Bountiful Baskets and my Cooking Adventures

A couple of months ago I signed up for Bountiful Baskets. This is a food co-op that is all volunteer run. Every week you sign up and for $15 get a basket full of fresh fruits and vegetables. Saturday mornings become like Christmas morning as you go to pick up your basket. What will it be this week? Maybe coconuts, asparagus, turnips, strawberries, blackberries, peppers, spinach, or sweet potatoes? I realize I have paid for it but its always exciting finding out what new and different things are in your basket that week. Its well worth your money and I've enjoyed cooking and trying new things. I incorporate more fruits and vegetables into my diet now so I feel good about that. Anybody ever eaten a Jerusalem artichoke? A few weeks ago several were in my basket so I drizzled them in olive oil and roasted them. They are really tasty! I left them on the table though and as I was in the bathroom, Nacho found it an opportune time to jump up on the table and eat them! Pummelos are now up on the top of my favorite fruits list. These giant citrus fruits taste like grapefruit but are sweeter. Four weeks ago I got two heads of cabbage. Not knowing what I would do with so much cabbage, I used one head of cabbage to make sauerkraut. I absolutely love sauerkraut! I smoother my hot dogs and bratwurst in sauerkraut. My hot dogs end up having just as much kraut as meat, but that's how I like 'em! The thing is if you want to make sauerkraut the real way you have to have serious patience. I chopped up the cabbage added a few tablespoons of salt, covered it and then waited. And waited. And waited. Four weeks later my sauerkraut was ready! On Thursday I made Schnitzel and had a side of sauerkraut and spaetzle and tonight I grilled some German bratwurst and smothered them with mustard and sauerkraut. Yum Yum! I feel my German roots coming out after a week of German cuisine.

I topped the chopped cabbage with a ziploc bag of salt water. This keeps it airtight and prevents any molding

Finished product after 4 sweet weeks of waiting