Red and Black Log Cabin

 

I had more than a few people ask about the recipe for sauerkraut cookies I mentioned last Wednesday. Yes, the recipe really does call for pickled cabbage. No, the finished cookies taste nothing like pickled cabbage. My grandkids won’t touch these with a ten-foot pole. Not because of allergies or because they don’t like sauerkraut. It’s because they’re all afraid to try nuts.

 

Sauerkraut Cookies

 

2/3 cup butter

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa

1 1/2 cups cashews or pecans, chopped

12 ounces chocolate chips

1 cup sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained

 

Cream together butter and sugar; beat in eggs and vanilla. Add all dry ingredients and water. Mix well. Add nuts, chocolate chips and kraut. Mix and drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto parchment or silicone-covered cookie sheets. Bake about 12 minutes at 350F.

Cottage Garden

 

“Pilots fly within the capacity of their aircraft. Simply stated, pilots operate within a framework. No matter how brilliant or talented they are, only by flying within this framework can pilots safely unleash the potential of an airplane. The promise of personal revelation through the Holy Ghost is awe-inspiring, much like an airplane in flight. Like airplane pilots, we need to understand the framework within which the Holy Ghost functions to provide personal revelation. When we operate within the framework, the Holy Ghost can unleash astonishing insight, direction, and comfort. Outside that framework, no matter our brilliance or talent, we can be deceived and crash and burn. The scriptures form the first element of this framework for personal revelation. Feasting on the words of Christ stimulates personal revelation. When we want to speak to God, we pray. When we want Him to speak to us, we search the scriptures.” – Elder Dale G. Renlund

One Dozen Rolling Stones

 

We’re having this for dinner next week, along with homemade gyros:

 

Greek Salad

 

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon Dijon

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup good oil

1 English cucumber, seeded and sliced 1/4-inch thick

1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper, coarsely chopped

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 red onion, sliced in half-rounds

8 ounces feta, cubed

1/2 cup pitted calamatas

 

Whisk together first six ingredients. Still whisking, gradually add oil; set aside. Place remaining ingredients in large bowl. Pour dressing over and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Fanfare

 

Cheddar is a village in Somerset, England. It’s known for limestone quarries, strawberry fields, and of course, cheese. People have been living here for thousands of years. Britain’s oldest complete skeleton, the Cheddar man, was found here in 1903. Scientists recently extracted DNA from one of Cheddar man’s teeth, and compared its mitochondrial DNA – inherited unchanged on the maternal line -- with samples of mitochondrial DNA from students at a local school. They also compared it with samples donated by members of Cheddar’s oldest families. They came up with a match; not with the students or neighbors, but with one of the school teachers, Adrian Targett. The results don’t prove or disprove much: not that folks in Cheddar were hunter-gatherers or farmers 9,000 years ago, nor that Mr. Targett descended from the stone-age fossil. It only proves he and Cheddar man have a common female ancestor. Still, how cool is that?

Four Dozen Wonky Log Cabins

 

We love to have sauerkraut as a side dish with bratwurst or hot dogs. The best sauerkraut (if you’re not making it yourself) comes in large glass jars, not small tin cans. The trouble is, we don’t have brats or dogs often enough to use a large jar of kraut before it goes bad. I have a few recipes to use up the remainder (one is actually a cookie recipe). This is probably the most family-friendly.

 

Sauerkraut Casserole

 

1 quart sauerkraut (Don’t drain!)

1 cup onion, diced

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 pound bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled (Reserve 3 tablespoons drippings.)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

 

Sauté onions in reserved bacon fat until tender and transparent. Combine with remaining ingredients in shallow baking dish. Bake at 350F for one hour. Serve hot with buttered crusty bread.

Flying Geese Squared

 

In November, 2017 I wrote about a homeless veteran, Johnny Bobbitt Jr. who gave his last $20 to help a young woman whose car had run out of gas. The woman, Kate McClure, and Mark D'Amico, her boyfriend, McClure and D’Amico then set up a GoFundMe account, ostensibly to help Bobbitt. As I always do, I fact-checked the story before sharing it. But the whole thing was a scam. McClure and D’Amico invented the tale to collect more than $400,000, which they spent on an RV, a BMW, and casino trips. It was – at the time – the largest fraud involving a crowd-funding platform. By the following spring, the money was gone. Bobbitt sued the couple; federal and state criminal investigations were launched. Bobbitt was sentenced to probation, and McClure and D’Amico are both serving time in prison. What started as a feel-good story ended up as a sad commentary on deceit and greed.

Yellow Cottage

 

Last week, Heather and I made two apple pies: one to serve at game night, and the other to give to very dear friends. When we were done, there were five small apples left over, so we made this recipe. We had it for breakfast the next morning, with whipped cream over a Dutch baby – a puffed oven pancake.

 

Apple Pie Filling

 

4 medium apples

1/3 cup sugar (We usually just use 1/4 cup.)

3 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

 

Peel, core and slice apples (about 16 slices per apple), or cut into chunks. Melt butter with cinnamon over medium heat. Stir in apples, sugar, and 2 tablespoons water. Cover and cook on low about 6 minutes, until apples are tender but not mushy. Combine cornstarch and remaining water; pour into apples while stirring. Continue cooking and stirring until sauce begins to thicken. Delicious over pancakes, French toast and waffles.