The Domestic, and a Recipe!
Goodness it’s been a long time since I posted! The whole of my energy for the last several months has been taken up with preparing for family to visit, and preparing for the wedding. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the wedding never happened. My daughter called it off two weeks before, and as we are processing through everything, it is obvious this was the right move to make. However, there was still all that wedding stuff sitting in bins in my bedroom, and the wedding dress hanging in my closet, and the rental of the all and the limo and the chairs and tables to cancel. And all that family still came to visit, so there was still housecleaning and keeping up with the day to day of feeding more than just us. I have had a constant stream of people in my house since before Memorial Day. I have worked my day job much of that time, and also my side work, in addition to everything else. And as organized as I am, as pulled together as I am, I was overwhelmed. The last of the guests left a week ago, and I am finally settling back into something of a “normal.”
Through it all, I was able to use my domestic side so thoroughly that I am not sure why I wasn’t burnt down to a nub. There was cooking, cleaning, keeping up with the washing of linens, pulling weeds in the garden, picking veggies, keeping the flowers watered, etc. I am thankful that I had some help along the way. But I am in my element when doing these things, so there is some measure of happiness and peace there. In the past 10 days, I started and finished a baby quilt, made a stack of bowl lifters, worked on my sheet rug (oval, because my mom said so), hemmed pants for Klown, made two batches of strawberry jam, cooked up veggies from my garden, kept all of the potted flowers alive, planted some new perennials in the perennial flower bed, hung clothes on the line, and worked on my novel. And sometimes, I slept. 
Today, with everyone gone, you would think I’d have taken the day off. But I don’t know how to do that, so as usual, I was busy. I made strawberry jam, delivered the baby quilt and some homemade goodies to the new mom across the street, picked apples from our tree, and pulled up a bucket-full of purslaine from my garden (danged weed!!). And all the laundry got done. Then I made a really great old-fashioned dinner that I only make about once a year. It is so good, I don’t know why I don’t do it more often. Both Klown and I have good memories of similar meals, although I’ve added my own touches over the years. I wish I’d gotten a chance to make it for my mom when she was here for the wedding-that-never-happened. I’ll have to be sure I do it when she visits next year!
Pork, Kraut, and Apple
(This is a one-pot meal, and you can do it in the crock pot, but I think it turns out better on the stove. This dish is sweet and tangy, filling, and not too sour. Bavarian-style kraut is the key.)
- 2 pounds good, thick-cut pork chops. You can also use country-style ribs if they are available
- 2 cans Bavarian-style kraut
- 3 or 4 medium white potatoes, peeled and diced large
- 3 apples, peeled, cored, and diced large
- 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
- 2 T. oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Using a large dutch oven or other type broad-bottomed pot with a lid, brown the pork chops on both sides in the oil. Season LIGHTLY as kraut is very salty and you shouldn’t need much extra salt. Once they are brown, add in the apple cider vinegar.
Toss in the potatoes and apples. Spread on the kraut. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cover tightly and cook for 1 hour, or until potatoes and meat are tender. The apples should pretty much disappear in the cooking process.
Feeds 4-6.
