Sauerkraut slaw

Well, for a little change of pace (not greens!) I made some slaw with last summer's kraut. Why have I not put kraut in slaw before?! For some reason in the heat, I really like eating cold sour things. I finished off my (cold) apple cider vinegar soaked nettles, which was ideal to eat out of a jar from the fridge, and I've been eating up some of last year's experimental ferments: ginger beet (not great, I'll do ginger carrot next time) and a Morrocan spiced beet (still needs some tweaks, but good). 

I've now got 4 days of training in Pacific time, so I made brisket overnight in the crock pot (basically homemade bbq sauce and brisket simmered for 12 hours) and this slaw for some easy dinners. Both things I want to eat when it is hot.

This concoction was inspired by a fermentation book from the library that I photocopied some recipes from, but sadly did not write down the name of the book. (Sorry dear author who I am now not referencing. She also had recipes for fermented ketchup and dosa and all kinds of things that may show up in future posts.) I've made this slaw a couple of times now with what I have on hand, and have felt satisfied each time. I mean, sour + sweet = you can't go wrong (usually).

• 1/4 c raisins
• 1/2 small red or green cabbage, sliced thinly (red is prettiest!)
  
• 1 c kraut
• 2 carrots, julienned/grated/match-sticked
• 1 large apple (I like pink lady), chopped small
• 2 green onions (or equivalent red onions), finely chopped
  
• Fresh parsley if you have it (2 T)
• 1/3-1/2c mayo
• 1 T mustard
• 1 T apple cider vinegar
• 1 T honey 
• salt to taste

1. Combine the dressing ingredients (mayo, mustard, vinegar, and honey) in a small bowl, mix until homogenous. Add the raisins to it to get them extra juicy!
   
2. Combine the veggies and fruit in a large bowl.
3. Pour the dressing on top, add salt (or kraut juice) to taste. Serve! (This gets better if you let it sit a bit, so make early for extra deliciousness.) 
   
   

   

   This time I added a little kale with the green cabbage
   

Paleo Corned Beef with kraut, pickles, and 1000 Island

I went on a spontaneous Superior Hiking Trail adventure last weekend, which turned out to be great and also had quite the large Plan-Reality-Gap. After leaving the car at the end point and biking down 61 to the start point, My Charming Companion and I set off hiking a bit late in the day. After a couple of hours, and thinking "we must have just missed that first camp site" - we came upon said first campsite and were somewhat astonished that it had only been 2 miles. We proceeded to camp there because going another 2 miles to the originally planned spot on Bear Lake would have meant arriving after dark. I found my lack of "hiking-mile" comprehension totally amusing, because even after reading in the guidebook to plan a mile an hour, I thought for sure we were going faster than that, and also that much more time had passed than actually had. ?!

After descending into a valley that was filled with really wet wood, dinner was cooked over a fire that was kept alive by ongoing deep breathing onto the fire and lots of birch bark - which sort of extended the hilarity of the evening. Thankfully there were copious amounts of dead birch trees all around us, so there was no shortage. As I was falling asleep that night, (after washing off with my bandana and a pan of water so that my body no longer stuck to itself and anything else it touched), My Charming Companion turned to me and said, congenially, "You're crazy if you think I am going to hike 10 miles tomorrow!" which is what would have had to happen in order to get to the car at the end point, and which I was still totally considering. Again, so funny because 10 miles doesn't sound far in a whole day, but based on those 2 miles in, omg! Really far.

Instead of 10 miles, we decided to leave our packs where we were and hike a 4 mile loop to go swim at the camp spot on Bear Lake. There were lots of wild berries along the way, and the swimming was lovely. We then picked our packs up again and hiked the same 2 miles out that we had come in on the evening before. All of this took most of the day (you might think that 4 miles without packs would be pretty easy, but still no! There were steep climbs and it was hot), and was followed by a bike ride back to the car, parked at what we could call the "endpoint" but what was now just a place where the car was parked so we could bike 8 miles there and back on each end of the hike. ha! I still find it all quite funny. My Charming Companion decided that his actual hiking distance was best calculated by dividing how far he thinks he can hike by 4, whereas my calculation was to divide by 2 (I had lower mileage expectations to begin with).

Wild Blueberries! so tiny.

In the end I feel excited to go on some more weekend hiking trips (I bought the book from the Trail's main office in Two Harbors) - this time utilizing some new found tenets:
1. Consider parking at one place and do a loop. Fun!
2. Calculate actual hiking mileage according to new formula so as to at least approximate something bordering a realistic distance.
3. Pack extra food in case you "choose" to stay another night (I use "choose" quite loosely here. It seems more likely that an extra night would choose you)

This is the lake we swam in, after hiking up out of it!

One other highlight of the weekend was stopping at Northern Water Smokehaus in Duluth for lunch. We shared a delicious smoked lake trout basket with scallion cream cheese and gluten free toast (made At Sarah's Table - though to go grain free you could get cucumbers in lieu of bread), and also bought some corned beef to take home for dinner. Omg -- this dinner! I am not sure where to buy corned beef in town, but I am planning to try making my own sometime later this fall and will post it when I do. However you procure some - this pile of meat with homemade fixings is to. die. for.

Assemble your ingredients: sliced corned beef, cucumber pickles and sauerkraut (ideally with caraway), and some homemade 1000 Island Dressing - see below. You want to heat up the corned beef, but very very gently since it is so tender and already cooked. I put a little bacon fat with part water/part pickled onion juice (you could use any pickle juice, or just water) to heat in a medium saucepan. When it boils, turn it to low to simmer, and gently put the corned beef mound on top. You are essentially steaming the corned beef so that the fat becomes translucent. Cover the pot to steam, and turn meat over after 3-4 minutes to get the other side. Again: be gentle to keep the slices intact! After both "sides" have cooked for 4 minutes or so, it should be nicely heated and ready to serve with the tasty sides. I had mine with sauteed green beans. YUM!

For 1000 Island Dressing: mix together about 1/4 c. homemade mayo, 2 T tomato paste, 2 tsp mustard, some cider vinegar, and a good amount of salt. You could put diced pickles in there too, but since I was eating mine on the side, I skipped it.  I have not had 1000 Island in years - this turned out so delicious that next time I will make extra for some future salad dressing!

Pile o' meat with pickles, kraut, dressing, garden tomatoes, and green beans.

Pork Shanks with Sauerkraut

Well, I still have 5 quarts of sauerkraut to eat before making this year's batch. After this recipe, I am down to 4 - and this was a really tasty way to use some up. I have never cooked pork shanks before, and had a couple of packages from the 1/2 pig purchase this winter. The kraut and shanks paired perfectly for a German style crock pot meal.

I found a recipe from an internet search, and modified it a bit to be in line with my dietary needs and to go in a crock pot. It turned out delicious! Not at all sweet tasting, and super tender.

Pork Shank with Sauerkraut
3-4 lbs pork shanks
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
4 slices bacon, diced
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1 quart sauerkraut
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 bay leaf
1 T stone ground mustard
4 oz apple cider

Season shanks with salt and pepper, set aside. In large Dutch oven or pot sauté bacon to render fat, stir in onion and cook and stir until onion is tender but not brown; push to one side of pan. Add shanks and brown on all sides, about 15 minutes, turning occasionally. Meanwhile, in large bowl stir together drained sauerkraut and remaining ingredients. Remove shanks, place sauerkraut mixture on bottom of pan, return shanks on top of kraut, drizzle beer over all. Cover and place in 350 degrees F. oven for 2-2 1/2 hours, until shanks are very tender. - See more at: http://www.porkbeinspired.com/RecipeDetail/1760/Fresh_Pork_Shank_German-Style.aspx#sthash.TN6t51ug.dpuf

1. In a large dutch oven or heavy pot, saute bacon on medium heat to render the fat, add onions and continue to saute until onions become translucent but not brown. While the bacon cooks, season pork shanks with a good amount of pepper and just a bit of salt (go light because the kraut will provide the salt to the final dish).

2. Move onions and bacon to crock pot, making sure the bottom of the pot still has some fat to brown the pork shanks. Place pork shanks in pot from onions/bacon and brown on all sides - I became a bit impatient and just browned on 2 sides and it seemed fine. I'm perpetually questioning the merits of browning meat when making stew or crock pot dishes - I just can't tell if it makes a big difference. Anyway, brown as you will. While that is happening put kraut plus any juices, and spices and mustard in the crock pot with the onions and bacon.
3. When shanks are browned to your liking, set them atop the kraut pile. There will be little bits of meat and such on the bottom of your dutch oven/pot, so pour in your cider to deglaze. Stir it around a bit to loosen all the good bits, and then pour it all over the meat in the crock pot.  Set your crock pot to cook for 6-8 hours and go about your day. Return to delicious German style kraut and pork.

Pull the pork off the bones (or just nibble them off as you go) and scoop it all in a bowl together: pork, bacon-y onions, and kraut. Serve with a sliced cucumber salad (you know the kind, with mayo and onions and dill).

2 pork shanks, fresh, about 3-4 pounds total
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 slices bacon, diced
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1 32-oz package sauerkraut, refrigerated, rinsed and drained well
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 ounces beer , room temperature - See more at: http://www.porkbeinspired.com/RecipeDetail/1760/Fresh_Pork_Shank_German-Style.aspx#sthash.TN6t51ug.dpuf

2 pork shanks, fresh, about 3-4 pounds total
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 slices bacon, diced
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1 32-oz package sauerkraut, refrigerated, rinsed and drained well
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 ounces beer , room temperature - See more at: http://www.porkbeinspired.com/RecipeDetail/1760/Fresh_Pork_Shank_German-Style.aspx#sthash.TN6t51ug.dpuf

2 pork shanks, fresh, about 3-4 pounds total
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 slices bacon, diced
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1 32-oz package sauerkraut, refrigerated, rinsed and drained well
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 ounces beer , room temperature - See more at: http://www.porkbeinspired.com/RecipeDetail/1760/Fresh_Pork_Shank_German-Style.aspx#sthash.TN6t51ug.dpuf

2 pork shanks, fresh, about 3-4 pounds total
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 slices bacon, diced
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1 32-oz package sauerkraut, refrigerated, rinsed and drained well
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 ounces beer , room temperature - See more at: http://www.porkbeinspired.com/RecipeDetail/1760/Fresh_Pork_Shank_German-Style.aspx#sthash.TN6t51ug.dpuf

apple carrot kraut

Nothing revolutionary here. Just follow the basic steps in Megan's earlier post about sauerkraut and add whatever other tasty (or colorful) things you want. I chose apples and carrots for their hint of sweetness and for the colors they add, but you could try just about anything.

Being as it's a bit colder these days, this batch will probably take a few weeks to ferment to my liking ... just in time for Thanksgiving, come to think of it.

Sauerkraut

A couple of years ago my mom got me a really fancy German sauerkraut crock. It is extra fancy in that there are weights to hold the kraut down under the liquid, and there is a lip around the whole thing that you pour water into to keep an air seal for the fermenting kraut inside. And it is big enough to make 7 quarts of sauerkraut! This last batch is the largest I have ever made, and with the help of friends, it went very quickly.

The recipe we used is based on the one in Wild Fermentation, but really it is just salt and cabbage. We added caraway too.

1) Chop or grate cabbage, with or without hearts, however you like.

We used a blend of green and red cabbages, and tried three different shredding techniques:
1) My food processor (which has a grater blade and shreds very small)
2) My hand-me down mandoline (an orange plastic job that you might remember from the pay per view commercials circa 1980)
3) A sharp knife

My personal fave was the mandoline because it made long thin strips, and because it was even FASTER than the food processor?! woah. who needs these new-fangled electronic gadgets when you can do better without?

2) Sprinkle salt on cabbage as you go. This is because the salt pulls water out of the cabbage, which creates the brine for the fermentation process. It also keeps it crunchy.

Katz's recipe calls for 5 pounds of cabbage to 3 T sea salt

Through some scientific hand weighing, we determined that each head of cabbage approximated about 1 T of salt (the small ones a little less, the big ones a bit more). And we just poured in the caraway seeds in between in quantities less than the salt.

3) Add other veggies if you like, or herbs and spices.

4) Mix ingredients together and pack into crock (or jar or whatever food grade bucket you use).

We established a fancy system to get the most liquid out of the cabbage: using the butt end of a wine bottle, we pounded the cabbage in a bowl before transferring it to the crock, where it was pounded some more with a fat rolling pin. This got lots of liquid out of the cabbage and allowed for a jam packed crock.

5) Cover kraut with a plate or some other lid that fits snugly. Place a clean weight (glass jug filled with water) on the cover. This will keep the cabbage submerged under the brine. Cover the whole thing with cloth to keep dust off.
*This is where the fancy German crock comes in handy...no dust via the water seal.

6) Leave the crock to ferment for 1-4 weeks. It was getting cool the last several weeks already, and ours sat out about 3 weeks. The warmer it is, the faster the fermentation goes.

7) Check the kraut every so often. Sometimes a white film (aka mold) appears on the top of the liquid. This is normal and you can just scrape it off (any remaining bits will break up and be unnoticeable). It is due to air hitting the surface, but the kraut itself is under the "anaerobic protection of the brine" (I particularly like that line).

8) Enjoy! (Taste along the way til its the tang you like)

We packed up the many quarts of kraut and stuck them in the fridge. They need to be chilled at this point or they will continue to ferment. Some people can their kraut, but heating the kraut kills all of the really really good stuff (drink the liquid as a "rare delicacy and digestive tonic" says Katz).

Pizza: Sauerkraut, Apple, Cranberry and Pesto Tomato

This weekend brought Eren and Naomi to town for anniversary and birthday celebrating, Barebones, and some seasonal feasting. Pizza was selected for Saturday dinner. I got the crust recipe from Baking Illustrated (my go to for always perfect baking) and we tried a couple of different toppings. Topping one involved some recently finished sauerkraut and an amazing Sauerkraut/Apple/Cranberry recipe from a canning class KP and I took earlier this month. Topping two included leftover Cilantro Pesto and roasted tomatoes. Yum. Perfect early dinner pre-Barebones and to celebrate the years of love among us.

Pizza Dough (makes enough for three pizzas) *hand kneading version
1/2 c water
1 envelope instant yeast
1 1/4 c. water at room temp
2 T extra virgin olive oil (just realized I forgot that part!!)
4 c bread flour (Up to half can be wheat - I went 1 c wheat/3 c white)
1 1/2 t. salt

Sprinkle yeast on warm water and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells (about 5 minutes). Add remaining room temp. water and oil and stir to combine. In separate, deep bowl, combine half the flour and salt. Add the liquid ingredients and use a wooden spoon to combine. Add the remaining flour and stir until a "cohesive mass" forms. Turn out to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (7-8 minutes), using as little dusting flour as possible. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel and let rise until doubled in size: 1 1/2-2 hours. (Note the wheat flour will slow rising time a bit.) When risen, press dough to deflate, divide into three balls, and stretch/pull with hands to form crust.
*Baking Illustrated recommends a pizza stone for perfect pizza. Sprinkled semolina/corn meal or parchment paper allows you to transfer the uncooked crust to the pizza stone that you want to have pre-heating in the oven. Cook pizza hot - 500 degrees, and remove when crust is turning brown and toppings are sizzling (6-12 minutes).

Pizza One: Sauerkraut with Apples and Cranberries and Squash
*Makes 3 pints (which you then would can, 1/2 the recipe for a more manageable amount to consume before it goes bad!)
1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. light brown sugar
3 large sweet apples - peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1/2 large onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 c. dried cranberries or cherries
1 t. caraway seed
1 t. fennel seed
1 bay leaf
4 c. fermented sauerkraut and juice

Combine apple cider and brown sugar in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil to dissolve sugar. Add onion, apple, cranberries and spices and simmer gentely until apple is tender. Stir in sauerkraut and juice. *If canning, heat mix to 180 degrees, fill scalded jars leaving 1/2" headspace and process for 25 minutes.
We put this mix on the pizza with some baked squash and cheese. Yum. Toss a little salt on too for some improved flavor.

Pizza Two: Spicy Pesto Tomato
Cilantro Pesto: food process 1/2-1 bunch cilantro with nuts (almonds or walnuts), salt and pepper, parm cheese, and olive oil. Sorry I don't have better amounts, I don't think you can go wrong though!
Roasted tomatoes
2ish T. Red Onion, chopped
2ish T. Jalepeno, minced
Cheese!