Why, oh why couldn't I have thought of this a month ago? I was on the phone this morning with my Mother, discussing her newest obsession with low-carb cooking, Cabbage. It's a passion for food that we share, most likely because she loved it when I was a kid, so I got to eat a lot of it! My favorite meal, even to this day, is Kielbasa in Sauerkraut with Potatoes. These days though, I have replaced the Potato with Rutabaga or simply skip it and have Kraut and Kielbasa, a little pepper when it's hot and it is the perfect meal! I have posted my version on here a while ago, so I won't go rehashing that one again.
This is still a pretty "carby" meal though because of the Sauerkraut...there is typically a lot of sugar used to make it! This got me thinking this morning...there has go to be an easy way to make my own 'Kraut that removes a few carbs! And there are many ways of making your own, as i found! My favorite, and the one I'm gonna try to make, came from Food.com, though I did take note that several people found they needed twice as much brine as the recipe says to make...easy enough to accomplish, use half the cabbage or double everything else!
Why do I wish I found this months ago though? Well, you see...you make Cabbage into Sauerkraut by stuffing it all into a jar, putting it in the back of a closet, and letting it ferment for several months! No real cooking involved here, except bringing the brine to a boil prior to putting it over the Cabbage. So, if I calculate it with the minimum time of 2 months...and if I got it made today...my first batch won't be ready until December 27th! No time to test a batch if I wanted to give it as gifts this year.
So, no 'Kraut for Christmas for the Cabbage lovers in the family...which I believe is just the two of us anyway, but maybe next year? That gives me about 10 months to decide if I like Red, Green, or a combo of the two best! I think I have a head of Red Cabbage in my fridge...these things tend to grow legs and run to the back of the fridge when my other half is around.
But, even if I don't, I'm making an effort to be ready to leave the house when he gets home tonight. This will be the second time I have left home since my surgery, the first time didn't go so well, but I will post all about that a little later. I'm on a mission tonight though, I have at least two crochet projects that are in desperate need of yarn so I can start them! I chose the patterns for a few reasons...first, they call for Red Heart Super Saver yarn (the cheap stuff at $2.33 at Wal-Mart!), and secondly, both patterns call for a single skein! Now that is a project I can get behind! I'm hoping to pick up three or four skeins of yarn tonight, so while I'm out, the plan is to also get a couple of heads of lettuce too. I'm going to size down the first batch for a few reasons; color options (I'll make some red, some green, and a jar or two of mixed), I'm not sure how I'll like it (and don't want to be stuck with 500 jars of yuck should my experiment fail), and I'm just weird that way (but you knew that, right?)!
It's a good thing I reread the recipe, I also need to buy more Vinegar! Doubling the brine, I'm going to need a pint of Vinegar for 3 heads of Cabbage! I also need 1 cup of Salt...better buy more of that too...at least that I can buy in Bulk from WinCo!
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