Snow Day

First snow day of the year

The girls didn't even go outside--"too windy and cold" they said.

OK, then we have good reason to keep warm by washing dishes...no 

not really. Dishwasher is on the blink. Hopefully hubby diagnosed

the problem correctly and he can get the pump repaired.

Meanwhile I have a willing assistant. I still need to teach her to clean all the counter tops afterward,

but for now I'll take the cheerful help.

Since it was a cold wintery day, I tried a new recipe. I was looking for a Romanian/Moldovan

recipe to use for our potluck on Sunday at church. We are packing bundles for CAM after lunch and 

thought we could experience some of their foods too.

Cabbage, potatoes, meat, rice and sour cream seem to be staples. I think I could like that

with a few pizzas thrown in every now and then.

Tried a cabbage "cake" from here  There wasn't much left over.

Not sure I'll try it for church though, cause inverting it onto a plate is fraught with danger.

Stuffed Cabbage Cake

Ingredients

·         1 head of savoy cabbage, it has pretty lacy leaves ( I used regular)

·         1½ pound of good quality ground beef or turkey ( I used sausage-chopped it up)

·         1 onion, diced

·         1 small red pepper, diced (skipped)

·         2 carrots, diced

·         4 cloves garlic, minced

·         ¾ cup of grated romano or parmesan cheese (and some mozzarella)

·         ½ cup of marinara sauce plus extra for topping mold and plating (tomato sauce)

·         1 cup of cooked rice

·         1 egg

·         olive oil

·         fresh chopped basil and parsley, a small bunch of each ( didn’t have)

·         salt and pepper

Instructions

1.      Core and separate the leaves from the savoy cabbage, then cook them in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain, pat dry and set aside.

2.      Grease the bottom and sides of a deep souffle type dish (used crock pot insert) and then arrange the prettiest and largest leaf on the bottom. Place another leaf on top of that and up the sides of the dish all around.

3.      In a large saute pan cook your meat until you see no pink, if it needs to be drained of added grease do so and set aside.

4.      Add olive oil to the pan and cook the onions, carrots, garlic and diced red pepper until soft, then toss it all together with the cooked meat.

5.      Add the grated cheese, marinara and fresh herbs, toss til well coated, let it cool then toss in the egg.

6.      Put your first layer down, about ½ inch then layer a cabbage leaf on top. Repeat until you reach the top or run out of filling.

7.      Finish with cabbage on top making sure to tuck it in the dish all around.

8.      Drizzle the top with olive oil, salt and pepper and a sprinkling of romano cheese all over.

9.      Bake at 350 for around 40 minutes.

10. Let it rest then invert a serving plate over the souffle dish, then flip it over.

11. Cut into slices and serve with additional warmed marinara and more grated cheese.