Sauerbraten Success

Late last night, the Sailor and I feasted on the marinated sauerbraten, salted boiled potatoes and red cabbage.

Here's the basic recipe, adapted from my thrifted copy of The Art of German Cooking, by Betty Wason. (More on this fascinating lady later. First the food.) 

I marinated my two-pound chunk of meat in a beer mixture for the Bavarian style of sauerbraten (apparently there are several ways to make this dish -- the main thrust is that the meat needs to marinate in a vinegar type mixture, including wine or even buttermilk). In addition to a few cups of Belgium dark beer, I added water, a bay leaf, lemon, tomato, onion, and several whole cloves and whole peppercorn and let it sit in the fridge for two days, turning the meat several times. 

After two days, I strained the marinade, dredged the beef in flour, and then browned it on the stove top in butter.

  
Next, I added one cup of the strained marinade, a sliced lemon, a little sugar and some salt and then simmered the roast for two hours, turning the meat halfway through cooking. (Next time, I'll add more of the strained marinade -- I didn't think there was enough liquid in the pot while it was cooking.) 

Of course if your roast is larger, it will probably take longer to cook. I think my own sauerbraten could have simmered even longer, even though the meat was already falling apart.

For gravy, I skimmed the juice and mixed it in with a little sour cream... just in case the rest of the sauer / sour ingredients aren't enough for you!

The recipe called for potato dumplings and red cabbage to go with the sauerbraten... and while I'm ambitious and wanted to have as authentic a German meal as possible, I simply didn't have the energy to make dumplings.

I made salted potatoes instead. 

The potatoes were nothing fancy... but the red cabbage was probably the hit of the meal. I'll post that recipe later, but here's a sneak peak: 

While the Sailor and I agreed that our usual standard roast with chutney was slightly better, the sauerbraten got accolades all around. I knew it was definitely better than average when we both reached for seconds of everything.

I suspect my high school German teacher would have been proud of the sauerbraten success. (Probably more so had I actually translated the recipe from German... Ja?)

Menu Planning

About a week ago, after I'd cooked probably five different dishes in the span of two days, the Sailor looked at me and said he was surprised I wasn't cooking up a storm in the new spacious kitchen. 

Apparently he missed the whirlwind going on behind him (the kitchen island is strategically located near enough to the TV that I can still watch whatever is on, even when I'm cooking, but the Sailor can't see me.) 

So this weekend, I decided to cook up another storm, but first I needed to plan the menu. Every so often, I go through my countless cookbooks to figure out what I can either make with the ingredients on hand, or to make a shopping list for the future menu.

This week, roasts were buy one get one free at our local grocery store. My go-to recipe involves Mrs Ball's Chutney, which is particularly hard to find in this hemisphere. It might be a while until we can find a store that stocks it, so I knew I needed to find another roast recipe in the meantime. 

I perused a used copy of The Art of German Cooking that I picked up at a thrift store a while back. German food is something the Sailor gets excited over, so I figured I might find something worth cooking in this 1967 volume. 

The cookbook didn't disappoint. I found a recipe for Bavarian Sauerbraten -- a giant rump of beef marinated in beer, lemon, tomato, onion, cloves, peppercorns and a bay leaf. 

Say no more. I knew this had potential to be the recipe. 

It needs to marinade for 2-3 days, but in the meantime, I'm salivating. 

I'll let you know how it turns out. I'm hoping this won't end up as Kitchen Disasters III.

Fingers crossed.

Red (Rug), White, and Blue

The local Fourth of July fireworks seem to have been postponed here, and downpours all day put a stop to any sort of barbeque or picnic plan. That's okay though, because I managed to finish the red rug for the bathroom, while the Sailor and I spent the day watching old movies. 

I'm not normally in the habit of taking photos of my bathroom, much less posting them, but this rug is too fun to keep a secret. 

While the pattern is only available from the July/August 2010 back issue of Crochet Today, you can view the original rug here on Ravelry. The rug is a basic spiral, crocheted in the round. It's worked in two layers -- a base layer and then a layer of pom-pom yarn.

Besides untangling the Citron Shawl, this rug is the first project I've started and completed in our new home. Before we moved, I found a few skeins of Spark-a-Doodle yarn for only 99 cents each, and I scooped them up, knowing I had to make this rug for our new bathroom. I made mine a few rounds smaller than the original pattern, but it's still super soft and plush.  

Since my rug is only one patriotic color, I'll leave you with a few random photos to make up for the lack of white and blue yarn -- the blinds and our globe. Have a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella Salad

Years ago, over lunch with a friend, I ordered only a tomato mozzarella salad at a South African restaurant. 

When the food arrived, I stared at the few slices of tomato and chunks of mozzarella with dismay. Surely there was more to this dish? 

Admittedly, it was delicious, if not a little light. I occasionally have quite the appetite (the Sailor often refers to it as 'the Monster'...) so naturally I found myself hungry again within the hour. 

I decided I wouldn't bother ordering such a salad ever again. 

It seems I've missed out over the years, because this salad really is a delightful compliment to a meal, or a light dish all on its own.

This week at the local grocery store, I found myself staring at their strategically placed marketing ploy: a living Basil plant, vine ripe tomatoes, and a ball of mozzarella all within reach of one another.

I fell for the bait. 

This whole week, I've been eating the combo as a salad, feeling very Italian, wondering why I waited so long to try this again. 

It's so simple -- yet so delicious. Simply chop the tomatoes and mix with the mozzarella and a few basil leaves. Sprinkle olive oil over the top, add fresh ground pepper and kosher salt. I like to add a few garlic slices to mine for an extra kick. 

Add an Italian wine, and voila: your summertime lunch or light dinner. 

(*Bonus points if you serve your salad on a vintage Pyrex plate.)

What's your latest summertime favorite dish?

The Patient Shawl

I'm still sorting out the craft boxes around here, and in the meantime, I've been working on my go-to knitting project: Citron Grand. I mentioned it in this post a long time ago. This week I laughed at myself because it really is taking me forever to finish this thing. It's my first lace project ever and I definitely underestimated how much longer it takes to knit thin yarn versus thick.

Then I remembered that the Sailor helped me to wind ALL of the yarn for the project before our cruise... minutes before we needed to leave for the airport. (I insisted we wind and pack ALL of it.)

 

This too made me laugh, because I barely put a dent in this project on that ship.

Well, I've been back on land for several months and the dent is slightly bigger. I did manage to eek in a few rows during that knitting retreat a few months back and over the past few days, I got a whole other section done. 

And then something horrible happened. Somehow I couldn't get the yarn up over the circular needle 'hump'. (Those of you using cheap-o needles will know what I mean. Those of you who have splurged on sensible needles: I commend you for your choice. May I please borrow your size 6 for this project?) 

Maybe my tension was too tight -- who knows.

All I know is that somehow, the yarn started felting and sticking together and it was next to impossible to get any of the yarn over the hump. 

 
This morning, I spent a good hour trying to fix the mistake by ripping back about 8 rows worth of work. (Hundreds of stitches per row. Hundreds.) I sat on the patio, drank too much coffee, and willed this thing to heal on its own. 

I also reminded myself to be a little more patient. With temperatures reaching near 100 today, I certainly don't need to finish this thing anytime soon. 
 
Knitting has definitely taught me patience. Just when I want to give up on something, I realize that some things take longer than others. Like this shawl. Like moving somewhere totally new. Not everything will happen right away. I still feel like there's so much to do and to sort out in our new home, but I have to remind myself that it doesn't have to all happen TODAY.  Or even tomorrow for that matter.