fall flavors, fall colors

Today, I felt like finally admitting the fact that Fall has come and summer is gone. I've replaced my nectarines and canning with rich, warming German dishes; never mind the fact that it will be 90 degrees tomorrow and the next day!



So, in celebration of fall I made Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage to pair with Kongisberger Klopse and Spatzle. I used the recipes from Horst Mager's cookbook "My Favorite Recipes," because everything I've made from his cookbook turns out perfectly every time.

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage

Copied from My Favorite Recipes by Horst Mager

This is Horst Mager's Mother's recipe and he suggests eating it with sauerbraten, roast pork, duck or goose, or potato pancakes.

2 pound head of red cabbage

4 small onions

4 tablespoons bacon fat or butter

¼ cup red wine vinegar

¼ cup red wine

¼ cup beef or chicken stock

¼ cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground clove

1 bay leaf

1 large Granny Smith type apple, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons red currant jelly

salt and black pepper to taste

Remove outside(damaged) leaves of red cabbage and cut cabbage into quarters. Cut stem out and discard. Cut cabbage into matchstick sized strips. Cut the onions paper-thin. Heat butter or bacon fat in a heavy-bottomed pan and saute apples and onions until golden brown. Add vinegar, stock, red wine, red currant jelly, bay leaf, salt, pepper, ground cloves and sugar to this mixture. Loosely place red cabbage into mixture and cover with a lid. Braise for about one hour over low heat, stirring occasionally to make sure the cabbage does not scorch on the bottom of the pan. Remove lid and allow to cook for another 10-15 minutes to allow liquid to evaporate.

In addition to making tasty warming foods, I purchased an adorable fall towel at the hardware store because I couldn't bear to leave with only some boring batteries for the kitchen scale. So, this hopped into my hand and only my towel rack and now I love it!