water.

step 6 cover it

cheesecloth cover on the kraut

now it looks like ghost kraut.  i use some sort of cloth cover so it lets gasses escape and keeps fruit flies out.  cheese cloth or butter muslin is perfect.  then use a big rubber band or a string to tie it on.

step 7. push it down

liquid rising over the top of the plate

every time you pass by the kraut for the first 24 hours or so you should press it down.  you don’t have to take the cover off, just push it down.  take the lid off after a day of doing this and check the liquid level, it should be above the plate, it doesn’t have to be much but it does need to be above the plate.  if it’s not you can throw some brine solution in there – a ratio of about a tablespoon of salt to a cup of water is about right.  You don’t have to just use water, you can add to the flavor  by using some homemade wine, beer, or mead.  it also will add to the complexity of the ferment since you are adding an active yeast culture.  i’ve never tried it, but i’ve heard that adding the whey from cheese making works well, as the whey has lots of lacto bacteria.

after that it’s just checking on the kraut every day or so and skimming the scummy stuff off that forms on the top.  it’s natural and unavoidable, just skim it off.  i check the kraut by taste from time to time to decide if it’s ready.  it’s ready when you like it.  some folks like it young; crunchy, sweet, just slighty sour.  I like it older; softer, but still a bit crunchy and nice and sour.  homemade kraut is a different beast all together from the stuff you buy in a jar, and it can be hard to go back after eating it.  summer kraut tend to ferment faster than fall/winter kraut, and also tend to get slimy.  i don’t even bother making it but during the fall.  the cabbage is also sweeter on account of the starches turning to sugar.

once you feel comfortable with basic kraut you can change it up.  you can do any number of veggies; carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, celeraric all work well.  and combos of more than one are often even better.  you can add herbs such as the classic caraway seed, i’ve also had good result with dill seed.  Just be careful not to add to much, it goes along way.  we will check back on the kraut in a week or so.

should you care sandor katz also wrote the fascinating and fun read “the revolution will not be microwaved” which in addition to many other underground food movements, includes a bit about the urban agriculture movement going on in detroit.

I’ve currently got five containers on my counters that are various food things in various stages of completion or fermentation.

(from right to left)

Sauerkraut – I just threw this one together a few minutes ago – cabbage, chiles, sea salt, and whey.  I mashed it all together and then smashed it all into a jar.  In a week or so, I’ll taste it.  Yum!  Last time was too salty.  I used less salt this time.  We’ll see how it turns out.

Yoghurt – I’ve got a jar of milk and greek yoghurt that’s culturing into a full jar of yoghurt.

Kishk – I’ve got a cracked wheat and rolled oat mixture fermenting with some homemade yoghurt in order to make a Middle Eastern food which will become kishk granola on Thursday when I add coconut and raisins.

Sourdough Sponge – my sourdough sponge is proofing.  Tomorrow I’ll add the rest of the whole wheat flour and water and let the dough rise its first rising.

Hazelnut-Cocoa Spread (aka Primal/Vegan Nutella) - I roasted my Hazelnuts today.  They’re cooling on the stove before I grind them into paste tomorrow!

Besides the large mound of rabbit-like dishes, that’s what’s happening in my kitchen!

This blog post is a part of GNOWFGLINS’ Tuesday Twister!

German Pizza

I mentioned the new sauerkraut I was making… it’s done!

It is a little saltier than I would like, but the acid test (giving it to my room-mate) worked well, i.e., she liked it.

This batch was much softer than the first batch: I am thinking it is because the cabbage was grated so fine when I was trying to slice it with the food processor. I like soft, but I will not be using that grating blade again (I almost amputated a finger when I went to take it out of the dish rack).  I like soft, but, then again, maybe the soft came from the addition of the acidophilus.

I have more cabbage, so I want to start more sauerkraut – the plain is gone, anyway, and the garlic/chili powder one, which is reminiscent of kimchee,  is half-way gone.  I decanted the “kimchee” flavored one into a smaller jar, and layered it with the new salty sauerkraut, mashing it down to mix it.  That came out instantly good, according to my room-mate. I liked it, too.  It goes to the fridge.

With the next batch, I am going to control the salt more, since I will be using the acidophilus. I am also considering making a small batch with the Zukay salad dressing as the acidophilus addition… I think it would have an interesting flavor.

Stay tuned.

By now I’m sure most people are familiar with the term ‘probiotics’. It seems to be popping up everywhere, and it’s become a very popular ingredient being added to just about anything these days. Probiotics are crucial to good health, but sadly it has become a big money making business, and the quality in most products is questionable.

To start off, probiotics are the beneficial bacteria normally present in the digestive tract. They are vital for proper digestion and proper bowel function, they help prevent the overgrowth of yeast and other undesirable microorganisms and pathogens, they manufacture B-vitamins and vitamin K, and they enhance immune function. We all have billions of these bacteria in our guts, and they are found naturally in fermented foods such as kefir, yogurt, miso, tempeh, kimchi and sauerkraut. Most cultures eat some type of fermented food on a daily basis, thereby replenishing their stores. Sadly it is not common practice in our culture, and the products available to us are not always the ‘real deal’ – they do not contain actual live or active bacterial cells. It is important to consume probiotics because they get depleted easily. Probiotics can be negatively affected by the following:

• Unhealthy diet, especially a diet that leads to regular indigestion.
• Poor digestion of food from various causes and/or poor elimination of wastes.
• Antibiotics
• Chlorinated water
• Stress, especially on-going stress negatively affects beneficial bacteria.
• Other pharmaceuticals such as steroids and NSAIDS (non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs)
• Radiation (i.e., x-rays)

As mentioned, certain fermented foods contain probiotics, but it’s important that it is clearly labeled as ‘Live’ or ‘Active’ cells. Most yogurts found in grocery stores today contain so few, if any, actual live bacteria by the time you consume them. They are also usually filled with sugars, thickening agents, and other undesirable ingredients. Keep in mind that it’s all a marketing ploy. The only yogurts I’d recommend to anyone are the unsweetened, plain varieties. All those drinkable or 14-day guarantee ones are a waste of money.

It is extremely important to choose carefully when selecting a probiotic supplement.  Most of the supplements on the market run anywhere from worthless to slightly useful.  Spending the extra time looking for the right product and spending a little extra money purchasing the right product will pay off in the long run.

When it comes to choosing a probiotic supplement, here are some guidelines to follow:

• Buy a single-strain probiotic. It may sound good on the label that there are multiple strains of bacteria in the probiotic, but it is not. Often one strain overpowers the other, rendering one of the strains ineffective. For example, strains of L. acidophilus and L. bulgaricus should not be put together as the L. bulgaricus would take over.  Some double-strain products with both L. acidophilus and B. bifidum are okay to use.
• Number of Organisms: product should say on the label a guarantee of the number of viable organisms in the product.  It should conatin at least 10 billion organisms for a therapeutic dosage.  The label should ideally give a guarantee of the number of viable organisms at the expiration date since it will be less than the manufacture date
• The product should always be kept refrigerated
• A milk base is an ideal base for the organisms in a probiotics supplement.  Since this is such a small part of the diet, I believe it is okay to use a milk base *if* you do not have a negative reaction from the product.  If a milk base is used it is preferable that the product contain the DDS-1 strain of L. acidophilus which produces plenty of lactose to help digestion of the dairy.
• The product should specify that it can survive the stomach digestive acids and the bile acids – enteric coating can be useful for this purpose.

My first ferment - a nice sauerkraut with purple cabbage

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a seminar entitled, “Yes We Can (and Pickle).” In addition to the fairly funny title, the event, put on by Avodah and AJWS, was devoted to food awareness. One of the workshops I went to was, not surprisingly, about pickling. I did not realize how much I didn’t know.

So let’s start with the basis. Pickling is a process used to preserve foods, such a cucumbers, by removing “bad” bacteria that rot food. It has been used for centuries to preserve food reaped in the warm months (before the times of refrigerators). Most cultures have their own variety  using different food (kimchi, miso, and sauerkraut, for example). Many pickles are made via “quick fermenting,” during which vinegar is added. The vinegar kills all the bacteria. However, there are good bacteria, which aid in the digestion process, making them preferable to keep. The better way, in my humble opinion, is to use just water and salt, which accomplishes the same thing. Here, the yeast in the air ferments the sugars and kills off only the “bad bacteria,” leaving the good stuff

I spent last week in New York City. New York is known for many things, but pizza and delis are for sure on the top of the list. I definitely did not leave being deprived in either category. But when I was walking in the streets, I was reminded also of the pickle’s Lower East Side historical roots, as I was found stands with dozens of different types of pickles. Possibly a hallmark of Jewish delis, the kosher dill arose during the 1800s. Everyone around the U.S. knows the kosher dill, and I have even seen them in supermarkets in the deep South. Today, ironically, kosher dills are not necessarily kosher, but rather only refer to the particular recipe with the generous amount of garlic in the brine, though the historical name still remains.

So why bother pickling? Here are three reasons: (1) It is really fun – it’s sort of like a science experiment. (2) They are tasty. (3) The bacteria in fermented pickles (ie, not the ones with vinegar) have probiotics, which are good for you.

So here’s the recipe…

Well, I am not going to give you a recipe, per se. It is so easy, and there is so much creativity that can go into it, I don’t want to restrict you. But here are a few basics that you’ll need.

• a good container, preferably one with straight sides, though anything will do
• whatever you are fermenting
• sea salt (don’t cut corners and use other salts)
• water

Basic Steps:

1. Cut the veggie into whatever size and shape you like. The larger the pieces, the crunchier they will be.
2. Place all of it in a bowl, and salt. Taste a bit and see how it is. The salting will bring out the water, which is critical.
3. In about 1 inch layers, start packing the veggie into the container, using your fist to really get it in there. Make sure to include all of the water at the bottom of the bowl.
4. Do this for about half of it, and then wait a few minutes. The salt will begin to draw out the water, making it denser.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 until complete.
6. Wait about 12 hours. If not all of the veggies are below water, add a little bit of salt water.
7. Place something over the container, to ensure that everything stays below water (critical step). Do not place a lid or anything like that on top though.
8. In 7 days, taste. If you like it, put it in the frig, which will stop the fermenting process. If not sour enough, let it go some more… There is a decent chance that the top of the ferment will start to rot because it is exposed to the air (you will see a sharp change in color). This is fine, but just be sure to discard this before you start eating.

Now, just using salt water is a bit boring. I suggest that you add a bit of flavoring. This can be added a little bit at a time, after each layer that you do. Here are some ideas:

• Cabbage (sauerkraut) – onions, chili, caraway seed, garlic, peppercorns, allspice berries, cloves, anise
• Cucumbers – garlic, onions, allspice, dill, rosemary, mustard, ginger, anise, coriander seeds
• Beets – (beets need to be cooked prior to pickling) cinnamon, allspice, herbs, nutmeg, chilis, cloves
• Other veggies… mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes, or anything else that you can eat raw

When i was younger, my Dad used to make some killer brautwerst served with suaurkraut, potatoes and some bread. We’d slather on the German mustard and dig in. Man, i really loved the way the meat went so well with the sauerkraut. Since I went veg a couple years ago I haven’t come close to eating a dish like this, b/c you just can’t seem to match the flavors with veggie meats like boca or morningstar. But… I saw the tofurkey suasage one day, flashed back to dad standing at the stove and declared I was determined to make it! all in one pan too! It’s not exactly as juicy and “meaty” like Dad’s, but I feel just as satisfied. Maybe next time I’ll add more beer.

Ingredients
1 jar of saurkraut (I used Steinfeld’s homestyle)
6 red potatoes, cut up in 1″ pieces
1 chopped medium sized yellow onion
1 pack of veggie polish sausage\Kielbasa*
1/4 cup of beer
2 tbsp of vegetable oil

*Depending on how you plan to serve, you can leave whole to serve on buns, or cut up for casserole style

Simmer potatoes in a large pan with small amount of water until potatoes can be easily poked with fork. Drain potatoes & set aside. In the same pan, heat oil on medium-heat. Add onions & cook for about 3 minutes. Add veggie kielbasa to onions and cook for about 7 minutes (if sausage starts to dry out add a bit more of oil). The onions will be slightly translucent and sausage browning on both sides. Add potatoes  and  saurkraut in 2 batches to the onion sausage mixture. Add beer, stir and remove from heat. Cover for about 10 minutes. Heat up your buns or rolls, get out the mustard and dig in!

Bigos ist wahrscheinlich DAS polnische Nationalgericht und ist hierzulande noch nicht so sehr bekannt. Dabei ist dieser Eintopf ideal, wenn Sie viele Gäste haben – und er lässt sich gut variieren. In dieser Variante ist im Verhältnis mehr Fleisch als im Original. Die Menge ist ausreichend für einen großen Bräter, 8 Personen sollten Sie damit ohne Probleme satt bekommen.

Tipp: am Vortag vorbereiten – aufgewärmt schmeckt es noch besser! Machen Sie also ruhig etwas mehr, es lässt sich gut im Kühlschrank aufbewahren.

• 1500g Schweinefleisch, eher etwas mehr durchzogen
• 125g Speckwürfel
• 400g Mettwürste
• 300g Wiener Würstchen
• 1kg Sauerkraut
• 1,5kg Weißkohl
• 2 EL Gänse- oder Schweineschmalz
• 2 mittelgroße Zwiebeln
• 2 Knoblauchzehen
• ca. 50g getrocknete Pilze
• Rotwein
• 3 Lorbeerblätter
• Wacholderbeeren
• Pfefferkörner
• Etwas Olivenöl
• 10 Trockenpflaumen (nach Wunsch)

Trockenpilze einweichen. Das Schweinefleisch in kleine Würfel und die Würste in Scheiben schneiden; den Weißkohl in Streifen schneiden oder hobeln. Zwiebeln und Knoblauch würfeln.

In einem Bräter Gänseschmalz mit einem Schuss Olivenöl erhitzen, die Zwiebeln darin glasig anschwitzen, den gewürfelten Speck und Knoblauch zugeben. Jetzt das Schweinefleisch scharf anbraten. Ich gehe dabei so vor, dass ich immer eine Portion hineingebe und das angebratene Fleisch dann ganz in die Ecke des Bräters schiebe, dann die nächste Portion – so erzielt man ein besseres Ergebnis.

Wenn das Fleisch angebraten ist, einen Schuss Rotwein zugeben und dann den Weißkohl, kräftig umrühren, kurz aufkochen lassen, Sauerkraut hinzugeben, umrühren, etwas Salzen und Pfefferkörner (ca. 7), Wacholderbeeren (ca. 5), Nelken (ca. 3) und die Lorbeerblätter in den Bräter geben. Die Pilze zugeben und einen kleinen Teil des Einweichwassers.

Wenn Sie gerne Trockenpflaumen mögen, diese sehr fein schneiden und zugeben. In den meisten Bigos Rezepten sind Pflaumen, ich lassen sie jedoch weg, wenn ich Gäste habe, bei denen ich nicht weiß, ob sie das Aroma mögen.

Bei geschlossenem Deckel ca. 1 Stunde dünsten. Dabei immer mal wieder umrühren und ggf. etwas Pilzwasser und/oder Rotwein angießen.

Die Mettwurstscheiben zugeben und etwas pfeffern. Nach einer weiteren halben Stunde kommen die Würstchenscheiben in den Topf.

Jetzt noch 45 Minuten dünsten und am Ende mit Pfeffer und Salz abschmecken.

Übers Wochenende waren wir mit der R³ in Quierschied auf Roverlager. Zu elft haben wir jede Menge reflektiert, geplant, analysiert und natürlich Spaß gehabt.

Und es ist tatsächlich sehr viel dabei rausgekommen: Schwelende Probleme wurden gelöst, personelle Weichen für die nächsten zwei Jahre gestellt und nebenbei noch einige konkrete Aktionen in der Zukunft vorangebracht.

Nebenbei kam natürlich auch der Spaß nicht zu kurz. Freitag abends war K&K (Kopfbedeckung&Karohemd)-Party, und die Samstags-Kaffeepause wurde zum Crossgolfen in der Hunde***wiese und zum Schwenken genutzt. Der Samstagabend stand unter dem Motto “Bayern”, also mit bayrischen Trachten, Sauerkraut, Leberknödeln, volkstümlicher Musik, Portraits von F-J Strauß, Ottfried Fischer und Edmund Stoiber und einem großen Bier-Quiz, das sich in die Programmpunkte “Theorie und Hintergrundwissen” sowie “Blind-Geschmackstest” unterteilte – ganz großes Kino.

Dass bayrisches Essen und Trinken die körpereigene Luftzirkulation stark ankurbeln ist bekannt – wir waren aber dieses Mal tatsächlich so kultiviert, uns dann jedes Mal bei Bine zu entschuldigen.

Übrigens wissen wir jetzt auch, dass man sich in manchen Situationen tatsächlich tagelang über ein Stück Holz amüsieren kann, und dass Deospray noch lange kein Klopapier ersetzt.

Tonight I started a new jar of sauerkraut with 2 heads of cabbage. I could not find my recipe and the Internet was down,  so I guessed.  I had read an account on Sunny Raw website, where she said to chop the cabbage in the food processor.  I did that, but I am not really happy about it… the cabbage pieces came out as small as when I make “no chew” cole slaw, i.e. very fine.

Oh well… then I added two T sea salt to the first head of cabbage — it juiced up really fast, and I added one heaping T sea salt to the second head of cabbage which came out so fine I did not even massage it — I just mashed it into the jar.  I also added about a T of acidophilus to this batch.    I am curious to see how it turns out in 7 days.

Stay tuned.

Von Rammstein kann man ja halten was man will – ich persönlich mag sie eher nicht. Das ist aber auch das einzige was ich mit der Uschi gemeinsam habe.

Diese gute Frau hat sich mal wieder durch Fachkompetenz hervorgetan: Das neue Album von Rammstein ist zensiert auf dem Index.

Die Überschrift von laut.de ist etwas irreführend. “Verboten” ist das Album (noch?) nicht.
Konkret bedeutet dieser “Index” lediglich, daß dieses Album nur noch an Volljährige quasi “unter der Ladentheke” verkauft werden darf. Im Regal eines Plattenladen wird dieses Album bestenfalls in einem Raum zu finden sein, vor dem ein Stopschild ein “Zutritt ab 18″-Schild steht.

Tja, ich hätte da noch einige Anwärter für den Index. Nach mittlerweile über 34 Jahren ist es bewiesen, daß Leute, die in ihrer Jugend solche schädliche Musik hören, nicht in der Lage sind, ihre Kinder vernünftig zu erziehen.
Jeden Tag lungern diese bedauernswerten Geschöpfe sinnlos und zugedröhnt in der Landschaft rum, haben keinen Job, liegen dem Steuerzahler auf der Tasche und verkommen mehr und mehr, bis sie – dank des schlechten Einflußes ihrer Eltern – mit 19 oder 20 sinnlos Lehrer, Frau oder Freundin und die vielgepriesene Exekutive hinterrücks meucheln.

Kostprobe gefällig?

Diesen Songtext (und anderes höchstverwerfliches Gedankengut) hat meine Mutter gehört:

Bang! Bang! Maxwell’s silver hammer
Came down upon her head.
Bang! Bang! Maxwell’s silver hammer
Made sure that she was dead.

Den ganzen Text gibt es hier, veröffentlicht wurde dieser Song vor ziemlich genau 40 Jahren von den Beatles…

Weiterführende Links:
Indizierungsverfahren

Russian Cabbage Soup

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving.  We went to my mom’s and spent a few days with her and all of my siblings (there are 5 of us).  It was a lot of fun and there was a lot of food.  After four days of eating nothing but pies, cookies, brownies, whipped cream, mac and cheese, stuffed shells, and of course, turkey with all the fixings, Marc and I were feeling a little like we had food hangovers.  Arriving back home, we both felt the need to detox a little.  For us, this means eating things like soup, fresh bread, and lots of vegetables.

Soup ingredients

Personally, I couldn’t stop thinking about cabbage soup.  While that may seem like a strange thing to obsess about, I just knew that it was exactly what I needed to cure my food hangover.  I went searching on the Internet to find myself a recipe.  I started with one of my favorite food blogger sites, Smitten Kitchen.  Indeed, there was a very interesting recipe for cabbage soup.  Using that as my starting point, I found a few other recipes with interesting components that I incorporated. 

Chopped vegetables

The result is a hearty and delicious cabbage soup with tomato, celery, carrots, onion, and (obviously) cabbage.  Beef and beef stock add meaty flavor while the inclusion of sauerkraut and some white wine vinegar add a pleasing tanginess.  The vegetables are cooked but still retain some of their texture.  While this soup takes a little while to make, it is really easy.  Served with some crusty bread, it is the perfect meal for a wintery Sunday dinner… and an excellent way to rebound from the holiday gluttony. 

Simmering soup

Russian Cabbage Soup

Ingredients:

4 cups beef stock

4 cups water

1 lb ground beef

3 bay leaves

1 tablespoon marjoram

3 whole allspice berries

1 cup sauerkraut plus 2 tbls juice

1 medium potato, diced

2 medium carrots, finely diced

3 ribs celery, finely diced

1 small onion, finely diced

2 cups fresh cabbage, thinly shredded (about half a large head of cabbage)

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained (or 1 lb fresh tomatoes, peeled, cored, and chopped)

2 tbls white wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

To Make:

In a large soup pot, bring stock and water to a boil.  Add bay leaves, marjoram, and allspice.  Break the ground beef into small pieces and add it to the pot.  Turn the heat down and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about one hour.

Remove the ground beef and set aside.  Skim off most of the fat from the stock.  Add the sauerkraut and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add the potato and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add the cabbage, carrots, onions, celery, and tomatoes (including the juice) and simmer for 20 minutes.  Return the beef to the pot and simmer for another 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat, stir in the sauerkraut juice, the vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. 

To serve:

Serve hot with additional vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and/or sour cream as desired.  Serves 6-8.

As Presidential Pardon for the Thanksgiving Turkey played out, I’m curious to know what you ate if indeed you were feasting?

We were in San Francisco; 10 family in all, and dined on supreme Mexican-inspired potluck (delectable contributions from both male and female family members).  Rejuvenative Shredded with Royal Himalayan pink crystal salt was the kraut of choice and we still all agree; dessert isn’t dessert without the chocolate.

I Feel Healthier Than I Ever Remember…

Dear Kevin,

I just wanted to send you a quick note to let you know how Doug and I have made out in our first month on the Liberation Diet, and with our trainer, Bob Higgins.  Things are going quite well. At this point, I have lost 15 pounds, and Doug has lost too (although he doesn’t make a habit of looking at the scale like I do, so he’s not sure how much he’s lost. At least 15 I’m sure.) Given that I have dieted, and dieted, and dieted on and off for the past 7 years and NOT lost weight that I didn’t gain back right away, the fact that I’ve lost

15 pounds so quickly and “painlessly” is an awesome feeling!

Both Doug and I have made the changes to our diets that you recommended in your book. In addition to our cutting out processed foods, we’ve gone natural–drinking raw milk, eating cheese produced from the milk of grass -fed cows, eating eggs from free-range chickens, and eating yogurt and sauerkraut for their fermentation properties. We’ve found two great sources near our home– the Welsh Mountain Farm and Dutch Meadows Organic Dairy–both in Lancaster County thanks to the

website you gave us–(Realmilk.com).  What I notice most is that I feel healthier than I ever remember feeling while on a “diet.” I’m eating natural, unprocessed fo

od, and my cravings for junk food and candy are GONE.  In fact, this past Easter holiday, not once did I crave candy, or feel deprived not eating candy. I simply wasn’t interested. Trust me, this is absolutely unheard of.

I mentioned Bob, the trainer you hooked us up with.  He is fabulous.  Not only is he working with us on weight training (which is why we went to Visionary Trainers in the first place), but he creates an atmosphere where “working out” is fun.  It’s not about drudging 2-3 miles on the treadmill for an hour after work each day. It’s about getting home and going outside and having fun. We’ve been playing badminton, tennis, throwing a ball around the yard and just having fun with our workouts.  Our training is a breath of fresh air, literally and figuratively. Thanks for matching us up with Bob. His personality and philosophy really matches up with what we need at this point in our lives.

So that’s the good news. I’m sure there will be more to share in the coming weeks and months. We’re happy to be off to such a great start.
Best,

Kristen
Dr. Kristen A. Albert

Gap, Pennsylvania

No, I don’t know where the original recipe comes from.  And I don’t know, what “Soljanka” means. What I know is, that it’s a soup which is well known in Eastern Germany. I got to know it when I was working as a volunteer in a soup kitchen in Berlin a long time ago. Maybe the list of the ingredients doesn’t sound very appealing, but I like the mix of sweet and sour – usually, dices of Fleischwurst (sausage) are added. But what’s the English word for Fleischwurst?? Anyways, as I never buy sausage,  I omit it and make a vegetarian version:

For 2 big bowls of soup you need:

1 onion
1 bell pepper (red or yellow)
1 can tomatoes (400g)
about 4-5 tblsp of sauerkraut
4 pickles
4 generous tblsp ketchup (yup. ketchup.)
1 bay leaf
some dashes of allspice
oil

Heat the oil in a big pot and chop the onions. Sauté the onions, chop the bell pepper and add it. Sauté for some minutes, cut the pickles. Add all ingredients, cut the tomatoes if necessary, and let it boil for a while. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary.