Ach Du Leiber... Sauerkraut!

Once again I remember why I let my basement, and eventually the whole house, smell like a science experiment gone bad.  Homemade sauerkraut is light years better than store bought.  Trust me, if you've never had homemade sauerkraut you really haven't had sauerkraut.  When we're out Durwood buys sauerkraut to put into his Reuben meatloaves and he'll eat it plain, but I try to avoid it.  It's too vinegary and it doesn't taste like cabbage, not even a little, but homemade kraut, now that's so totally different and better that it shouldn't even be considered the same thing.  Maybe similar would be a better word because this stuff isn't remotely the same.  (homemade's salty instead of vinegary so you have to rinse it well before you use it)  They put their share into bags for their freezer.  I wanted to can mine in pints for ease of storage and to conserve freezer space so they crammed it into the jars and I wiped the rims then put on lids and rings.  I got the hot water boiling and got the jars processed.  There were 19 jars plus a bit for supper but the bottom popped off one jar when I put it into the boiling water.  Oops.  No big deal.  I sauteed a bit of onion and some green pepper, then chunked up some turkey sausage and simmered it with a double handful of kraut for supper.  Mmm, it was yummy with a mound of steamed Brussels sprouts and a slice of DS's experimental 5 minutes a day onion bread.  The bread was delish too, needs a pinch more salt which may up the onion flavor.  It seemed less oniony than the original but the texture was right and it sure tasted good, just not quite as oniony.  Great job, DS!

November 26--Henri Fantin-Latour, Summer Flowers.  The scent of old roses filled the room like a lover's caress.  It teased her senses and made Gail restless.  She had picked the bouquet the morning before David left for his meeting with the estate managers and each time she looked at them she wished she had gone with him.  True, he'd be in meetings all day every day but she could have a late supper sent to the room when he returned.  They would change into their robes and sit side by side eating savory soups and comforting stews.  Do they even have such foods at places like that, she wondered.  How foolish of her to think that they would.  David would go for drinks with them and they have a gourmet meal with the managers.  His unsophisticated wife would be a hindrance, she was sure of that.

I see a dalliance with the gardener in her future, don't know why.  Ah well, it's time for me to plunge back into the workaday world after my week of mostly not working.  I've got my soup all portioned out (urk, fruit, I forgot the fruit) and now it's time to hit the starting blocks.  On your mark, get set, GO!
--Barbara Sue