I miss my brothers. I wish we lived closer to one another. Skype is good, but in person is better. We all like to cook, and it’s fun to do this together. Guest posts about food will have to do. 🙂
Here’s Josh with one of his culinary creations!
This is Josh again. You may remember me from the astoundingly interesting series of posts about food safety (sarcastic smile). I realize that it may not have been the most exciting way to spend your time, so I decided to share some culinary insight as well.
After highschool, I attended a Culinary School where I focused on the French Style of cuisine. I did not end up pursuing that as a career, but it remains one of my favourite hobbies today.
Being a student again, I find that there are times when it is really difficult to find time to cook something substantial, nutritious, and of course, tasty. However, I have recently discovered the art of procrasticooking and procrastibaking, in which, when papers or assignments need to be written, or exams need to be studied for, there appears to be a tremendous amount of time that can be devoted to creating tasteful masterpieces.
I have an exam tomorrow (at the time I am writing this), so, I decided to put off studying and experiment in the kitchen. Like my sister (Rachel), I have a good feeling about tastes, and what sorts of flavours go well together in the same dish, and what is needed to compliment other flavours in the meal. This is why cooking is so much fun.
The following is a recipe that I made up as I was cooking, based on what I had in my kitchen, and what flavours I knew would meld nicely. I do apologize that there is only 1 picture, as I wasn’t intending to document this meal (until I tasted it, and realized that it should be shared).
Last modified on 2014-03-04 01:45:10 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Cabbage Rolls and Roasted Asparagus
Author: Joshua Pries
Serves: 3
- Ingredients:
- 2 sausages (hot italian), raw
- 1 cup brown rice, uncooked
- 1 tbsp fresh garlic, pureed
- 1 large green cabbage
- 1 cup tomato sauce/soup
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup red wine
- 1 bunch fresh asparagus
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- pinch salt
- pinch pepper
- In a medium sized pot, place the sausages, bring to a boil, and cook until they reach an internal temperature of 74C/165F (and make sure to wash your hands with soap after handling that raw sausage). When fully cooked, let cool until safe to handle, and then cut into a small dice (approximately 1/3 inch x 1/3 inch).
- At the same time, in a large pot, place 6 full leaves from the cabbage, cover with water, and boil for about 5 minutes, or until soft and pliable. When cooked, remove from the water and let stand to cool.
- In a medium sized bowl, add the rice, diced sausage, pureed garlic, a pinch of salt and pepper, and 1/2 of the tomato sauce/soup.
- Divide the mixture into 6 equal parts and spoon the mixture onto the centre of a cabbage leaf. Fold the outside edges of the cabbage leaf over to make a “roll”. Place it in a 9×9″ un-greased glass pan. Repeat with the other 5 cabbage leaves.
- Pour the rest of the tomato sauce/soup over the top of the rolls, along with the 1 cup of water, and the wine (Note: A small amount of vinegar may be used with the wine to add to the flavour. I was using a bottle of wine that had lightly soured).
- Cover the pan with a lid or tin foil, and bake at 350F for 40 minutes.
- While the cabbage rolls are cooking, wash the asparagus, snap the blunt ends off (instead of cutting them), and toss in olive oil, salt and pepper. Place them in a single layer on a baking tray.
- After the cabbage rolls have baked for 40 minutes at 350F, increase the temperature to 375F, and place the asparagus in the oven. Cook for 20 minutes. With about 10 minutes left, (carefully) remove the lid from the cabbage rolls and continue cooking. When the majority of the liquid has been absorbed, it is done.
This makes 3 generous portions. The richness of the sausage, wine and tomato, coupled with the subtle bitterness and salt from the asparagus makes a great combination. For a nice finish, have a couple fresh strawberries – they will give a nice fresh, sweet, light taste afterwards to cleanse your palate.[br] Notes: If hot italian sausages aren’t your thing, you can substitute for other types, but the flavours cannot be garunteed to mix well. If you are using fresh wine, it is best to add a small amount of vinegar – it will give the cabbage a slightly pickled taste; else you can use wine that is no longer the best to be drunk.
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On Wednesdays, I’m usually really busy editing the week’s show. I don’t have much time to work on dinner. So, I try to plan an easy meal that I can do in the Crock Pot. Last week, I had gotten a chicken from the add-ons section from Abundant Harvest Organics (from Mary’s Chickens – who, in my opinion, have the best organic chicken).
