Sunday, July 15, 2012

Haluski (noodles and cabbage) and Senior's Lunches

I can't say I've cared for Cabbage all that well in the past.  I mean I love my Brun Køl, Coleslaw, Red Cabbage (Rødkål), Danish Style  as well as sauteed cabbage for soup.  But until I moved to the south, I had no idea how much people liked their cabbage dishes and I have to admit, I have come to love this humble vegetable.

We get a lot of cabbage as a donation through Farmshare, which we've used in many different dishes, and this week I made some Haluski, which is basically Cabbage with Noodles and Bacon.   A dish I was introduced to while visiting friends in Pennsylvania, and fell in love with.   So I thought it would be a good dish to make for one of our lunches at the Senior's center.   And it was well received, with the only complaints I received being that I didn't get enough cabbage in the dish.   So, the next time I make it, I'm going to put three times the amount of cabbage in there.    I have said it before, I will let you know when I make a mistake  need to make a dish differently.   I am still learning how to gauge the right amount of food to prepare for a lunch, or maybe I should put this another way, learning to gauge the proportions of what is needed for our lunches, and prepare it accordingly.
Haluski

Let me catch you up on the past few lunches.   Last week the Lion's Club made a donation of Ham for us so we had fun.  We baked the hams with a brown sugar and mustard glaze.   Carved it up and served it with some Baked Yams, made some Cornbread, Turnip Greens, Carrot Salad and Dot's famous Deviled Eggs.
We had enough ham left over that we can make some scalloped potatoes and ham, some Lima Beans and Ham and other good stuff as well.   We don't waste much around here.   Robin and I are both very good at making food stretch until it screams.




 Last month we also had a very nice donated lunch as well.   The local prison's staff made some wonderful Pulled Pork and Chicken for us, as well as some Potato Salad, and Green Beans.  

All we (kitchen staff) had to do that day was to make the breads and desserts.   So we did.   And I had fun.   I made some Cheese Danish which were well received, at least by the kitchen staff.  Just kidding, we did put some out on the dessert table.  

And we're planning on Fried Chicken this week, with Potato Salad, a Macaroni Salad and some Stuffed Green Peppers, and maybe some Collard Greens as well.     Robin will be doing her fabulous Fried Chicken, and I'll be making some Stuffed Green Peppers since we have a bounty of green peppers from Farmshare.   We will also be putting out some cherry tomatoes that came from Farmshare.




And now for the Haluski recipe

2 heads green cabbage, cored and sliced
1 lb. bacon,
2 onions, sliced
2 packages (12 oz) egg noodles, cooked.

Cook the bacon a little in the pan, you want it cooked, but not totally browned.   Remove from pan and do a rough chop and throw it into a large pot, which has been placed over low heat.   Take out all but a tablespoon or so of the bacon grease from the pan and reserve.   Fry the cabbage in the bacon grease, adding more bacon fat if needed.  When the cabbage has wilted, add to the pot with the bacon, then fry the onion in the remaining bacon fat.   If you need more fat, add a tablespoon or so of olive oil.  As soon as the onion has cooked to the translucent stage add it to the cabbage.  Place a lid on the pot and let it cook for a little while, then add the cooked noodles, stir together and serve.    This is one of those dishes, well, let me put it like this, I could eat this every day for a week.  Come to think of it, I probably will the next time I make it. 
Sidsel Munkholm - Author
Sidsel Munkholm - Author

Sid loves to cook, feed people and have fun in the kitchen. She shares her successes and the involuntary offerings she sometimes gives the kitchen goddess as well. And she's still looking for the mythical fairy to help her clean the kitchen after a marathon cooking session. Currently working on a cookbook showcasing the recipes from her Danish heritage.

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