In Spring, you are born. In Summer, you mature. In Fall, you grow older. And in Winter, you pass on.
-Luther Johnson (my great-grandfather and owner of the former Cowshed Trading Post in Isom, Kentucky)
It has turned off cold really fast this year. I remember last year at Halloween I was more than comfortable in just a sweatshirt trick-or-treating with the girls. This year, I’m thinking I’ll need a jacket unless something changes. This and the fact that all the cool weather vegetables have started coming in at the fruit stand (the closest thing we have to local farmer’s market… the food isn’t organic and it is trucked in from North Carolina) have made me start thinking about and cooking the foods we tend to love in the cold weather months.
The last trip we made to the fruit stand was made for getting apples, but I saw some big, beautiful, round cabbages that were just waiting to be picked up by me. 🙂 I immediately started thinking about cabbage dishes, kraut, stuffed cabbage, before deciding on cabbage and brats for this particular head.
My mother introduced me to this dish as an adult, but I remember her and my grandmother making it in my childhood, before I would touch cabbage. 😉 It is a traditional dish, and I have added some of my own flares for flavor.
Cabbages and Brats:
- Slice brats and chop cabbage.
- Heat skillet on medium heat with a little bacon grease in the bottom.
- Brown the slices of bratwurst.
- Add the chopped cabbage. Add enough liquid (I use homemade chicken stock, you can also use beef stock or water.) to make the cabbage swim a bit, but don’t cover the cabbage. It will wilt as it warms. You may have to turn the fire up a bit at this stage.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- When cabbage is tender the dish is finished. Serve hot.
I served it last night with fried potatoes and onion and cornbread. It really hit the spot and with that combination was a really budget friendly meal.
I have been making my own chicken stock for quite sometime, and it is much different than the flavored water you get in the store. 😉 I make it from left over bones, gristle, some skin and fat (if we haven’t eaten it all), and the usual organs and gizzards that are left within roasting birds. To that I’ll add some bits of veggies that have been left over, or quickly chopped – onion, carrots, and celery. I then add some salt, cover it completely with water (as much as will fit in the stock pot without spilling over while cooking), and bring it to a boil. After it comes to a boil, I turn the heat down to a simmer and let it cook for around 12 hours. I check it to make sure too much water hasn’t left the pot, and if it is getting low I add some. When the time has passed, strain out all the bones, bits, and veggies, and put it in a container for refrigeration.
The final result after refrigeration, looks like this…
Notice all the fat rises to the top. Some will skim this fat off and use it for cooking, I like to leave it in to add flavor to whatever I’m using the stock for. The stock is not a watery one. It is thick and gelatinous. This is how you know you used enough bone and have gotten the optimal amount of nutrients from them.
It is delicious and adds so much to any dish, especially soups. It makes an excellent warmed drink as well, for those days when you feel under the weather.
Cooking like this is another reason I love the fall of the year.
11 comments
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October 14, 2009 at 1:49 am
meorthethoughtofme
yummm. i love cabbage. my grandmother used to always sweeten it with a little sugar 🙂
October 14, 2009 at 1:50 am
eastkentuckygal
Oh, yes… I just got a new recipe for some weiners and kraut with a little molasses to sweeten. I thought that sounded good. I’m going to try it soon.
October 14, 2009 at 4:01 am
Millie
Hi!
I have been enjoying your comments from the challenge that Jenny at Nourished Kitchen is doing. You have made some excellent points.
I’m glad I stopped and saw your cabbage creation. I do cabbage in bacon grease but hadn’t thought of adding the bone broth in. What a great way to up the nutritional value of it. I am always looking for ways to use bone broth. Thanks!
October 14, 2009 at 1:08 pm
kay
i love cabbage and anything. i have a question about making chicken stock. how long does it last in the refrigerator and can it be frozen? thanks for the info!
October 14, 2009 at 2:22 pm
eastkentuckygal
The stock will last around two weeks to a month in the refrigerator. I’ve never frozen it and I always use it up pretty quickly. I get about 5 quarts of stock from a 3-5 gallon stock pot. I know Jenny has blogged about making stock over at Nourished Kitchen, you might find some info on storage there.
October 14, 2009 at 4:08 pm
simple mama
I have been trying to figure out how to make my own stock forever. Thanks for the instructions!
October 15, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Cre
I’ve started making my own stock too. I do it in the crockpot though. I just save the leftover bones from a couple of chickens and then toss it in there with onions, garlic powder, salt and pepper (we never have carrots and celery around here). Cook on low all day.
I freeze mine. It lasts forever and thaws quickly for use in soups or rice! And WAY better than storebought stuff. I’m planning to start freezing some in muffin tins so I can have smaller quantities. I usually freeze 2 cups at a time. I need a silicone muffin tin though so they’ll pop out easily.
October 16, 2009 at 5:52 am
Deb
Your cabbage dish sounds a lot like a traditional British dish called Bubble & Squeak. Google it, you’ll enjoy it! I wish we had just a little of your fall weather. My kids are complaining of the “cold.” It was in the upper 60s today.
October 16, 2009 at 3:16 pm
eastkentuckygal
With a name like Bubble and Squeak, I’ll have to look that up and try it. I wish it were in the 60s here. It’s in the 40s and raining. 😦
October 27, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Heather H.
I make homemade stock the same way you do, except I add 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and let all the ingredients sit in the pot for 1 hour before I turn the heat on. This allows the vinegar to draw alot of minerals out of the bones, making the stock even more nutrient dense. One of our favorite dishes is brown rice simmered in homemade stock, with tons of garlic added. delicious!
June 14, 2013 at 4:18 pm
morgan1995
Wonderful. brings back many memories from my childhood 80 years ago. Information that I have not been able to find for a very long time and some of them I never knew were written down.thank you