Sauer Kraut or Kisele Kupus, as the case may be.

I've just declared my first batch of sauerkraut complete! 'Kisele kupus' is my best guess at spelling what the serbian part of the family calls it. That's sour cabbage for those who 1) don't speak german 2) don't speak serbian, and 3) live under a rock. Actually, they usually just call it 'kupus' (meaning cabbage), just as I sometimes call it kraut. Plus, the serbs will frequently make it with unshredded heads of cabbage in big drums. They use the resulting leaves to make sarma.

This stuff is ridiculously easy to make. Simply shred a quantity of cabbage (it'll shrink a little, so be generous), then toss it with salt to get the juices flowing. Once sufficient juices have evolved (an hour or so), pack it into a clean jar or crock, and put a weight on top. The weight's job is to keep the cabbage bits under the surface of the liquid, which quickly becomes an acidic preservative due to the action of lactobacilis. Lactobacillus are used in the production of sauerkraut, yogurt/kefir, and some beers (lambic, anyone?). They are now officially my second favorite group of microorganisms (right after the yeasts, duh).

So as I was saying, the juices flow, the wild lactobacillus set up shop, ferment the sugars in the juices, and produce acids that keep nasty molds and such from setting up shop. They also produce lots of gas (they are eating cabbage after all), so you don't want to firmly cap the container. Otherwise, your sauerkraut reaction vessel will become a bomb. And I'd say you don't want to clean up the shrapnel from that blast.

So, you keep the vessel at room temp (around 75 degrees Farenheit) for at least a couple of days, preferable a couple of weeks or more. I'm impatient, so I've stopped after 11 days. Then, into the fridge. That's it. Oh, sure, you'll need to top off the liquid occassionally, since it will spill over the side when the bubbles grow in the cabbage. (NOTE: place your actively fermenting container into another container if it's remotely close to full. Fortunately, TheWife thought of that one before we started!)

I'm amazed at how good this stuff is. It's clearly related to the limp stuff you buy at the grocery store, but the difference is stark. It's supposed to be good for you, too: lots of vitamin c, plus it's probiotic (Probiotic - the official grocery industry buzzword for the first decade of the 21st century!), delicious, and according to one researcher, functions as an aphrodisiac!. I have to admit that my gut reacts a little more strongly to this stuff than it does to that sterilized stuff from the store. But heck, what are a few greenhouse gasses among friends?

PS: I'm a slacker and didn't take any pictures. I borrowed the one above from flickr. Thanks mtsofan!

Our Racine County Fair Menu: corn dog on a stick, barbecued pork chop on a stick, mini donuts on a stick, deep fried twinkie on a stick, pickle on a stick, caramel apple on a stick, deep fried snickers bar on a stick... and a bunny drawing on a stick (what can I say? we were on a roll!)



NOTE: We shared all of these items. So, unhealthy? Yeah. But we'll probably live.

PS: TheBoy loved climbing all over the Case tractors and combines. And the tractor pulls were a huge hit! It's surprising how enjoyable those can be to watch, especially given how boring they look at first glance.

Restaurant Webpages

Can anyone tell me why a restaurant wouldn't put up a web page? I can't conceive of a reason, but there must be one. Is it laziness? Technophobia? Secret desire to fail?

Just about every restaurant does ads in the yellowpages, but how many people are still using them? Whenever, and I mean WHENEVER, I consider going to a new restaurant or out to eat in a new area, I do a quick google search on them. A good web page will not only give me their location, their hours and their phone number, it give me a chance to see what their menu is like. And the menu is what can hook me.

Show me a good menu description (for instance cerca de cielo at Cempazuchi in Milwaukee - "Symbolic of the thirteen layers of the Mayan heavens, corn masa cakes are stacked with beans, spinach, squash, peppers and cheese on a roasted tomato salsa" [ed.- and oh my god, it's so good!]) and even if I don't hit your place this time, you'll stay in my mind for next time. If they're smart, it will also show me a map of their location, and maybe a shot of the front of the place.

It's just good business. There are a variety of operators that have frameworks ready to go - just dump in your info. And I can't see how a simple website with menu, hours and pictures, with a nice domain name would run you much. I'll bet you can lock it down for less than the cost of an inch of column space in the yellow pages. And not doing it because of the cost is self-defeating - you'll be at such a competetive disadvantage if you don't. So PLEASE! for the sake of my dining pleasure, put up a website for your restaurant. Don't be a dolt.

Boy oh!

Man, I could suddenly want a burger. Oops! Little typo there. That should read, I want to BE a burger. And I must start watching Top Chef...

Curry Ketchup!

This past Thursday, I was walking down the imported foods aisle at Woodman's grocery store, and there on the shelf was a bottle of german Curry Ketchup. I'd found a reference to this stuff a couple of years ago, and I've been wondering about it ever since. Would it be a tasty twist on regular ketchup? Or, would it be the condiment version of David Hasselhoff? Now I know. Or at least I know about the Burkhardt brand. The verdict? Not bad! There's a distinct curry powder flavor, but it isn't overpowering, and the ketchup flavor still shines through. So that's one quesion answered, and a new addition to my condiment zoo. I still wonder, though... why is curry ketchup german? British, I could understand, given the sheer number of curry shops there. But Germany?!? Not really a place I identify with Indian food. Go figure. Next target? Spaghetti ice cream!

Man, this eating meat thing is confusing.

I’m the household menu planner. Since meat eating has returned to my life, it has also returned to the menus. I figured eating meat could easily become its own health issue for me. A diet alternating between beef and pork would probably not help me meet my goals for blood cholesterol. On the other hand, I want more variety in my meals than daily chicken can provide. So, I looked around for the best current guidance on what we should be eating on the meat front.

The answer, basically, is fish. Twice a week. And don’t eat too much meat. OK, we can do that. But which fish should we be eating.? Fish is a bit mysterious to me. Growing up, the only fish I recall eating at home was 1) poor man’s lobster (boiled whitefish with melted butter) and 2) whatever we’d recently caught on a fishing trip – scaled, floured and fried. Getting healthier by adding more butter and fried food to my diet seemed an unlikely prospect.

So other fish recipes needed to be found… and I found them! Malabar swordfish curry, halibut tacos, a not-quite cioppino with scallops and tilapia, serbian-style cod, gingered salmon. All of them – yum! I wanted more, so I checked out some cookbooks from the library. They were mostly more of the same, but also a warning… don’t eat swordfish more than once a month. Too much mercury.

Oh crap. What else is gonna be trouble? Well, let’s see… shark, swordfish, tilefish, and king mackerel are high in mercury; non-canned tuna, red snapper and orange roughy aren’t quite as bad. But, also make sure that at least one of the fish per week is a fatty fish (salmon, herring, halibut). And shrimp is high in cholestrol, but you don’t have to worry about it because it’s also high in omega 3 fatty acids. And that leaves out the issue of wild caught vs. farmed. Farmed fish tends to have lower Omega 3 fatty acids than the wild-caught version of the same fish. On the other hand, farmed fish tend to get sick more, and that disease can infect local wild fish. And if you’re raising fish in an area where they aren’t native, there’s also the issue of escapes, which can overrun already endangered native species, pushing them to the brink. Then again, many of the wild-caught fish are caught in irresposible manner, endangering stocks, or carrying larger loads of toxins. Cripes! I’m going to need a cheat sheet. By the time I research all of this stuff, I’m going to need a book of notes just to plan the menu!

Shopping for the Food Bank

There have been a lot of layoffs in the Racine area over the past year, on top of the many layoffs in the years before that. I've been thinking about how many families in the area must be struggling to make ends meet. For the first time since TheBoy was born, we're actually making progress against our debt, and not feeling more than a moderate crunch on our budget.

So, we decided to do some shopping for the food pantry. And it was actually a lot of fun! TheGirl was put in charge of selecting items within our $50 budget. The food pantry provides a list of items they need. By the time we were done, we had half a cart full of everything from salt, pepper, ketchup and mayo to chicken noodle soup, baked beans, peanut butter, and tuna. Twenty-four items in all, for a grand total of $50.18. On the way out, we emptied the whole cart into the collection bin at the exit. What a strange feeling to spend an hour grocery shopping and head out to the car empty-handed. But it was a nice feeling, too.

Thanksgiving for Gamers

If you're looking for a way to make old-school paper-and-dice gamers happier than pigs in shit this Thanksgiving, why not take a shot at baking this icosahedral (that's the same shape as a d20) pecan pie. Full instructions, from building the pans, to baking the pie sections, are available here. The recipe isn't included int he instrucitons, but there are a variety to select from in the sidebar on the site.

Beat an 18 for your saving throw against gluttonous consumption!

Applebee's Veterans Day

Free meals for US veterans on November 11th at participating Applebee's! Prove you're either a US vet or on active duty, and you get a free meal, your choice of: House Sirloin, Riblet Basket, Fiesta Lime Chicken, Quesadilla Burger or Oriental Chicken Salad. Details are here. A list of participating locations is here. Nice gesture, Applebee's!

(That's the Fishmonger's Pop at left)

Burt's Place

Slice, the pizza blog at Serious Eats has finally done a bit on Burt's Place in Morton Grove. I have to say it's probably the best pizza I've ever had. I was fortunate enough to work within walking distance of Burt's Place (also strangely sometimes referred to as Starback), and ate there several times during my two years working in the area. The article describes the place well - carmelized crust and veggies (some will say burnt, but burnt is the destruction of flavor, caramelized just enhances the flavor), coming together to maket he tastiest pizza in the world. If you're ever looking for lunch or dinner in Morton Grove, you'll want to get pizza at Burt's. And a word of advice - eat it there, even more than most pizzas, it doesn't really travel well.

Thanks to santheo for use of the pic!

Flaring Grapes

This is pretty cool. Slice a grape in half, but leave the last bit of skin intact, holding the halves together. Then, microwave it. When I tried it, I immediately got small flares (plasma?). The link in the title has pics of little plasma balls. How cool is this? And how many microwaves will be filled with cut grapes and nuked into oblivion? And (most importantly), why does this happen? Thoughts anyone?

YouTube is full of videos of this. Here's one (not mine):

Yan Yan snack sticks

Last weeks grocery shopping acieved "grocery safari" status for me. Whilst prowling the aisles, I found several interesting foodstuffs of which I had previously been unaware. I've already mentioned Wild Animal Crunch in a previous post. Today, I'll be discussing Yan Yan with "chocolity flavored dip". These are kind of a dipping version of pocky sticks. Basically, they're breadsticks like those found in every 1970's salad bar, but slightly sweet rather than savory. Then, there's a little container of a sort of frosting in which to dip the sticks. A nice little snack, really, if somewhat unremarkable. "So," you may ask yourself, "why are you remarking about them?"

Well, I'll tell you. It's the writing. You see, each of the cracker sticks has a little animal icon, the name of the animal, and a phrase. The phrases aren't quite fortunes, and not quite coherent. I love them! I've included a pic of the sticks that were in our pack for your perusal. Some sample phrases:

BEETLE LUCKY COLOUR: BROWN
SEAL LOVES TO SUN TAN

how nice. your basic little fortunes. But then:

GIRAFFE TALLEST MAMMAL
BAT ONLY IN THE NIGHT
SQUID BLACK INK

Suddenly they're talking about animal trivia. Where'd that come from? Strange. At least I assume BLACK INK isn't a fortune. Maybe if you're in finance? Then it gets even weirder with

CHICKEN KOKEKOKKO

Huh? I assume that's the sound a chicken makes. But why is it on my snack?
Then they get pushy:

CAT SAY MEOW

Yeah, shove off... I will not. And then we wrap up with the excitinglyiunexplicable:

GOLDEN EGG

Is that like a golden ticket? Did I win something? I hope not, because TheBoy ate it. Oh well, fortunes lost once more.
The wrapper is equally off beat, with the phrase "DOES NOT CONTAIN PIG FAT". Do sweet desserts usually contain pig fat in Singapore? I'm not familiar with this. Thinking of it, though, a lot of pastries used to contain lard. Maybe they're only now getting over that there. Well good! Because otherwise, I couldn't have had any. I with the strange nature of these, I hope to have them again and again!

Uh, that sounds ... good?

Next time you're at the grocery store, be sure to pick up a box of Baby Seal Crunch, a part of Kellogg's new Wild Animal Crunch series! I wonder if it's really made from Baby Seals? Or is that one of those serving suggestion things. Y'know: "Baby Seal Crunch - paired with 2 baby seals and a glass of orange juice, it's part of a balanced diet!"

It's also available in Giant Panda Crunch, Meerkat Crunch, Polar Bear Crunch and Dolphin Crunch (tuna safe) . But if you ask me, Baby Seal Crunch is best, because it stays crispy in milk, just like real baby seals. Mmmm... you can almost hear the clubs when you bite into those crispy nuggets!

A new flavor of freeze pop

We all remember those little plastic tubes filled with frozen fruit drink, right. They were called freeze pops, or something like that. A staple of summer treats in my neighborhood. Well, this company in Texas has developed a new flavor. Are you ready? OK, then here it is - pickle juice. Yes, pickle juice pops. They call them Pickle Sickles. Heh.

When you hear this idea, you will have one of two responses:

1) Where can I get them?!?
2) Who in the hell would want a pickle-flavored freeze pop?!?

I think that those of us in camp one have, at one time or another, secretly drunk pickle juice. I'll admit it, I've done it. And I liked it. So there! And I know I'm not alone. I know that I share thelove of this delicacy with at least one other person (who shall remain nameless until and unless they reveal themself). And those of you in camp two... one you try this, you're going to love it. I'm keeping the freezer stocked with these this summer. If I can find them.


This post sponsored by the NAPSF. The National Association for the Promotion of Sentence Fragments.

Christopher Walken Cooks

I find this video of Christopher Walken making roasted chicken and pears to be, well, obsession-inducing. I swear, I just found out about it 15 minutes ago, and I've already watched it three times. Is it his voice? The strangely ordinary look of his kitchen? His fascination with the roasting rack? I just don't know... My favorite moment occurs right before the end:
"They get like little cookies. They're very tasty. I save them."
I get chills.
I think I'm losing my mind.


PS: Rhesusmonkey wonders:
Do you think he just breaks into houses when people are away, then cooks chicken and lets the family cat eat it? Because if that's what he does, it wouldn't surprise me one bit.

Folk Fair Weekend!

Yes, it's that time of year again, time for Milwaukee's Holiday Folkfair International! This year's themes: Celebrate the Compasses of Culture, and the International Polar Year. FolkFair runs November 16th through 18th at the StateFair grounds. Times and directions are on the website. Admission is $10, but bring more so you can sample all of the international treats. I guarantee that I will feel sick by the end: taiwanese sesame balls and norwegian gjetost are not meant to mix, but mix they will.

This year is especially exciting for The Fishmonger's family, as TheGirl has been promoted to the group that performs on the big stage this year! She dances as part of the Young People's Matinee; the show starts at noon on Sunday the 18th, with her group falling third. St. Sava's group is as big as ever. In fact, they'll have over 50 kids on the stage! Special waivers needed to be signed. It will be a dance-travaganza!

Bacon Salt

Update !: Middle Bro has correctly noted that the numbers I cited below produce a per-jar cost of $6.25 if ordering 4 jars. This is true. However, I did a bit of rounding on the numbers I cited. The actual cost is $4.49 a jar, plus $5 shipping for up to 4 jars - yielding a price of $5.74 per jar. The per jar price is actually pretty stable to within +/- $0.25 if we order more jars. So however many we order should come out to less than $6 per jar.

So, if anyone is really interested in joining in on this bulk order, leave a post in the comments to tell me know how many jars you'd like, and of which flavor (original bacon, hickory smoked bacon, or peppered bacon). I'll pull the order together, let you know what you owe, and work out a way to get your order to you.



MMMMmmmmmmm..... bacon... Oh Lord, is this the best idea ever? Yes. Yes, it is. Bacon-flavored salt (that's vegetarian, to boot!) Make bacon-flavored popcorn, bacon-flavored french fries, bacon-flavored corn-on-the-cob, bacon-flavored eggs, why the possibilities are endless! And at $5 for a jar, it's reasonably priced for a new item. Now I just have to figure a way to get some without paying an additional $5 shipping on it. (Actually, shipping is 5 bucks for as many as 4 jars. Anybody want in on bacon salt for less than $6 a jar, including shipping?)

Decorations in ABC of Cookies

I don't even recall where I picked up this little cookbook - 61 pages of cookie recipes, with a short rhyme and an illustration for each letter of the alphabet. Both the illustrations and the 'poems' are charmingly dated. I love the 'way to a man's heart is through his stomach' vibe on the poem at right. And now I wonder if our cookie press is sufficiently chic. I smile every time I flip through this book. I've posted the whole set to flickr as a set:ABC of Cookies Have a look!

PS: As I noted in the flickr set, these illustrations by Ruth McCrea are from the 1961 book "ABC of Cookies" from the Peter Pauper Press. I don't own the rights to these. If you do, and wish me to remove them, just let me know! I've listed these in flickr as copyrighted to head off inadvertent copying, but I do NOT own the copyright to these images. The book appears to be out of print. Thanks!

Kefir for Kids

Lifeway Foods has started to come out with individual seving sized kefir, and even has a great new sip pack of kefir for kids! They call it Probug, hence the bug-themed packaging. TheGirl and TheBoy both love the stuff, especially the berry flavor. As an added bonus, the spout has helped TheBoy figure out the whole straw thing. It's about midway between a straw and a bottle nipple (there's a little valve inside to keep the stuff from leaking out), so it was an easy transition. It took TheGirl forever to figure out the straw thing, so this is a major plus, IMHO.

If you're not familiar with kefir (wiki definition here), it's a cultured milk product, with a flavor similar to,but distinct from yogurt. It's a little thinner than modern yogurt, too, so it's more of a drinkable product. And Lifeway sells it in a bunch of flavored versions that are delish!

PS: Lifeway is based in Morton Grove, IL, but I won't hold it against them.

Turkey Options

Thanksgiving is still far away, but today, I've been thinking about the Thanksgiving turkey. A bit odd for a vegetarian? Sure, but what the hell do I care? I started thinking about this because of a book I'm currently listening to on tape. It's call The Timetraveller's Wife. Good book so far, though the reviews say it kind of falls apart in the end. Time will tell.

Anyway, the book mentions a labor intensive turkey process I'd never heard of before. We've all heard of brining turkeys, deep-frying them, and even building a turducken from them. But have you heard of a Thompson's Turkey? It's certainly not a new recipe, since the inventor died back in 1953. In fact, it has a sort of timeless, alchemical quality about it. Basically, it's a turkey stuffed with a fruited sausage stuffing, then encased in a seasoned paste of egg and flour and roasted. It's then basted every 15 minutes with a cider-based sauce for the following 5 hours. Apparently the crust of paste turns black and frightening looking, but beneath, the skin is crispy and the flesh is moist and flavorful. If any of the Fishmonger's family wish to attempt this crazed feat, let me know. I'll help out along the way. In lieu of eating the bird, I only ask to be allowed to photograph the process.