Kraut!

No, not the WWII Nazi kind, but sauerkraut.

I've realized lately that when people come visit, one of the ways I like to visit with them is by cooking while they are here. Tonight, Ortiz was my very special kitchen helper while I made sauerkraut using the garlic and cabbage we got at the farm today. I got a great recipe for kraut in one of Amanda's "Mother Earth" magazines a year or so back. Basically, you use cabbage and salt--and you let nature take care of the rest. After shredding the cabbage and mixing it with the salt (and garlic if you want), you crush up the slurry with your hands . . .you take some in your fist, and you just squeeze. The water in the cabbage combines with the salt to create a brine, which then ferments because of the bacteria on the cabbage. After two weeks in my special crock, which I keep down in the basement (the crock, not the weeks---grammar joke!) we are ready to enjoy some serious German fare!

As you can see, Ortiz was in charge of the garlic, while I shredded up all the cabbage. He was a very special helper indeed!

Its funny how, at our house, whenever friends or family come over, we always end up spending 90% of the time in the kitchen. I guess its just a warm place to be; you've got the wood stove, the food, bright windows, and Thomas P. is usually there. We spent most of the morning just hanging out in the kitchen, talking and drinking coffee. I love drinking coffee in the morning while talking to people. And, this weekend, I am very spoiled: since Dad gets up at the butt crack of dawn, HE starts the coffee, and I get to wake up to the smell of the fresh grog brewing. Its such a minor detail, I realize, but there's something so peaceful and comfortable about waking up to the smell of fresh coffee brewing in your home. I haven't experienced this since college, when my roommate Brian, a forestry major who left for classes before it got light out, used to get not only the coffee, but also the woodstove going. What a treat.

It all reminds me of that episode of THE OFFICE where Michael describes how he loves to wake up to the smell of bacon cooking, so he keeps a George Foreman grill plugged in beside his bed, and then burns his foot stepping on the grill by accident when he gets up . . .its a hilarious episode.

The Kraut will be ready the week after Columbus day . . .come and get it