Hearty Meal for a Soggy Day

I woke up this morning to the grumble of far away thunder. It's been months since we had a good rain storm. I remember as an angst-ridden teen, one of my favorite summer activities was sitting inside my room with my feet dangling out the window during a warm summer thunderstorm. The smell of the wet grass and the water between my toes was heaven!

Today's rain (unfortunately) falls into the gloomy-spring-drippy-rain category, but I still enjoy it-albeit from a warm spot nestled under the covers.

But cold rain days are good for something: hearty German food!

While perusing the pile of corned beef requisite for the St. Paddy's day culinary celebration at the supermarket, I saw fresh bagged sauerkraut was also on sale. Never one to pass up a good deal, I decided there was no harm in two closely spaced hearty meals, except maybe the need for a little extra time on the
treadmill.

One of my favorite blogs recently posted a version of the cooks illustrated version of the mark bittman 'no knead bread'. I've made the original with great success, but this recipe guaranteed a more flavorful loaf. I used a pale ale homemade by some of our talented brew- making friends, and the bread came out marvelously.

As for the sauerkraut, it hardly counts as a recipe, but here goes:

4 medium/large potatoes (i used red), peeled and cubed
3 large carots, peeled and chopped to appx. 2 inch pieces
2 sausages, sliced (I used toulouse made at our local co-op)
1 Bag sauerkraut
1 TBS caraway seeds

Place everything into a large stock pot, add enough water it cover at least half the ingredients, and simmer for a few hours until the veggies are tender. I also added the leftover beer from the bread.

rice with added benefits

Towards the end of the week, the theme of my meals tends to be 'how many things can I use up in one dish before they go bad'. Last night I found: 2 zucchini, 1 onion, and some andouille sausage just begging to be to chopped and eaten. I also increased the health factor by using the leftover broth from my 'sick stew'. Zucchini is high in many vitamins including vitamin A. Vitamin A is important in vision and bone growth, and deficiency can lead to night blindness. I like to think that eating extra zucchini will help me to increase my night vision and enhance my cat-like reflexes.

Rice with Added Benefits
2 zucchini
1 onion
2 andouille sausages
2 cups rice
1/2 cup tomato sauce
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp cumin
salt to taste

Chop and saute zucchini, onion, and sausages. I prefer to saute the sausages first, then use the leftover grease from these to enhance the flavor of the veggies while they saute. Remove from pan, then saute the rice in remaining sausage grease (or add butter if there's none left), until it starts to turn brown and smell nutty. Add back the veggies and sausage to the pan, then stir in the tomato sauce and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and allow to steam, covered, until the rice is soft (20 minutes).