So Many Dishes

You may think I’m crazy for saying this, but repeating a meal that I made three months ago means that it’s probably one of our favorites. Yes, we make that many different recipes! Sometimes one of us will suggest a dish when we’re putting together our menu for the week, and the other will say, “but we just had that.” Then I’ll check my planner, and it’s been six months since we made it. I have more than 500 recipes in the “my recipes” section of my Weight Watchers app, and while there are some duplicates, it’s not enough to make an appreciable change in the total.

So our dinner this evening was our favorite chicken schnitzel, rotkohl, and rye bread. I’ve posted the schnitzel recipe before, but I didn’t include the cabbage recipe. That’s what I’m including today.

I’ve made this dish so often that I don’t need to look at the recipe. Nonetheless, I originally found it in one of first cookbooks I owned, America Cooks. This was a compilation of recipes from the Federation of American Women’s Clubs, edited by Anne Seranne, and published in 1967. I initially had an abridged paperback version that I bought a month or two after we were married. Within a couple of years, I had used it so much that it was falling apart, so I ordered the complete hardcover edition. Today that copy is held together with duct tape. It is a great general cookbook with tons of sound, timeless advice. Seranne was a respected cookbook author who also served as an editor of Gourmet magazine. The book is just a great resource. In the cookbook, the recipe is called Grandma’s Red Cabbage, but everyone in the family refers to it by the German rotkohl. When your kids ask you to cook cabbage, you know you’re doing something right.

Rotkohl

• 1 medium head red cabbage
• 1 large unpeeled apple, cored and cubed
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Quarter the cabbage and remove the core. Slice the cabbage sections into thin shreds. Place in large (3 quart or larger) pot, and add all remaining ingredients, mixing together.

Over medium-high heat, bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the cabbage is soft, 30 to 45 minutes. Can be cooked ahead and reheated. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

I made this early in the afternoon, because we had a repairman coming. Our air conditioner stopped working. It turned out that, when we ran the heat during the cold weather last week, a part “fried,” as the repairman put it. He wasn’t able to replace the part, but he bypassed something or other so that it would work for tonight, at least. Keeping my fingers crossed that they’ll be able to repair it tomorrow, since it’s supposed to get hot and humid this weekend. Anyway, the cabbage was ready, so all I had to do was reheat it while I cooked the schnitzel.

I expect that we’ll have schnitzel this summer, as our river cruise takes us through Austria. The question is, will I make it again before then?

Happy eating!