Tuesday Tasks and a Recipe

Picture from a day at Anderson Gardens in Rockford.

I woke early today. Decided to go out and do some gardening before the predicted rains arrived. All the while I was working, I could hear a rumbling of thunder in the west. The sky was cloudy and I knew that I had to hurry. Moved some garden ornaments around and pulled a few weeds. Deadheaded the roses and cut off plants that were flopping over the borders. I cut back the petunias in one of my containers. They get so leggy this time of year. I only found 2 Japanese beetles this morning. I sprayed the hanging container, that doesn't get the rain, washed off the sidewalk, then pushed my lawn cart to the back to dump. Our lawn, back there, has a lot of loose grass on top. It grew so much that when the guy came to mow...he just left it on the lawn. My shoes were covered with grass, when I came back up to the house. I took them off and cleaned them, but left them off...while I walked to the mailbox. I hadn't walked barefoot outside for quite a while. It felt good with the damp grass on my feet. Got the paper and went to sit on the front porch to read. When Joe came out...we talked for a few minutes then I went in to fix some oatmeal.

I decided to fix one of his favorite meals for our early dinner. Pork chops. I also made a dish to go with them....one that my Mom used to make during the war years. Fried cabbage. I don't have her recipe, but here is how I do it.

Core and slice the green cabbage. I find it easiest to cut into wedges then cut the wedges into thick strips then cut them in half. Melt 1/2 stick of butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add a chopped onion and cook until tender. Add the cabbage and saute until getting tender over medium heat. Add a cup of chicken broth to the mixture and put a lid on the pan.
Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil. Cook 3 generous handfuls of Kluski noodles until just tender and drain (do not rinse). These are the same noodles as in Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup.
Add the noodles to the cabbage and combine. Add additional butter...maybe a half a stick and taste for seasoning.Let the liquid cook down with the lid off the pan now. If your meat isn't ready just yet...you can brown this a little bit...for even better flavor.My Mom used to stretch the meat on our table. Dad got the biggest portion and she and I ate just a small portion or sometimes none at all. I grew up loving vegetables of all kinds. My favorites were always the unusual ones...rutabaga, parsnips, brussel sprouts and cabbage etc. Cabbage is so good for you and I would bet it's one of the cheapest things in the produce dept. Joe is great to cook for. He'll eat just about anything I cook...so it's fun to put together a meal. We are trying to put more vegetables in our diet.We go to a store that's specialty is produce. We sometimes find things in the bargain shelves. They are priced much lower and are still good. We load up the cart about once a week...They keep well in my fridg. I bring them home and clean them and put them in ziplock bags in the crisper drawer. Nothing goes to waste in my kitchen.

The only thing I don't like about cooking is the cleanup afterward. I would love for Millie the Maid to come in and clear the table and do the dishes for me. My least favorite household tasks are emptying the dishwasher and folding laundry...What's yours?

Balisha