Cabbage Rolls à la Madame Kubota

 This post was drafted a couple of weeks ago, so some of the tense is off.  Updates are in different-colored font.
The day before Thanksgiving.  Lots of the kids and grand-kids are coming for dinner.  They keep offering to bring something, but I guess it's my own quest to stay independent and "able" that leads me to decline those offers (mind you, some of them bring stuff anyways).  Our menu will consist of (* items are a must or I will be put out onto an ice floe this winter):

 --Turkey, Kubota Man's Mom's stuffing with pork sausage in it, also a roaster of stuffing besides what's in the bird (Our new SIL doesn't eat pork, so the stuffing in the bird will have no sausage),
--*Cranberry-Tomato sauced meatballs,
--*Cabbage rolls,
--*Broccoli salad (small bowl minus the bacon),
--*Raspberry cream cheese dessert,
--store bought pumpkin pie,
-- if our son comes (eats no land animals) he will get some steelhead trout,
-- and scalloped or garlic mashed potatoes.
So I have to put my mind to making the cabbage rolls.  The roaster is about 10" x 13"x 3" deep.  These can also be made with sweet cabbage:  The leaves are removed the same way as I did for sour leaves, and then leave them in hot water till they are roll-able. My neighbors make them with beet leaves also.   My sour leaves are very pliable.  The veins have been removed.
Ingredients:  Cabbage leaves, pearl rice, water, lots of onions (2-3 cups and then another 1-2 cups, chopped), oil, chicken broth powder.

Now I cut the cabbage leaves into triangle/trapezoid shapes.  I can make very small rolls, but generally aim for pieces that measure 3".  If they have holes, I "patch" with smaller pieces.

 The nearest thing I can come up with to describe the knack of rolling little cabbage rolls, is to compare it to rolling cigarettes by hand (I used to roll them for my dad). You have to snug as you roll.
Once the leaves are drained and cut, I prepare the onions for between the layers, and the rice.
For the onion layers, heat about 1-1.5 c of oil in a saucepan, and sauté the larger amount of onions until clear and soft, if they become a bit golden it's OK.  Put aside.

--Cooking rice for this goes against everything I learned in Junior High Homemaking class.  In my 7-qt Dutch oven I put about 1/2 c oil and fry the second quantity of onions (some folks use chopped bacon, not draining all the fat, and fry the onions in that).  Add 4c of raw rice and stir while frying until some of the rice begins to turn lightly golden. This gives the rice a nice flavor.

Add cool water to cover the rice mixture.  Add about 1.5 Tbs of chicken broth powder (taste and adjust).  Cook on high till it comes to the boil, stir often, then turn down to med-low.  Do not cover.  When water is mostly absorbed (it will look gelatinous), add some more water, but just enough to moisten, not to make it liquid-y--keep cooking and stir often.  It should be very sticky.  When the rice kernels are mostly cooked but the center is still hard, remove from heat.  Stir a couple of times while cooling to let the heat out of the center of the mass.

Line roaster with parchment paper, allowing enough length to cover the top when it is full.  (I forgot to do this, and everything worked out fine)

I'm right-handed, so will describe it that way.
When the rice is cool enough to handle, place a piece of cabbage in the left hand with a tip pointing away from you.

Scoop up a generous teaspoon of rice and "smoosh" it at the base of the cabbage.

Fold in the sides, and begin to roll towards the tip (the rice should be manipulated into a little sausage inside the leaf), tuck as you roll.  A worker to whom we once served cabbage rolls, approved mine since he said, "good cabbage rolls don't come apart if you throw them at the wall". 

 I make them roughly finger-size.

Arrange them in the roaster in an even layer, all oriented the same way.

Make a second layer in the opposite direction.  Spread half the reserved oil/onion mixture evenly over the rolls.  Make 2 more layers in opposite directions, spread remaining onion mixture over the last layer.  Fold parchment over and place lid on.  If I make them ahead I freeze them, but they have to be thawed before cooking (I put them in the spare fridge 5 days before the dinner, along with the turkey which I thaw in the fridge for 5 days).  I allow them 3 hours to bake to finish cooking the rice and soften the cabbage since it is still tough after souring.  When ready to cook, open the parchment and pour in 1/3 cup water, close up and place roaster lid on.  Bake at 300 deg F for about 3 hours.  Some people pour tomato juice instead of (or maybe in addition to) the onion layers.
This is food for the gods, but not for dieters.
Leftover sour leaves can be re-frozen.
3 cups of raw rice will make an aluminum foil lasagna pan of 3 layers.

Lazy version:  Prepare rice as above in a quantity according to your pan size.  (As I re-read this I realized you can just cook regular rice for the lazy version, seasoned with chicken broth or bacon. It doesn't have to be the sticky method at all.)  My daughter uses bacon in her lazy version. Sauerkraut can be used in place of the chopped sour cabbage parts that I use.  Layer the rice, sautéed onions and sauerkraut/cabbage pieces in a baking dish.  Add a bit of water, cover and bake.  If using sauerkraut, it only needs to cook until the rice is soft, if using cabbage pieces, it needs longer.

I've been very busy with other endeavors since the cabbage was packed away.  First of all, there was a wedding dress to hem, bustle the train, and make a few minor modifications, also a flower girl dress to alter.  Of the 5 bridesmaids, one dress was a perfect length and fit, one had only the hem to do, and 3 had hems and alterations in the bodice.

Besides that, on Sept 15 I received yarn to adapt this 1940's style sweater for Theatre Calgary.  The new sweater will be a different yarn weight, have a v-neck, long sleeves, a slightly different stitch pattern as well as a stitch pattern instead of embroidery in the decorative panel.

The play takes place in Holland during the Liberation.  The designer is the same designer who worked on Spamalot at the Edmonton theater,for which I knit all the chain mail.  He chose Christmas red for the sweater with buttons that look like deer antler slices.  I can't reveal close-ups, since I received permission to publish the pattern and am offering it to a magazine, so it cannot be shown on-line.  If it is declined I will self-publish it, then I can show it.  I have asked the theater for some good photos of it on the actress.  See how nicely the tulips play with the red sweater.

Our anticipated grand-baby is developing right on schedule.  Momma has requested a marshmallow quilt (aka biscuit quilt, or puff quilt) in rainbow colors.  And I have my own knitting agenda for that baby.

Master Knitter Level 3 is on hold for the time being.
There will be no Christmas knitting this year (maybe).

And, looking at my Knit Meter, I am way behind in metres of yarn knit this year.  I will have to hurry and make a couple of blankets to get that up--or hurry up and do some Christmas knitting--my mind is devoid of ideas for what to make.

 I'm way behind with the outside work due to the wedding sewing and theater sweater.  So I have to get at that.  The garden and berry patch are top priority.  Then Kubota Man can take off the rototiller.
I'm done he garden and the berry patch, and KM took off the rototiller.  The weather is holding nicely, so I will continue to work on flower bed weeding for as long as I can.
We had a great tomato crop, so there is salsa made and about 75 lbs of peeled tomatoes are in the freezer in 5 lb. bags for good soups and sauces in the winter.  The potatoes, root veggies and onions are tucked away in the basement, and the greenhouse stock plants and some spikes that are being wintered over are needing constant watering downstairs.

Teaching the weekly religion class at the elementary school has begun again--I am teaching Grade 6 this year.
On Friday I am going went (as a volunteer) with Nursing Home residents on the Handi-bus (some with walkers, some with wheel chairs) on a shopping trip to a mall in the city.  I'm looking forward to that. That was a great experience.  Pushing a wheelchair makes walking the ceramic tiles of the mall much easier for me.

Last winter I sat around knitting too much and seized up a lot of muscles in my hip and groin area and legs.  I started to visit a deep tissue massage therapist, and she has done amazing work--but she is moving for her husband's job--that is sad.  I also started physio since my hip is showing signs of arthritis, and the soreness of the muscles has left me weak.  So the physio and exercise I do at home have greatly improved my range of motion, strength and reduced my pain.  That makes me happy, because the more I can move, the better off I am.  It's really important to me to stay off pills and be an active participant in my health.  Tomorrow I am seeing a nutritionist to help me sort out the newest info about healthy fats and oils, as well as what nutrients I have to be sure to ingest to stave off further joint deterioration in that hip.  I am also working on eliminating from our pantry most foods that have unpronounceable chemical words on the labels.  And for 8 Tuesdays I will be attending a basic yoga/walking for fitness class. The yoga will mostly emphasize breathing and stretching, not full yoga.  I won't be continuing with the yoga since many of the poses involve movements that are not allowed with my artificial hip, and for those that require balance I have a problem with the nerve damage in my feet from the 2007 automobile accident.

Today I will leave you with the theme of the current religion lessons:
Till next time:  His love is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. (Psalms