Vanaema's Sauerkraut

My grandmother (vanaema in Estonian) told me, verbally, how she makes her sauerkraut. I'm not sure if I remembered it in its entirety, and I just kind of made what I thought she said. It turned out great and I make it this way all the time. It's a hard one to screw up, though. *Edit: I talked to her the other day and she told me that I had it all wrong! Oops. I'm still not going to change it because this is how I make it!*

This sauerkraut is rather sweet. It's certainly not the kind of 'kraut you get from the jar! Try different ways of sweetening this recipe - brown sugar, white sugar, maple syrup, or apples.

1 head of green cabbage, shredded or julienned
1 jar of naturally fermented sauerkraut (not wine-fermented!)
1 large vidalia or sweet onion, chopped
2 - 3 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
Optional: 1/2 lb. bacon, ham, or pork, chopped

Mix all ingredients together in a large pot with a lid. Place in the oven at about 300 F for 4 - 5 hours, stirring occasionally. The sauerkraut will turn golden brown, smell a little sour and a little sweet, and you'll get awesome chewy bits where the mixture has been baking up against the side of the pot. It will have caramelised nicely because of the sugar and apples, and the cabbage will be oh-so-tender.

You can also make this in your slow cooker, on HIGH for 6 hours or LOW for 10 hours. Enjoy!

Perfect Pancakes

This is my own recipe. It is better than Bisquick, I promise! Plus it's very easy, never chewy, always fluffy - the perfect pancake! The purpose of the spelt or buckwheat flour is to prevent the pancakes from going chewy if you happen to stir the batter too much. Spelt and buckwheat have very little gluten, and gluten is what is responsible for the chewiness of bread. You can use any gluten-free flour in place of the spelt or buckwheat in this recipe.

Preheat a non-stick griddle to medium heat. Make sure your griddle is completely heated before you pour your pancakes.

Combine in a large bowl:
1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. spelt or buckwheat flour
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder

Combine in a large measuring glass:
2 eggs, whisked
2 c. milk + 2 tsp. vinegar (or just use buttermilk)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbsp. oil

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix with a fork until just combined (but not if there are still large lumps of dry flour throughout the batter - stir the batter till the bigger lumps have broken up). Spray the griddle with oil, and pour 1/4 cup portions of pancake batter onto the hot griddle. Fry them until you see lots of bubbles surfacing on top and are a deep golden brown, and then flip them over. Cook the other side until it is also a deep golden brown. Serve the pancakes immediately with butter, syrup, jam, or whatever tickles your fancy. They can also be kept warm on a stoneware plate in the oven set on the coolest temperature.

I like to make large batches of pancakes. This recipe yields about 20 - 25 pancakes. Halve the recipe if you desire. I like to eat the morning's cold pancakes for lunch with cheese and lunchmeat on them, popped in the microwave for a few seconds. Not sure why. I just like them that way.

Whole Wheat Yogourt Bread

This is a bread machine recipe. It is straight out of the little book that came with my bread machine (West Bend brand)! And it is wonderful. The proportion of whole wheat to regular bread flour is greater than half-and-half, so you must use a "Whole Wheat" setting on your bread machine, if it exists. If you don't have that setting, feel free to reduce the amount of whole wheat flour and increase the amount of bread flour till you get a 1:1 ratio.

Please remember that bread-making is a science, even when you leave all of the work to the machine. Always remember to measure your ingredients perfectly, and don't leave anything out. Be exact. Don't add less sugar, the yeast feeds on it. Don't add less salt, it prevents the yeast from going out of control. Don't add more yeast, or your loaf might fall. Just stick to the recipe, folks, and you'll have a perfect loaf of bread!

Yields a 1.5 pound loaf.

1 c. water, 80 degrees F (a little warmer than room-temperature)
1/2 c. plain non-fat yogourt (also warm)
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 1/3 c. bread flour
2 c. whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp. dry milk (I leave this ingredient out completely, because it is very hard to find, and the bread still turns out perfectly)
2 Tbsp. brown sugar, packed
1 1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. active dry yeast OR 1 1/2 tsp. quick rise yeast

Add all of the ingredients into your bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Set it, forget it, and enjoy it when the machine beeps! Yum!

Tuna Melt Pasta

I'm not a tuna fan. At all. But J sure is, and he loves my tuna melts! So, I adapted my typical tuna melt on toast recipe into a quick and easy pasta dish.

1/2 bag of your favourite pasta
2 c. fresh or frozen raw vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, asparagus, peppers ... the sky is the limit)

3 Tbsp. butter or cooking oil
2 - 3 cloves of fresh grated or minced garlic
1/2 lb. peeled shrimp, tails off
1 tsp. each garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, sea salt, fresh black pepper
3 Tbsp. flour
1 c. milk
1/4 c. white wine
1/2 c. beef broth
Dash of worcestershire sauce
1 - 2 tins flaked tuna, drained (go by how tuna-y you want your sauce)
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
1 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese


You will need a large pot for your pasta, and a large non-stick skillet for your sauce. Boil the pasta water with some salt and olive oil. The salt gives flavour, and the olive oil prevents the pastas from sticking together when you pour it outinto your colander. When the water starts to boil, is also when you should begin making your sauce. It is very quick.

Throw your pasta and your vegetables into the boiling pot. When pasta is al dente, drain.

While pasta is boiling, heat up/melt your butter or oil in the skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic for a few seconds, then throw in the shrimp and cook them (if they are already cooked, and not frozen, add them with the tuna later on). Coat the sauteing shrimp in the powders, salt and pepper, then whisk in the flour until it is completely incorporated into the fat.

Whisk in milk, wine, worcestershire, and broth. Bring to a simmer, stirring often, and whisk until it is thick. Taste it at this point and make sure your sauce is tasty enough - add more spices if you like. Stir in your can(s) of tuna (and shrimp if they are cooked and room-temperature), and simmer until it is heated through. Whisk in the cheeses (feel free to use different types of cheese than those listed) until they are melted, and sauce is nice and gooey!

Serve this creamy sauce over the pasta and vegetables, nice and hot. There you have it: quick, easy, and cheap comfort food!

Blog: It's Been Awhile!

Yikes! I haven't posted since December! Happy New Year everyone! I had a lovely Christmas and a quiet New Years. I did end up making a batch of chocolate chip cookies for our five year old niece, but J ate them all before she could have any. The best gift I received was a bread machine from my parents! And you can bet the money you got in that Christmas card from your Auntie that I've been using it. A lot.

I have also been very busy doing non-culinary things, the main one being painting J's brother's new house. And a big house it is - I've been at it for nine days total, and I'm still not done the first two levels. I've also been refinishing furniture. No, I won't refinish that harvest table you've had for ages. It's not a fun task - the only reason why I'm refinishing my furniture is a pride-of-ownership thing. And a sense of "Hey, I bought it for 85 bucks, may as well sand it down a little." It's a lovely little solid knotty pine dry sink; not an antique or anything, but it looks awesome in my living room.

Without further ado, I'll post a couple more heart-warming recipes to share with all of you!