Camp Cynthia!
By Cynthia Bowan
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Once again, we have a New Year - brand-new, a clean slate, another chance to see if we can do things better this time.
New Year's Day is one holiday celebrated by everyone around the world (even if not on the same date). Besides the parades and the football games, New Year's Eve and Day are two more excuses for preparing and enjoying good food. But this time of year differs somewhat from other holidays, because of the culinary superstitions that rule the menu.
If you lived around where we do, here in Western Pennsylvania, you would be expected to eat pork and sauerkraut - what type of pork is up to you. You need this to have good luck in the coming year. We have some great friends named Kathy and Wayne Glenn, whose tradition is to fill a large electric roaster oven with sauerkraut, pork, ribs and hot dogs and let it cook gently for hours. Talk about a feast!
Another tradition in this area, albeit more recent, is the New Year's Pretzel, actually a large sweet roll with icing, shaped like a pretzel.
My in-laws would have roast pork and sauerkraut, or perhaps stuffed cabbage. My parents and Dad's parents would have the pork and kraut as well. My Momma's family would have Hopping John, (rice and black-eyed peas), and greens on the table - collard, kale, turnip - again, the type is not so much important as the fact that you need GREENS for money and good luck in the coming year. The Southern "formula" for New Years was pork (for health), green cabbage (for wealth), black-eye peas (for luck) and fruit salad
(for prosperity).
In Scotland, the New Year is referred to as Hogmanay. Black Buns and Scottish fruitcakes are baked weeks in advance and enjoyed. They are served with haggis (yes, I have a recipe for it, and no, I have not ever tried to eat it or made it...) and shortbread. In Wales, you might have mincemeat pies.
The Dutch have doughnuts (Olie Bollen); the Spanish eat twelve grapes at midnight - one at each stroke of the clock. New Year's Eve in Denmark means boiled cod. Germans eat pork and fish.
Italians make sure lentils are on the table as well as Chiacchiere, tiny balls of dough that resemble little lentils and drizzled with honey so the year will be sweet. This sounds very much like my mother-in-law's Bobalki. Jewish New Year celebration meals include fish, apples and beets.
The Japanese eat black beans; rice is always served and usually as mochi, a cooked glutinous rice cake shaped like a round ball.
Chinese eat Long Life Noodles (which also are eaten on your birthday), dumplings, chicken, Jai (a vegetarian dish) and fish which all have meanings of good luck. Koreans eat a kind of soup with rice cake; in the Philippines, the table must be filled with food to eat at midnight to make sure there will be plenty of food in the New Year.
These customs are often taken quite seriously, just like certain dishes at Easter and Christmas.
Our children have been raised to enjoy food of many cultures and nations. They are just as comfortable eating with chopsticks or forks; they are always ready to try a new dish. They would rather have one of the above dishes instead of a fast food meal (although there is room in their diet for those as well, much to their parents' dismay <G>).
Thinking about the New Year again, I pray for peace for everyone. I do not want to see war of any type anywhere - as a mother, a woman, wife - if we can possibly avoid it. I am certain that other women around the world feel as I do. To this end, I think I have a way that peace might come about. I suggest we get all the world leaders and sit them down at a table, and FEED them. And no one is allowed to get up from the table until all the food is gone and agreements have been reached. Empires and fortunes have been won and lost at tables, so why not work for peace? One cannot be unhappy or negative when their stomach is filled and they have broken bread with others.
But enough dreaming. Perhaps one day, we will have that gift. In the meantime, I wish you and yours the very best gifts the New Year has to offer. I hope you will Enjoy! the following, and as always, CYH - consider yourself hugged.
Kuma's Christmas Eve Bread and Bobalki
(Aunt's Bread)
10 c. flour
1 T. salt
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 T. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. warm water
3/4 cake yeast, dissolved in 1 c. warm water
Place flour, salt, oil, sugar, vanilla and yeast mixture in large bowl. Knead for 10-15 minutes pr until dough doesn't stick to hands. Let raise till double in bulk. Punch down and let raise again. Then prick with a fork, and bake at 400F, 10 minutes, then 350F, 35 minutes.
Use 3 lb. of the dough for Christmas Eve round loaf, 1 lb. for a regular loaf, and the remaining 1/4 lb. for bobalki (AKA "fushki").
For bobalki, roll plain dough 1/4" think, cut cubes 3/4 to 1". Place on baking sheet, touching close. Bake at 425F or until light golden brown. Heat 1 few tsp. honey, sugar and poppy seeds in small pan. Place baked dough in colander (strainer), pour hot water over quickly and drain immediately. (Bread should just be damp, not soaking.) Pour honey mixture over, stir and serve immediately.
This was from a piece of paper my late FIL, Bill Bowan, wrote his version of
Mom's stuffed cabbage
1# ground chuck
1/2 # ground pork
3 slices bacon, chopped
3/4 c. rice
1/2 can tomatoes
1 can tomato soup
cabbage
Add meats, rice, tomatoes together in bowl. Add generous garlic, salt, pepper, onion. Optional - lump of brown sugar. Separate cabbage leaves by placing cabbage in boiling water. Roll up filling inside leaves. Place in Dutch oven. Pour tomato soup and some water over, cook slowly for 2 hr.
Optional: instead of pork, use veal or lamb.
KAPUSTA (sauerkraut)
1 large can sauerkraut
1 large can water
6 medium potatoes, cubed
1/3 lb. salt pork, diced (remove extra salt)
1/4 cup flour
2 large onions, chopped
2 medium cans lima beans or equivalent of cooked dry limas
Salt and pepper to taste
Drain sauerkraut. Reserve juice. Add water. Cook 20 minutes or longer. Add water to cover potatoes and cook until soft. Stirring constantly, heat flour in a dry pan until light brown. Do not burn. Remove flour from pan and add salt pork. Sauté until cubes are crisp.
Add onion and sauté slowly while preparing the following: Mash the potatoes in their water until mixture is
smooth. Add sauerkraut with its water to the potato mixture. At this time add the browned flour to the salt pork-onion mixture. Cook 2 minutes. Add this mixture to the potato mixture. Blend well. Add lima beans. Add salt and pepper to taste. If more tartness is desired, add the reserved sauerkraut juice. Serve hot. Enjoy!
Variation: Use 1/4 lb. of margarine in place of salt pork for a Lenten meal.
This is based on an authentic recipe from Taiwan, given to me by a friend.
Eating these noodles on your birthday or New Year's Day is supposed to ensure
you a long and healthy life.
Long Life Noodles
1/2 lb. steak, sliced in thin strips
1 lb. spaghetti or long thin noodles
2 T. vegetable oil
1 tsp. sesame oil - plus
1 T. soy sauce - plus
1/2 c. fresh bean sprouts
1/2 c. fresh pea pods
1/4 c. chopped fresh broccoli
1/4 c. sliced red or green bell peppers
dash of pepper
2 green onions, chopped
1 tsp. sugar
salt to taste
In hot wok or large frying pan, heat small amount of oil; stir fry steak. Drain and set aside. Cook noodles according to pkg. directions. Drain and
place in large bowl. Blanch vegetables in boiling water, each separately; drain
well. Add meat and vegetables to bowl.
Mix oils, soy sauce, pepper and sugar; pour over and mix well. Season with
more soy sauce and sesame, if needed. You also can add water chestnuts,
bamboo shoots, shrimp, chicken strips, if desired.
By Cynthia Bowan
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Long Life Noodles |
KAPUSTA (sauerkraut) | Mom's stuffed cabbage
Kuma's Christmas Eve Bread and Bobalki
(Aunt's Bread)
