Hot Pretzels

For some reason, I've been afraid to make my own hot pretzels. In hindsight, I really don't know why I was so bunged up about it. I made some last week for a birthday party, and they were fairly simple and very tasty.

I got the recipe from my Gooseberry Patch Celebrate Autumn cookbook. The recipe is quite simple--2 packages of dry yeast, 1.5 c warm water, 4.5 c flour, 1/2 t salt, 1/4 c baking soda in 1 c water.

As with any yeast, you need to dissolve it in water that is around 110 degrees. Be very careful with the temperature because if it's too hot, the yeast will die. If it's too cold, the yeast will not activate. Take my word on this one and use a thermometer.

Put the flour in a large bowl and then add the yeast/water and salt. Mix and let rise for about 15 minutes.

While the dough is rising, put the 1c water with 1/4c baking soda into a shallow pan. Make sure it is mixed well.

Roll the dough into long strips that are about 8 inches long. They will look like--for lack of a better term--tubes of poop. That is why I didn't take pictures; it looked like poop. Anyway, let them rest in the soda solution for about 2 minutes and then take them out. Now they will look like slimy, wet poop. Form into whatever shape you desire. Some of mine looked like normal pretzels but many looked like the breast cancer ribbons, which is kinda of cool. Some were just gobs.

Put salt on them if you wish and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve warm with a variety of mustards.

You know what? Despite the poopy look, these tasted AWESOME! Much better than what you would buy in the middle of the mall. They were really, really good! They were a hit at the party. I brought 2 home and froze them for later eatin'. I had one tonight and it held up well...still kinda poopy looking but very very tasty!

Stuffed Cabbage

A few years ago, I tried to make stuffed cabbage and failed miserably. In hindsight, I used cabbage that was too small and so the leaves fell apart. Since then, I've resorted to making the "cheat" kind--you know, where you put the hamburger, rice, tomatoes and chopped up cabbage in a big pan, and cook it together. It's good but not the same.

Today, I decided to try, try again. At the supermarket yesterday, I picked up a Martha Stewart Living magazine. I grew fond of her show during Xmas break and so I first must apologize for prior Martha rippage. (I went off on FaceBook one day and my girl Alex called me out. When I'm wrong I say I'm wrong and I'm wrong.) Now I still think that M is a miserable human being--up on her show talkin' about which house she'll spend the holidays at; come on now--but girl know her homemaking stuff.

(As an aside: If I ever have a show like hers and several houses, I'd be all, "OMG, can you BELIEVE I even *have* more than one house? I mean, come on now! CRAZY" and I'd be all self-deprecating and cute and everyone would go, "She's such a nice girl! I don't begrudge her the 8 houses because she seems sweet." But of course the very fact that I am self-deprecating and sweet means I will NEVER have success like Martha's, but whatever).

So! Girlfriend had a recipe for stuffed cabbage in her magazine, I had leftover ground beef plus some cabbage from the market so I said, "What the hey?" I'm pleased to say that it turned out! Here are the pictures:



Those are my naked babies! Aren't they cute? Here they are with my homemade, canned bruschetta in a jar (and since I ran out of the bruschetta, I used the last of my homemade, canned salsa...see why I love my girlfriends?)



Here is the recipe, which I halved. Note that you can use whatever tomato sauce you want or make the bruschetta in a jar and use that!

1 head of cabbage (mine came from the farmers market and has been chilling in my fridge ever since)

12 oz of ground beef (TMZ beef from the market)

12 oz ground pork (I do not eat pork so I just skipped this; therefore, I did not half the beef...does that make sense, I hope?)

1 c of cooked rice (use about 1/2-2/3 c dry)

1/8 c chopped parsley (from my basement)

1/2 T paprika (food co-op)

Bring a pot of water to boil. Put your cabbage head in and let it boil for about 3-4 minutes.

Meantime, mix up your beef, rice, parsley, paprika and salt and pepper to taste.

Pull off leaves, one at a time, from the cabbage head. Put the hot leaf on the towel. You will burn your fingers a little, but you will live. Let the cabbage continue to boil on the stove. Put a scoop of the burger-rice goop into the leaf and roll one (hee hee, I said roll one). Put into a greased 11 x 7 pan. Do this until you run out of goop; I got 9 leaves full.

Pour your sauce on top. Take a picture cuz you just burned your fingers and you should have something to show for it.

Bake at 375 for about an hour.

Enjoy it and give a toast to Martha, will ya?