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Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

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Last week we started “putting the gardens to bed” for the season.
This end of an era always seems to creep up on us before I expect it
to.  For me it is always accompanied with a certain sadness.  No more
beautiful early morning sights of garden tubs overflowing with choice red
tomatoes, crisp green lettuce and chard, gorgeous shiny eggplants and
colorful summer squashes  ushering in the new day. What did arrive
this morning were some wonderful prizewinning heads of cabbage, a goodly
amount of green beans and plenty of assorted tomatoes.  So tonight we
will enjoy  a favorite old  world classic for our dinner:  Stuffed
cabbage rolls with fresh garden tomato sauce along with tender whole
green beans.

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Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
SERVINGS
4-6
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
1hour
PREP TIME
30mins
READY IN
1.5hours

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Cut up tomatoes and simmer with olive oil, onion salt, oregano and sugar until reduced to 1 cup or 8 ounces of sauce. Can be done while preparing cabbage.
  2. Leave cabbage whole, but cut around the stem, and parboil for 5 minutes; let steep for another 5 minutes. Remove cabbage from water and drain; separate cabbage leaves. Chop the small inside leaves and the core and use to line a Dutch oven.
  3. Combine all the stuffing ingredients and mix thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place 1 tablespoon stuffing on each of the larger cabbage leaves, fold ends of leaves over the stuffing, and roll leaves.
  4. Arrange the stuffed cabbage leaves in rows in Dutch oven; sprinkle each layer with olive oil, tomato sauce, and crushed bay leaf. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper; add remaining tomato sauce, beef broth and enough water to cover. Place a plate on top of cabbage rolls, and simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Serve the cabbage rolls with the pot sauce pored over them.

My Grandmother’s Green Tomato Mustard Relish

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One of my strongest childhood memories was watching my grandmother​s​ in the kitchen preparing meals for our large family ​gatherings ​on Sunday afternoons.  Both my grandmother and my great-grandmother were influential figures in my lif​e and instilled a quiet passion ​in me for bringing your heart and soul to the table.  They would create memorable and delicious dishes ​that would cause us to want to sit at the dinner table for hours, not just minutes, and share together.  ​They were wonderful and patient teachers and, like a sponge, I would absorb their body language, their knife skills, and their innate sense of creating something out of nothing as I worked alongside them.  They were frugal, but they would never let us know it, as we sat down to a meal fit for kings.

When my great grandmother died, I inherited a few of her cookbooks.  They have her notes in them from World War I, when she was a cook for the soldiers.  They hold a place of honor on my bookshelf.  It helps me to remember what an important role food has to play both in life and in death.  I thumb through the fragile pages from time to time, half expecting to hear grandma’s voice whisper a secret direction to me.

This is among one of my grandmother​’s signature recipes–a relish made with green tomatoes.  We put our gardens to bed this past weekend and pulled up our tomatoes–​now it’s​ time to take a stroll down memory lane.​

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My Grandmother's Green Tomato Mustard Relish
SERVINGS
6-7pints
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
pints
COOK TIME
30minutes
PREP TIME
1.5hours
READY IN
2hours

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Grind and drain for 1 hr. the first 4 ingredients (green tomatoes, green and red peppers and onions).
  2. Mix the remaining ingredients together and add the vegetables.
  3. Cook until it boils and thickens, stirring constantly.
  4. Pack in sterilized hot jars.
  5. Store in a cool, dry place.

Melanzane alla parmigiana – Eggplant Parmesan

1

Our gardens are bursting at the seams with eggplants.   I just love the shiny purple beauties and feel slightly sorry for the bad rap they get from opinionated palates!   Over the next couple of weeks, we are going to attempt to set those opinions straight and give you some trusted recipes that will transform this ordinary vegetable into an extraordinary culinary delight.

In writing this, I am reminded of a wonderful book I read many years ago as a young Sister when I was exploring my Jewish roots.  The book, To Life!  by Rabbi Harold Kushner, is filled with wonderful insights into human nature and God.   I underlined over and over as I read through the book.  One particular quote has remained with me, the author says, “To be human is to choose to be good; to take something unholy and make it holy, something ordinary and transform it into the extraordinary. To sanctify the world and live a Godly life”.

Praying that co-working with God today will begin to make the ordinary extraordinary.

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Melanzane alla parmigiana – Eggplant Parmesan
SERVINGS
6
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
20-30min.
PREP TIME
1hr.
READY IN
1 hr30 mins

Ingredients

Instructions

Sauce
  1. Heat the 2 Tbsp. of olive oil in a heavy (non-aluminum) saucepan.
  2. Add the onion and half of the basil, the Italian seasoning and the salt.
  3. Allow to simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally.
  4. Cook until the onion is translucent and then add the garlic.
  5. Add the tomatoes, cover with a lid, and cook until the tomatoes are soft and have melted into a sauce.
  6. Add the sugar to taste and adjust seasonings.
  7. Continue cooking so the sauce can thicken and add tomato paste, if desired for a thicker sauce (you don’t want your sauce to be watery!).
  8. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Eggplant
  1. Cut the eggplant into slices and sprinkle with salt. Put them in a colander and leave for 30 min. while the bitter juices drain away.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Rinse the eggplant slices and pat dry on a paper towel lined sheet pan. Mix the flour in a separate pan with some salt and pepper and lightly dust both sides of the eggplant with flour.
  4. Heat enough olive oil in a heavy cast iron skillet, or other heavy pan, and fry the eggplant in batches until golden brown on both sides (watch your heat so the oil doesn’t burn – lower is better!). Transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the oil, and repeat.
  5. To assemble: spoon a little of the tomato sauce into a 12” oven dish, or 13x9” pan. Cover with a layer of eggplant slices. Add a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce, then a layer of the mozzarella cheese. Add the remaining basil leaves. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and repeat the layers to use up the ingredients, ending with the cheese.
  6. Put into the oven and bake for 20-30 min. or until the top is slightly golden and crusty. Cool slightly before cutting into servings. If you are using a cold, ready-made sauce, allow a little extra cooking time (if sauce is not already hot). Serve hot or at room temperature.

It works well to make this the day ahead.    Cover the casserole with foil and heat in a low oven for about an hour or until heated through.  This also freezes well – assemble in a pan and freeze uncooked.  When ready to use, thaw, and bake as above.  You will enjoy this during the winter months if you have a harvest now.  Andiamo mangiare!

The Ultimate Fish Taco with a Twist

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For some time now, our theater group, Elements Theater Company, has been doing their theater productions with a dinner added prior to the show.  Traditionally, this has been a plated meal tying in with themes from the play.  This summer, the show was unique – Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads.  This award-winning series of solo pieces is considered a classic of contemporary drama, universally hailed for its combination of razor-sharp wit and deeply felt humanity.  The menu for this production conjured up images of an upscale Cape Cod pub food feel with a classy fish taco.  I started searching for recipes, and the one I hit on was just the right one.  The result was a colorful “box” dinner with the best fish taco I have ever tasted.  Filled with crunchy cabbage, spicy mayonnaise, sweet and sassy mango salsa and a light and crispy panko- crusted cod – this is party food at its best – all served up in a glossy black box.  Accompaniments included sweet potato fries, fresh corn and bacon salad and a homemade coleslaw.  I’d recommend this for any summer gathering.

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The Ultimate Fish Taco with a Twist
SERVINGS
8-10
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
20min
PREP TIME
45min
READY IN
1hr

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Prepare the mango-radish salsa. Remove the peel and pith from the limes and cut between the membranes to remove the segments. Put these "supremes" into a bowl and squeeze over the juice from the membranes. Add the remaining ingredients and mix. Season and refrigerate until ready to use. You can also place all of the ingredients into a food processor and puree for a smoother salsa.
  2. Prepare the pink chile mayonnaise. Put the chipotles in a blender and puree until smooth. Add the sour cream, mayonnaise, adobo sauce and lemon juice and continue to process until the mixture is consistent and creamy. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate until ready to use.
  3. Prepare the fish. Cut the pieces of fish into 1-ounce strips or to your liking. Set up a breading station of flour, lightly beaten eggs with water, and seasoned panko bread crumbs. Season all with salt and pepper. Dredge the pieces of fish in flour, egg then bread crumbs. Once all the fish is breaded, deep-fry in small batches in (375 degrees F) oil. Drain on paper towels and season with salt. Keep warm until ready to serve.
  4. Place tortillas on a damp towel on a single layer on a cookie sheet, cover with another damp towel and place in a warm oven until ready to use.
  5. To serve, set up the tacos "family-style". Start with your warmed flour tortillas, assemble the fish in a pile on a plate; the pink chile mayonnaise in a bowl; and mango-radish salsa in another. Set a pile of shredded cabbage, cilantro leaves (opt) and lime wedges next to the fish. Have fun building your own tacos.

recipe adapted from Tyler Florence

The Convent’s Famous Bread and Butter Pickles

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On Tuesday mornings, at the break of dawn, all of the Sisters, Novices and Postulants divide and conquer the larger vegetable gardens in our community.  That’s about 30 of us in each garden, with a small team of older sisters staying behind to make breakfast.  In one hour, we are astounded at how much gets done – hauling off wheel barrows full of weeds to the compost pile and bringing in tubs of fresh veggies for the week ahead.  The older Sisters teach the younger ones about suckering tomatoes and the younger ones have the strong backs to dig and till.   Stories are told about the early days, and new ones are made – it’s Sisterhood life at its best.

This week, we got a bumper crop of Japanese cucumbers in – thin, long and crunchy –a welcome sight after a long winter of frozen vegetables!  With the volume of cukes coming in, we opted to make our favorite sweet pickles.  For many years, we have been making this special recipe and giving them as gifts at Christmastime.  Now we are about to let you in on a big secret recipe that has stayed within the walls of our Convent for over 30 years.  Enjoy and Happy Gardening!

“Just to be is a blessing.  Just to live is holy.”  –   Rabbi Abraham Heschel

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The Convent’s Famous Bread and Butter Pickles
SERVINGS
4-5quart jars
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
quart jars
COOK TIME
10min.
PREP TIME
1hr.
READY IN
11hrs.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Thinly slice the onions and cucumbers. Chop the peppers (if adding).
  2. Combine cucumbers, onions, peppers and salt in a large bowl and cover with cracked ice. Mix thoroughly and allow to sit at room temperature for 3 hrs. or until the ice melts. Drain thoroughly but do not rinse.
  3. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large pot and heat just until boiling.
  4. Add the Cucumber and onion mixture and cook just a bit.
  5. Sterilize 5 quart size jars in boiling water.
  6. Add the pickles to the jar, followed by the juice. You may not need all the juice you have.
  7. Seal jars and process in a water bath.

Brother Lawrence’s Stuffed Turkey Cutlets

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After a dramatic religious conversion, young soldier Nicholas Herman decided to devote his life to following God and learning more about Christ. He joined a monastery and took the name Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection. There, he spent the rest of his life working in the kitchen and repairing his brothers’ sandals. But during his decades of doing seemingly menial jobs, Brother Lawrence discovered a profound truth about having a relationship with God: Experiencing His presence can—and should—happen everywhere.  He spent his life serving others.  His letters were later compiled into the now classic book The Practice of the Presence of God.

“He does not ask much of us, merely a thought of Him from time to time, a little act of adoration, sometimes to ask for His grace, sometimes to offer Him your sufferings, at other times to thank Him for the graces, past and present, He has bestowed on you, in the midst of your troubles to take solace in Him as often as you can. Lift up your heart to Him during your meals and in company; the least little remembrance will always be the most pleasing to Him. One need not cry out very loudly; He is nearer to us than we think.”  ― Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God

 

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Brother Lawrence's Stuffed Turkey Cutlets
SERVINGS
4
CHANGE SERVING SIZE
COOK TIME
15 mins
PREP TIME
10mins
READY IN
30 mins

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. ​Between 2 sheets of plastic wrap, pound your turkey cutlets with a meat hammer until thin. Melt 2 Tbsp. each of butter and olive oil in a stove to oven safe skillet such as Calphalon or cast iron. Add your sliced onion and saute until lightly golden and soft. Add baby spinach, sun dried tomatoes, herbs and cook over low heat until soft and fragrant. Add the garlic (if desired) and wine. Cook over low heat until the flavors absorb into the tomatoes and onions.
  2. ​Lay your turkey cutlets on a cutting board. Zest the lemon over each one. Lay your mozzarella cheese on one end. Spoon the onion mixture over your cheese, and then top with a generous grating of fresh Parmesan. Starting w/ the cheese end, roll up each cutlet tightly. Sprinkle some bread crumbs into a shallow bowl, and roll each cutlet in to coat.
  3. ​Add the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter and olive oil back to your pan, melt over medium heat and add the cutlets. Sautée each side of the cutlets until golden and then place the skillet in a 300 degree oven for about 12​-15​ min. to cook through.
  4. Take the remaining spinach,and microwave for about one minute until just limp. Sprinkle with onion salt and lay on a platter. Place the cutlets on top of the spinach to serve. Pour the juices along the sides of the cutlets just before serving.

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