—_ 38 - Wednesday, January 11, 1989 - North Shore News _LIFESTYLES Cabbage rolls a hearty winter WHENEVER YOU get eight cooks together, you'll find eight different ways to prepare anything — in this case it was cabbage rolls being discussed. The only constant in the whole conversation was the cabbage. Some knew that the Fest way to soften the cabbage didn't involve fussing with a big pot of boiling water — the traditional way, but simply to core the cabbage, wrap it in a plastic bag and freeze it whale. budget beaters Barbara McCreadie Two cautions, though — frozen cabbage takes a long time to thaw so take it out of the freezer the day before and thaw it in the fridge. Immersing it in water speeds things up and if all else fails be glad you have a microwave. Secondly, the cabbage needs to be frozen for more than a couple of days — the last batch 1 used hadn't been frozen long enough and it was the devil's own job to roll the leaves. Everyone had a different idea for preparing both the filling and the sauce. Most used ground beef mixed with rice. Because my hus- 1470°P band despises rice, | developed this recipe. Cabbage Rolls, McCreadie Style This serves four with more than enough sauce. If you double the recipe, don’t double the sauce but add a bit of water. 1 small head cabbage, frozen and thawed ¥2 Ib. ground beef Y: Ib. pork sausage meat (If you're doubling the recipe, buy bulk. If not, buy links and squeeze the meat out of the casings.) M% cup instant stuffing mix (the kind you anced only fo add boiling water to prepare).] buy cardboard tins of Stove Top Stuffing Mix, Instant Variety, in Bellingham and haven't seen it here yet. It’s very handy. If I run out, I substitute seasoned, packaged croutons, slightly crushed. 1 ess 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce salt and pepper 1 fin tomato soup, undiluted 1 tin consomme, undiluted Prepare the cabbage leaves by separating them and paring off any heavy core iidges. Combine re- maining ingredients except soups and mix well with your hands. Wet your hands first so the meat doesn’t cling. Place a mound of stuffing on each leaf, core end and roll it over, tucking in the ends to make a neat package. Place the rolls side by side in a shallow casserole dish, seam side down. When all the rolls are in place, empty the two tins of soup into the bowl you used to make the meat mixture. Whisk together until blended. Pour over the rolls. vc 42. SFL Be EMBERTO These require long, slow baking, covered for all but the fast half hour. J usually bake them about three hours at 306F but it's flexible — you wouldn't kill them if they baked all afternoon. Wonderful served with sour cream, rice or steamed new potatoes and a salad. The last time I made these — last night! — Brian made one of his rare observations on a recipe. ‘Wouldn't these be even better with bacon in the stuffing?”* Hey, I bet they would — next time I'll toss in about a half cup of crisp, crumbled bacon. If you decide to make these you might give it a try. ve This next recipe was given to me by a friend and | haven’t tried it. Reason? If I served sauerkraut to my family they’d accuse me of at- tempted murder. I grew up loving the stuff — anyone with roots in Nova Scotia will understand -- a big steamed spicy sausage, a mound of sauver- kraut, boiled new potatoes and, if Asteriks Sheeting 60"- 150cm Fanfare Sports Wear 45"-115¢em the season was right, dandetion greens steamed in butter with a bit of vinegar. Cabbage Reils with Pork and Sau- eckraut 1 medium heed cabbage, prepared as above 1 tb. pork ssusage meat 2 cups cooked ric> ft small onion, finely chopped T egg salt and pepper 1 barge tin sauerkraut water sour cream Mix the meat with rice, onion, egg and seasonings. Stuff and roll up leaves, as above. Place half the sauerkraut in a large skillet. Top with cabbage rolls and then the rest of the sauerkraut. Add water to the level of the top and simmer uncovered for two hours, adding water as necessary. Serve with sour cream. To make a heartier dish, my friend often uses up leftover baked ham or a sausage such as salami diced over the top. If I could get 45" - 115cm eal away with trying it, I'd dust it well with paprika before serving. A more traditional mix for the stuffing is the ground beef-rice combination. The proportions are usually one pound meat to % cup cooked rice. One small diced onion and onc egg plus any seasonings you care to add round it out. Just like making meatloaf, who really follows a rec- ipe? As for toppings, here are a cou- ple of suggestions that I’ve been given as alternatives, but must admit 1 like the tomato-soup- consomme combination so well that Eleave it at that. ® Tinned onion soup « Canned, stewed tomatoes (you can add ketchup, BBQ sauce or whatever you like to spice them up.) © Tomato sauce (tinned, plain or seasoned) eee See Purchase Page 42 Foil Paper 60"- 50cm ) son Fancy Knit 45”-115cem