Anyway, though. I went and picked up my friend Nancy, who is right about my mom's age, and is a really neat woman. She is legally blind, and has end stage renal failure (her kidneys are on the fritz). She is always so appreciative of anything I do for or with her, that she considers herself blessed that we are friends.
Now, mind you. Nancy is one of these people who has a sense of humor, and she is gritty, witty, and definitely can keep you on your toes. I love the fact that she is a bit grainy, and has broken social rules of other women who are of her peers. So, of course being me, I actually enjoy her company, and I really think that honestly, I am the one who is blessed to have her, as opposed to the other way around. I know, I know... It means a lot for those who otherwise can't get out. But, of course, I am good at loving other people. I'm not always good at accepting it from others.
Anyway, we went to this place called Honey Bees II for lunch, and she treated. The food there is good. Mostly it's American comfort food. But it's GOOD comfort food. It's one of the spots we like to go to, since it's affordable as well. We went to Goodwill to shop afterwards, and we both found a few things, so that was good. We had fun, and will be making plans again soon. Life is precious, so it's important to spend it with the people who mean something to you. I recently lost another friend, who was only 34, and has a young son who is fatherless. Aaron was the type of guy who truly loved people. I hurt for his little boy. The fact that someone who is healthy can be taken away from you suddenly is reason to make sure you stay connected.
Ever wonder how it seems as if we celebrate life with food, and we mourn life with food, also? Meal time is the time that we can get people sitting around the table together. No matter who the other people are, when you're sitting around the table together with a meal or a snack or even just tea time, you are family during that time. So, we should serve good food, right? Absolutely. And the fact that weight issues are affecting health conditions, we need to make it healthy, as well.
So, of course, I came home, to do my lasagna... It came out good. But, I definitely do not have the skills needed to do pasta dough correctly. The flavor was good, the color was right, but the texture? Oh, no. but no worries. I used it anyway, figuring that the semolina flour wasn't exactly cheap. So it was more like pasta dumplings that got layered in between the layers of meat and cheese. Good cheese. The cheese filling consisted of fresh and made at the store, feta cheese (yes, I realize it's Greek, not Italian), and also provolone cheese, and a little each of Asiago and Romano cheeses, which were grated together, with an egg, garlic and parsley mixed in. The 93% lean ground meat had Asiago and Romano cheeses as well as oregano, basil, parsley, pepper, and an egg to keep it together.
So, while the texture was all off, I used it anyway, and made kind of like a pasta dumpling crust along the sides, and the lasagna is perfect, don't you think? It's delicious! I think this is by far, the best lasagna that I have ever made, and this could be served, as is, as long as there is a statement saying that the pasta is a little doughy like dumplings.
Of course, because I had all of these different ingredients, I also made sarma, a Serbian style stuffed cabbage rolls. Because the cabbage leaves have to be fermented, like sauerkraut, but not shredded, I make my own. In the past, I was simmering a whole head of cabbage in the pickling kettle, then removing the leaves. I found that the outer leaves, which are used to line the bottom of the pan for the rolls to go on were more like kraut, and the leaves near the center was still mostly like cabbage. So, I removed the leaves first, and pickled in batches to get it all in. It was a 2 day process, because you have to salt them, first.
Sarma is ground pork, and the seasonings include mild paprika, garlic powder, salt, seasonings, and other spices such as tumeric if you wish, and I usually just use the seasoning packets, that I will keep a secret... ;) You also need to put rice in there, to help the mixture stick together and hold up. I also put a little extra of the pickling juices at the bottom, so the steam can cook the rice. Here they are, and serve with rice pilaf or corn, for a full meal.
Don't forget to put a layer of the leaves across the top, so it keeps the moisture in, and doesn't get the rolls dark or crispy. This is something that is better the next day. Feel free to use some sour cream to go with this. We will be having this tomorrow for dinner, and probably Friday's lunch. Of course, visitors will be offered food, because feeding people is the same as showing them the love.
Because not all leaves are meant for rolling, since I was on a roll (sorry, bad pun), I also pickled the rest as Korean kimchee, which uses the sriracha to spice up the fermented cabbage. Just remember, fermented foods can help your digestive tract. It's good for you. So, here is my end result... My very home made kimchee, where the cabbage heads were turned into sauerkraut leaves first, after sitting in salt overnight, and then cooked, and rolled around the sarma, and then the kimchee...
Isn't that beautiful? Yes, I did all of this today. Well, the suku (Italian for spaghetti sauce) was made yesterday, but the rest, including the pasta dumpling noodles, were done today. Then the pickling of the cabbage, making the mix, and cooking the cabbage rolls, and the Korean pickled cabbage...
I know, I am strange, because my cooking is from 3 different parts of the world, sort of, with Western Europe being represented with Italian, Eastern Europe with Serbian, and the Far East with Korea... but, it's all good. I was having an okay back day, though I hope I didn't over do it, in which case, I may be paying dearly for this the next day or three... I hope not, but, glad I got this done.
So, if you are at my house, or I invite you, this means I want to love you by feeding you... No need for anything back, just let me love you by cooking for you, and you can love me back by eating what I made for you.
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