Snowbound
Fancies
Mother Nature certainly gave us a
seasonal backhanded compliment last Sunday. We woke to a view of purposeful
gusts of fine snow traveling through the tall birches, forming sculpted drifts on
our deck and a huge snowdrift hovering on the edge of our roof, ready to dump
an additional snowdrift on the patio below. Our two cats had their noses glued
to the living room window, watching the drifts, fully convinced that the sky
was indeed falling.
Saturday’s forecasts had given us
full warning of what was to come. The birdfeeders were filled and my husband
was persuaded that if we wanted a Christmas tree, it needed to be cut and at
least brought indoors before the snows arrived. Now, the morning bird activity
outside was truly amazing. A flock of doves sat under the hanging birdfeeder,
ruffled against the cold and squabbled for every seed that the small birds let
fly from above. The nuthatches and dark-headed junkos seemed more focused than
usual, while nothing seemed to slow the frantic flitting of the chicadees. A
virtual pageant for the cats!
New drifts formed on our driveway as
soon as we were plowed out in the morning and I suddenly realized that Mother
Nature had actually given us the gift of a snowbound day in the midst of our
usual frantic Holiday season. We had a leisurely breakfast of blueberry
pancakes, since there actually was no rush like the previous week with packages
to mail, inevitable cooking for potlucks and events requiring attendance. There
would be time to enjoy trimming the tree during the day and it would be
possible to plan an unhurried meal at home.
Dinner would be easy, since we had
been on our December visit to Morse’s the previous week. This time of the year
one might as well park any ‘locovore’ aspirations outside, when going there,
since the place abounds in tempting delicacies from Germany, France, Turkey,
Italy and too many other places to mention. However we still managed to come
away also with a good supply of their excellent local sauerkraut and some
farmer’s sausage. That and some scalloped potatoes would be the basis for a
simple, but warming meal on this blustery day.
But then I recalled a conversation
with Karin Pratt from Friendship some weeks ago about the fact that in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, it was ‘de rigeur’ to cook sauerkraut in beer. In fact,
it was the only way! This was
intriguing. I knew of Weinkraut, the German way to cook sauerkraut with wine,
but not beer. Of course it made perfect
sense, since Milwaukee is known for its beer and the Wisconsin wine industry is
at best still emerging. The following experiment was definitely tasty with a
subtly transformed flavor.
Sauerkraut
in beer
Drain about 5 lb. of sauerkraut and rinse for
a few seconds to remove excess salt. Brown ½ cup of the drained sauerkraut in 1
Tblsp. vegetable oil or bacon drippings for about 5 minutes. Stir in the rest
of the sauerkraut, 1 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. caraway seed and 1 bottle of lager
beer. Bring to boil, cover tightly and cook on low for 45 minutes, stirring
occasionally. Add a small amount of water, if the beer evaporates at the end.
But the meal required a desert,
preferably with fruit and not too much effort. Fortunately apples from the
refrigerator adapted to an apricot upside down cake without too much fuss.
Upside-down
apple cranberry cake
Melt 1/3 cup butter and ½ cup light
brown sugar on low heat in a metal 9 inch cake pan. Stir in 3 Tblsp. white corn
syrup. Peel and core 2-3 apples and slice in water with 2 Tblsp. lemon juice.
The slices should be no more than 1/3 inch thick. Drain the slices and arrange
in concentric circles in the buttery sugar mix. Insert some cranberries among
the slices and some walnuts or pecans around the outside circle (nuts are
optional). Prepare the batter by beating 1/3 cup soft butter with ½ cup sugar,
then 2 eggs and ½ tsp. vanilla. In a small bowl combine 1 ½ cups flour with 2
tsp. baking powder and ½ tsp. salt. Stir into egg mixture alternatively with ½
cup milk. Spread batter over apples and bake in a 350 degree oven for 40
minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes and then invert over a plate.
Serve with or without whipped cream.
All in all, one can always thank
Mother Nature for her backhanded compliments in providing an occasional day for
rejuvenation.
(I. Winicov Harrington lives in
Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00
a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)
