Homemaking

Sourkraut Again

July 1, 2012 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Two of my friends asked me this week about making sourkraut, so when I made my last batch of the year yesterday I decided to take pictures of the process for them. So, if you’re not interested in how to make sourkraut (thank you, Mom, for teaching me how!) then skip this one–although Grandma and aunts might want to look at the last picture!

Start by weighing out 5 pounds of cabbage and cutting the head into wedges.

Shred the cabbage. I use this hand-cranked gadget, but I’ve seen kraut-cutters occasionally. They must have been more common a hundred years ago–just a series of blades in a frame that you would push the cabbage back and forth over.

After all five pounds of cabbage are fairly finely shredded, sprinkle on 3 1/2 Tablespoons (2.5 ounces) of non-iodized salt.

Mix the salt through the cabbage.

If you don’t have a shredder of some sort, a large knife works, too–just takes a little longer. Cut your wedge of cabbage into several thin slices, then chop this way.

Five pounds of cabbage equals five pints of kraut. (A pint a pound the world around, you know!) I was making fifteen pounds yesterday, so the first two batches went into these five quart (liter) jars.

This first five pounds only half filled the jars, so at first it was pretty loose. It’s a good idea to put the jars in the mixing bowl to fill them, to save mess.

The second five pounds is going in the jars–now I have to pack it in. Press it down as tightly as possible. Yes, it will all fit in.

As you continue to pack the kraut in, the salt pulls water out of the cabbage, and you end up with a lot of liquid–good reason to do this in the bowl! I failed to do that with this batch, and ended up with a wet table.

For my last five pounds yesterday, I used odd-sized jars, so to find the right combination I got 10 cups of water and poured it into the jars till it exactly fit. Then I knew I had enough room for five pints of kraut.

Yes, all that cabbage fit in those five jars!

Sorry, no picture of the end of the process–this is why! He woke up five minutes before I finished and thought the world was coming to an end because he had to wait for Mommy! I cut squares of plastic from bags I bought frozen vegetables or sugar in, and put those right on top of the kraut, to help keep out the air and protect the lids, then put on the lids. The five biggest jars, of course, take preserving jar lids and rings, and the smaller jars have their own lids. Grease the inside of the preserving jar rings so they’ll be easier to take off. The juices ooze out as the cabbage ferments, and salt water is corrosive. Mom always uses the rustiest rings she has, so as not to ruin her good ones. Mine are all pretty nice, so I just use what comes to hand. Be sure to set them on a surface that will not be hurt by the salt water, and it’s a good idea to have a way to catch it! You’ll have a fair amount coming out of the jars. Keep them in a cool, dark place. DO NOT OPEN FOR SIX WEEKS! It takes that long for the kraut to totally ferment. Refrigerate after opening. Air makes it spoil.

Pumpkin Soup

May 27, 2012 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

I made pumpkin soup for supper last evening, and thought maybe our American family and friends would be interested. This is a very “Kiwi” dish, and we’ve learned to love it. It’s the kind of soup that can be made in any number of different ways. Last night, I peeled and diced a largish pumpkin (all winter squash is called pumpkin here, and you can use any kind for soup), then nearly covered it with water. I put it on to cook on high, then went to take care of baby. When it started boiling, someone turned it down for me, and when I was able to get back to it, I chopped the good parts of several onions that were going bad. I probably ended up with about 2 cups of onion, if you want approximate proportions. By then, the pumpkin was soft, so I stirred the onion in, then put in 2 quarts of cooked, shredded, frozen potatoes (we had more stabbed potatoes when we dug them than we could use before they went bad, so cooked and shredded, then froze them). Once the potatoes were thawed and everything was soft, I added a couple of teaspoons of salt and several sprinkles of cayenne pepper, then pureed the whole pot with my stick blender and stirred in a can of coconut cream. The result? A delicious, thick soup that the entire family enjoyed! You can also add milk or cream, but since Gayle can’t have cow’s milk, I used the coconut cream. It adds a delicious flavor.

Grey pumpkin–the most common variety here.

Can’t beat a good cupful of pumpkin soup!

Leftovers

May 5, 2012 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

I read a few blog posts about using leftovers this morning (http://inashoe.com/2012/05/4-moms-cooking-with-leftovers-linky/) and thought I’d share how I deal with them.

I love leftovers–they make quick meals so easy. Leftovers have been a life-saver to me more school days when it comes to lunchtime than I can count. So often, it gets to be 12:30 or even 1:00 and I realize we need something to eat–quickly, sort through the fridge and see what’s there. We do occasionally have to throw things out (maybe my husband would say more than occasionally), but it gets recycled into eggs.

Some days, depending on what I find, I’ll put the leftovers in a casserole dish and heat in the oven at about 300°F. If there were several casserole leftovers, they can all go in the same dish and won’t run together too much; or I’ll use a couple of smaller dishes. Usually, 20 minutes is long enough to heat. Then, everyone gets to choose from the offerings.

Other days, again depending on what I find, I’ll put it all together into soup. Most of the time, it turns out delicious! Adding cheese on top in each bowl always helps, too.

Today was a clean-out-the-refrigerator day. Since I was thinking about this, I kept track of what went in the pot. We had approximately 1/2 cup of goat stew, 1/4 cup of pork headcheese (brawn), 1 cup peas, 2 cups hash browns, 1 cup cooked rice, 1 or 2 cups stuffing and about 1/2 cup cooked hamburger (I had baked them together in a casserole last night). I added a small can of pork and beans (a secret ingredient in a lot of my soups/stews) and some water and heated it on low. It wasn’t one of my more successful leftover stews, but fairly good. Cheese would have made it really good, but Daddy was home and he can’t have cow cheese so we didn’t have it.

Sometimes I’ll add tomatoes or tomato juice, or broth, to make it easier to heat without scorching and add flavor. I just try to have some meat and some vegetables, as well as something starchy (rice or potatoes).

One thing the children really like is leftover mashed potatoes, put in a casserole dish and topped with bits of sausage, then served with cheese and ketchup. Baked potatoes, diced, work really well in a quick soup.

I’m thankful that my crew doesn’t mind eating leftovers! Oh, I should also say–my husband likes leftovers every day for his lunch; I try to plan meals so we have extra. I put them in a microwavable plastic dish that fits nicely in his lunch box and he heats it at lunchtime. Much easier than coming up with sandwiches!

Sourkraut

February 18, 2012 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

I had a request for my sourkraut recipe, so here goes.

I weigh out 5 pounds of cabbage, then shred them. If the head is decently tight, this gadget works great– otherwise, chop finely with a knife. Then, mix in 2 1/2 ounces of non-iodized salt. Pack this all into 5 pint jars–yes, it will fit! Fill the jars, then pack it down with your fingers and fill the jars again, then pack it down again, and fill again–the cabbage keeps wilting down and you can pack an incredible amount in. You want to end up with the cabbage/juice mixture all the way to the top of the jar. I cover with a piece of plastic wrap, or a plastic bag cut open, then put the lid on. Warning–don’t use a good ring for it if you use Mason jars–it will rust! Put in a darkish, coolish but not cold, place for six weeks. Be sure to have something under the jars to absorb the juices that ooze out, because they will for the first week or so. After six weeks (mark your calendar), open a jar and taste–should be good! As long as you don’t open the jars, they will keep on the shelf, but as soon as you open a jar it must be kept in the fridge. The children and I like to eat this for our salads in the winter at lunchtime. Gayle doesn’t like it, so we eat it when he isn’t home. It’s also delicious cooked with porkchops, of course, and Gayle likes it that way with mashed potatoes. I like to eat it raw because of all the good-for-you enzymes and bacteria.

I should mention–I end up using odd-sized jars for my kraut here, so I just measure out five pints of water and pour it into jars till I have the right combination.

Mom says, “School Holiday Today!”

February 17, 2012 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

I was getting behind on my work, so I declared today to be a school holiday. Would you believe, no one objected! I was able to get a lot of things off my list: The beans Esther picked Monday got snapped (while I read to the boys, so we did do some school). The cabbage the boys picked for me Monday got turned into sourkraut. We had a freezer go out this week, so I cooked up a pile of bags of plums from last year. One big pot turned into jam (didn’t follow the recipe, so I’m not sure yet if it set or not–it will be syrup if not!). Another big pot has had the pits picked out and has been pureed, but I’m bringing it to a boil tonight so it will be safe to leave till morning. The last big pot (yes, I have a lot of big pots–love them!) is also coming to a boil and I’ll decide tomorrow what to do with it.

And, we got in a field trip of sorts this afternoon and evening. Our landlord started combining wheat around 4:30, and the children have been watching intently! He’s running his own combine and having someone else run their Klaas combine to get the job done quicker. The combines are harvesting faster than the trucks and tractors can haul it away! They are getting about 180 bushels to the acre. One truck that’s being used must be from the ’50s or early ’60s, and frequently backfires–“Mom, what makes a truck backfire?” “I don’t know, ask your dad. I just know that’s what that noise is!”

Pancakes!

January 21, 2012 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

This is Saturday morning. We usually have pancakes on Saturday morning, because it’s the most relaxed morning of the week. Three weeks out of four, Gayle is able to be at home for breakfast. All week, he has to leave for work at 5:15 or earlier, so obviously we don’t eat breakfast together, and one Saturday a month he has to work a few hours in the morning. We all like pancakes, but I don’t have time for them most of the time.

The jar of sourdough starter. When I use some, I fill the jar with warm water, stir it, pour it off till only about an inch is left, then add a cup or so of flour and let it sit out 12 hours.

I started the pancake batter last night, by mixing sourdough starter, water, and flour, then letting it set till morning. This morning, I beat in a few eggs and some salt and soda, and fried the pancakes.

We had a variety of toppings–some people like applesauce, some like jam, and some like honey. Most of the time, we don’t have jam on them, but I felt generous this morning. For some reason, the pancakes turned out light and fluffy this time–I have no idea what is different. They were good!

These two enjoyed jam on their pancakes.

And now, the rest of the morning is underway–house cleaning, bread raising, and I’m hoping to go to the garden for awhile. The plants are growing beautifully–but so are the weeds!

Moving Hay and Flopped Bread

December 24, 2011 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Gayle has been hauling our year’s supply of hay today. Some dear friends of ours here got their hay baled today, and Gayle brought home ten big bales–each one is about a ton! He brought them one at a time on our little truck, then stacked them in a small shed here. Hopefully this will be enough for all the animals for the year!

I made bread today–but forgot all about it. By the time I found it this afternoon, it had overraised and there wasn’t enough time left to raise it and bake it today, anyway. So, I rolled it out and made pita bread–of sorts. Some pieces are more like crackers. Yummy!

The Latest in Toy Boats (don’t try this)

December 1, 2011 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

My boys are having fun this morning as a result of my failure! I made bread yesterday–and had the worst flop in probably 12 or 13 years. The bread rose a little in the warmer drawer in the stove, then cooked on top because the oven was running, then fell. I baked it anyway, but ended up with little flat bricks. The boys cut them open this morning and hollowed them out, then tried floating their “boats”. Good way to soak the crusts for the chickens! I’m going to turn the insides they hollowed out into bread crumbs, so we won’t entirely lose the batch of bread–and I’m making a new batch today.

Corn Crunch

November 23, 2011 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

I finished making a batch of Corn Crunch this morning, and thought maybe some of you would like to know about it. I do not buy cold cereal. It costs too much and is not good for you, as far as I’m concerned. (One of my favorite stories is about the scientist in the 1960s who did an experiment with rats and cornflakes. He had three groups of rats; one he fed rat chow as a control; one got cornflakes; and one got the box the cornflakes came in. The group that ate cornflakes sickened and died before the group that ate the box died of malnutrition.) Corn Crunch is one of our favorites, and one that I feel good about feeding my children.

Mix: 1 quart buttermilk or mixture of yogurt and milk
3 cups cornmeal (I grind popcorn)
4 cups flour (I use whole wheat)
Let it set overnight. Next day, mix in:
1 cup sweetener of your choice
2 teaspoons soda
2 teaspoons salt
Spread on two ungreased cookie sheets and bake 15-20 minutes at 350°F. Let cool enough to handle. Crumble a bit and grind in food processor or blender. Return to cookie sheet and toast in oven till nearly dry, stirring often. It will finish drying the last tiny bit after you take it out.

Crumbling the "cake" into the food processor. I had an enthusiastic helper for this step--he helped mix the first of the ingredients the day before.

The finished cereal--ready for some cream!

Noodlemaking

November 7, 2011 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Today’s special project was making noodles with my new toy–a noodlemaker that I bought using money I was given for my birthday with instructions to use only for myself. (That’s a hard order for a mom to obey, by the way.) The boys think it’s a toy for them. They had fun and were a great help!

For supper tonight, I opened two jars of the beef broth I made a couple of weeks ago, and cooked about a fourth of the noodles in it, then chunked up half of a beef roast I cooked a couple of days ago. Everyone loved it so much that I had to make a point to save out enough for Gayle’s lunch tomorrow or it would have been gone!

I’ve noticed that a lot of my posts on here seem to be about food. Wonder if that’s a result of lots of hungry boys in the house? They all love to help me in the kitchen! It is one of the most important things we do, too, and takes more time than anything besides school.

Homemaking

Thank you!