0 Pork Spare Ribs with Sauerkraut and Spaetzle

I've mentioned before how much I love pork, while this meal isn't necessarily a comfort food for me I still really enjoy it. I recently discovered that Pork Ribs and Sauerkraut are eaten by Germans and the Pennsylvania Deutsch on New Year's Day for good luck. Apparently, since pigs are fat they represent prosperity and since they can not look backwards without turning around – they have to look forward all the time - they also symbolize progress. Now, Sauerkraut is made from cabbage and eating cabbage is considered good luck/prosperity in many cultures – the conclusion is that pork and cabbage is a good meal to be eaten on New Year's Day if you want luck, progress and prosperity. Go figure! I'll have to add this to my New Year's Eve/Day dishes, along with bagels, soba noodles, corn bread fritters, kale and black eye peas....

Now, Spaetzle on the other hand are a comfort food for me, they are a tradition in my family going back several generations... They're kind of a cross between a home made egg noodle and a dumpling. Personally, I hate egg noodles, and Spaetzle are so easy to make that I can't even imagine keeping egg noodles in my pantry. Spaetzle originated somewhere in the Bavarian and Baden-Wurttenburg region of Germany during the middle ages. It's believed that the name Spaetzle is derived from the word Spatzen, meaning little sparrow – which is what these noodles look a little bit like when you make them the “old-fashioned” way. Traditionally they were made from scraping the dough off of a wooden chopping board or “Spaetzlebrett” into boiling salted water. Today many people use colanders, strainers, graters or potato ricers to make the noodles. I still cut mine off of a board, but you are welcome to use the other methods if you prefer, they are faster – but I don't think the end product looks as nice.

Back to the Spare Ribs – traditionally these would be baked in the oven, layered in a pan sauerkraut/ribs/sauerkraut at 350 degrees for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Or, you can make them in a crockpot/slow cooker, put them in when you go to work on low and they're done when you get home (8-10 hours) or you can make them in a pressure-cooker in about 20 minutes. Needless to say I prefer the pressure-cooker method.

If you don't own a pressure-cooker, you should look into purchasing one – they can be purchased for between $30 - $70 depending on size and manufacturer. Foods cook much faster with a pressure-cooker, require less water, use less energy and it preserves more of the natural vitamins and minerals in food. They also kill more micro-organisms than boiling and can be used to sterilize canning jars, glass baby bottles and jam pots. I use my pressure-cooker when canning vegetables that are low acid because I can put them in there for about 10 minutes instead of boiling 30 minutes, I also use it to “cheat” when making teriyaki spare ribs because it's faster than broiling them, a lot of people use them to cook beans because you can cook the beans in about 10 minutes vs 5 hours! I don't care for pot roast but if you do, a pressure-cooker will cook it faster and make it more tender than the traditional method.

Spare Ribs & Sauerkraut

3-4 lbs country style spare ribs
1-2 cans sauerkraut (depending on how much you like sauerkraut)
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp pepper

Method 1:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together sauerkraut, garlic powder & pepper. In a roasting pan spoon a layer of sauerkraut mixture, put a layer of ribs on top (fat side down), spoon remainder of sauerkraut mixture, cover with foil. Bake for 1 ½ – 2 hours.

Method 2:
Mix together sauerkraut, garlic powder & pepper. Spoon a layer of sauerkraut mixture into slow cooker, put ribs on top, spoon another layer of sauerkraut mixture. Turn on low, cook for 8-10 hours.

Method 3:
Put 1 Tbl oil in bottom of pressure-cooker, over medium heat brown ribs on all sides. Sprinkle garlic powder and pepper on ribs while browning. Add sauerkraut to pressure-cooker, put lid on (if you have a pressure-cooker with multiple weight settings use 15 lb setting), once pressure-cooker comes up to temperature and the weight starts to “jiggle” cook for about 15-20 minutes. Use either natural or cold water release and serve.

Some people add a medium sliced onion, a chopped red apple and a small amount of brown sugar to this recipe. My family has never done that and I haven't tried it yet – but you can.... I've also heard of people putting a bottle of beer in the mixture.... experiment, have fun, enjoy....

Spaetzle

1 c flour
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/3 c water

Boil 3 quarts, well salted, water. In a bowl whisk together eggs, water and salt. Add flour, mix well until a dough forms. Put dough onto a small wooden cutting board (or put dough onto a grater or into a potato ricer – drop small pieces into boiling water). Using a fork or spoon, cut off small portions of dough (about 1/4” thick and 1” long) and drop into boiling water. When dough rises to the top, remove with a slotted spoon, and put into a serving bowl*. Serve hot – you can top them with sauerkraut, butter or gravy.

*If they cool down before you've had a chance to serve them, you can bring the pot of water back to a boil, throw them all of them in at the same time for a couple of minutes and scoop them out again to ensure that they're hot when you serve them.

Some people, after boiling the spaetzle, saute them in a frying pan with butter and top with parsley. I don't see the need in doing this – but if you want to, go for it. Also, you will find some people put a bit of nutmeg in the recipe, that is not traditional but if you like nutmeg or want to try it, do it. Have fun!

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0 Home made Tabbouleh vs Near East Tabbouleh Mix

Tabbouleh was originally an Arabic dish traditionally made from bulgur, tomato, cucumber, parsley, mint, olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Variations were made by the Turks and Armenians and it's become a popular ethnic food in the United States. Bulgur is made from wheat and has only had a very small amount of the bran removed so it's considered a whole grain. It has a high nutritional value and makes a good substitute for rice or couscous.

I know it's still a little cold outside to be thinking of salad dishes, at least for a main course but this is very nutritious and can be a side dish as well as a main course. Tabbouleh is good served with other salads, like rotini salad (September 20, 2011), hummus or baba ghanoush (February 23, 2012). Or with kabobs, grilled/broiled salmon (Sept 6 & 21, 2011), grilled chicken or grilled portobello mushrooms (February 7, 2012).

Basic Tabbouleh

½ c dry bulgur
1 ½ c warm water
8-10 cherry tomatoes, quartered (or 3 tomatoes, diced)
¼ red onion, finely chopped
½ cucumber, diced
½ c parsley, chopped
1-2 Tbl mint, chopped (I don't particularly like mint, season to taste – some recipes call for up to ½ c)
Juice of 1 lemon
2-3 Tbl olive oil
½ tsp salt

Soak bulgur in a large bowl with warm water for about 1 - 1 ½ hours. Mix in remaining ingredients, chill for at least 1 hour. Serves 5

You can be creative with this recipe too! You can add ½ c chopped romaine, or ½ c chopped spinach, or ½ c chopped red or green pepper or ½ c chopped black olives, or ½ c golden raisins, or a minced clove of garlic, or even a cup of chopped cooked chicken - or even all of these suggestions (but if you do that I'd double the basic recipe) - for extra protein, you can substitute quinoa for the bulgur - you top it off with some Feta cheese too - whatever you like, make it your own!

Comparison

Price of Home made: About $3.75 total
Price of Near East Tabbouleh: $3.50+ tomato, lemon juice & olive oil, about $5.00 total

Home made Preparation: Soak in warm water 1 hr*, cut and mix ingredients 10 min, refrigerate 1 hr – Approximately 2 hr & 10 min
Near East Tabbouleh Preparation: Boil water, soak covered for 30 minutes, (cut & add tomato, lemon juice & olive oil), refrigerate 1 hour – Approximately 1 hr 35 min.

Home made Ingredients: Bulgur wheat, tomato, onion, parsley, cucumber, mint, lemon juice, olive oil & salt
Near East Tabbouleh Ingredients: Bulgur wheat, salt, parsley, onions, molasses, garlic, spearmint, honey, black pepper (You have to add tomato, lemon juice & olive oil)

Well, home made comes in at about $1.25 cheaper and has the added ingredient of a half a cucumber and does NOT contain molasses or honey (you don't need a sweetener in this dish). It only takes about 5 more minutes to chop the additional ingredients and an extra 30 minutes to soak* the bulgur. And if you look at the nutritional data below, you'll see that home made has less calories, less sodium, less carbs and more vitamins.

*Sure you can boil water and soak the bulgur for only 30 minutes also – but you lose some of the nutritional value in the bulgur when you boil it. For that matter, you can cook it in the microwave in about 2 minutes if you are really in a hurry.

Nutritional Data for Near East Tabbouleh
Calories 120
Total Fat 3 g
     Saturated Fat .5 g
     Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0%
Sodium 270 mg
Carbohydrates 23 g
     Dietary Fiber 5 g
     Sugars 2 g
Protein 4 g
Vitamin A 6%
Vitamin C 15%
Calcium 0%
Iron 4%

Nutritional Data for Home made Tabbouleh
Calories 91
Total Fat 3 g
     Saturated Fat 0 g
     Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 g
Sodium 241 mg
Total Carbohydrates 15 g
     Dietary Fiber 4 g
     Sugars 2 g
Protein 3 g
Vitamin A 17%
Vitamin C 30%
Calcium 3%
Iron 5%

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0 Delicious Rapunzel Cake Topper Ideas, Pictures

Delicious Rapunzel Cake Topper Pictures :

Delicious Rapunzel Cake Topper Ideas

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Rapunzel Birthday Cake Topper

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0 What is Celiac disease? If you have it, what can you do?

What is it? Celiac disease is a condition that damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents it from absorbing parts of food that are important for staying healthy. The damage is due to a reaction to eating gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, rye, and possibly oats

The exact cause of celiac disease is unknown. But it may be caused because of our increasingly grain based diet. It is not a food allergy as some believe, it is an auto-immune disease. It now affects 1 in 100 people. If you have celiac disease your family members should also get tested as there is a strong possibility that this disease can run in families. The lining of the intestines contain areas called villi, which help absorb nutrients. When people with celiac disease eat foods or use products that contain gluten, their immune system reacts by damaging these villi. This damage affects the ability to absorb nutrients properly. A person becomes malnourished, no matter how much food he/she eats. It also increased the risk of becoming anemic and getting osteoarthritis, bowel cancer and intestinal lymphoma.

The symptoms of celiac disease vary from person to person, which is one reason why a diagnosis is not always made right away. Some symptoms include: abdominal pain, gas, bloating, constipation, decreased appetite, diarrhea, lactose intolerance, nausea, vomiting, bloody stools and unexplained weight loss. Because of the intestines inability to absorb vitamins and minerals the following symptoms may start to develop over time: bruising easily, depression or anxiety, fatigue, hair loss, itchy skin, missed menstrual periods, mouth ulcers, muscle cramps and joint pain, nosebleeds, seizures, tingling or numbness in the hands and feet.

Celiac disease can not be cured. However, symptoms will go away and the villi will heal if you follow a gluten-free diet. Do not consume food, beverages, or medicines that contain wheat (durum, einkorn, graham, kamut, semolina or spelt), barley, rye, triticale, malt, malt flavoring, malt vinegar and possibly oats (up to ½ cup daily of pure, uncontaminated oats can be tolerated by most celiacs).

Grains/flours that are allowed: rice, corn, soy, potato, tapioca, beans, sorghum, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, amaranth, arrowroot, teff, flax and nut flours.

Distilled alcoholic beverages and wines are allowed, but beers, ales, lagers that are made from gluten containing grains are not distilled are not allowed.

Frequently overlooked foods that may or do contain gluten: brown rice syrup, imitation bacon, imitation seafood, marinades, processed luncheon meats, sauces/gravies, self-basting poultry, soy sauce, soup bases, communion wafers, herbal and nutritional supplements.

Here are some hints to help you replace flour in your cooking and baking:

Step 1: Swap the flour
Substitute all-purpose gluten-free flour in place of all-purpose regular flour at a ratio of 1:1. Try Bob's Red Mill all-purpose gluten-free flour. If you are baking items such as cakes and/or breads, add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum.

Step 2: Eliminate the flour
Try omitting the flour altogether. If you are craving peanut butter cookies, for example, try this simple recipe: 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup sugar and 1 to 2 eggs (depending on how moist you want them to be). Blend ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Yield: six to eight cookies.

Step 3: Create flour mixture
In place of flour in a recipe try a combination of 3 parts white or brown rice flour, 2 parts potato starch and 1 part tapioca flour/starch. Add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum for every 1 1/2 cups of the flour mixture.

Step 4: Consider arrowroot powder
Arrowroot powder is another ingredient that can be used in place of xanthan gum. As a general rule, use one-half teaspoon of arrowroot powder for each cup of wheat flour called for in any recipe. Note: Round up if the recipe calls for a partial cup.

Step 5: Experiment with ingredients
Other ingredients in the recipe may need to be adjusted when trying new flours and flour combinations. For example, use 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder for every cup of flour used in a recipe. Some flours also may be a bit dryer, so you may have to add additional liquid ingredients such as water or oil, depending on what the recipe calls for.

If you live in the Sierra Vista area, The Brown Bag Cookie Company makes delicious gluten-free cookies, pastries and breads that they will deliver for free directly to you. If you live in an outlying area, they will deliver to you for a small fee. And if, unfortunately, you live somewhere else in the United States (or if you have an APO/FPO address), they will ship them to you for small shipping fee. Check out their website: www.thebrownbagcookiecompany.com

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