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Polish Housewife

Polish recipes served up with tidbits of folklore, customs, and history

Healthy

Sauerkraut Relish Recipe

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While I’m convalescing after surgery, I’ve asked my friend, Sue, to share her recipe for Sauerkraut Relish and write a guest post. We were lucky enough to attend the cookout Sue mentions and to be sent home with some of the leftovers! The beautiful color was the first thing to strike me about this relish, and the flavor and texture were also awesome! Thanks, Sue, for sharing and helping me out! Now, I’ll hand it over to Sue:

sauerkraut relish

My foodie brother introduced me to sauerkraut relish (or marinated sauerkraut), when he was in his brat phase. (That’s “brat” as in “bratwurst” … the other kind of brat phase was when he was much younger.) When I was invited recently to a cookout with the theme of “cookout classics,” I decided to bring sauerkraut relish to accompany the hotdogs. Rather than get my brother’s recipe, I pulled out my cookbooks that are collections of recipes from mid-last-century from the midwest. The sauerkraut relish had reminded me of my father’s cousin’s family recipe for shoe peg corn salad, as well as my Aunt Marion’s bean salad, so I also went through my recipe box. There seems to be a genre of mid-century midwestern marinated vegetable salads that all have similar themes and ingredients. The main hallmark seems to be a dressing composed of vinegar and sugar (ranging from equal parts to a preponderance of sugar), and the vegetables added to the main ingredient include onion, celery, and bell pepper (with some also calling for pimiento, jalapeño pepper, and/or grated carrot).

So, I sort of combined recipes and picked what sounded good. Since I had roasted a red pepper for an appetizer for the cookout, I opted not to use the pimiento, and I used a combination of yellow and orange bell peppers. I added a jalapeño pepper but wasn’t sure of the guests’ heat tolerance so removed the seeds and membranes. And I didn’t measure, so quantities are approximate.

My brother served the sauerkraut relish as a hot dog condiment, but the guests at the cookout treated it as a side dish. Which is, of course, perfectly OK.

sauerkraut relish

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Sauerkraut Relish

★★★★ 4 from 1 reviews
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Description

As a side or a topping, this sauerkraut relish adds terrific flavor, texture, and color!

Ingredients

  • One 32-oz jar sauerkraut
  • Several ribs of celery
  • One-half red onion
  • One bell pepper
  • One large jalapeño
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup vinegar
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Drain the sauerkraut well
  2. I also squeezed it over the colander till fairly dry
  3. Dice the celery, onion, and bell pepper
  4. Remove the seeds and membranes from the jalapeño and dice
  5. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the sugar and vinegar and stir till dissolved
  6. Let cool
  7. Add to the vegetable mixture with the oil and salt and pepper to taste

Notes

Enjoy as a condiment or side dish

 

Low Carb Banana Muffins (Paleo & Gluten Free)

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Two bananas had been parked on the kitchen counter for too long. They were well past the speckling of brown in the yellow peel banana. Mushing them into some kind of bread seemed like a good idea. A quick search of the internet, and I found a recipe for inspiration on Gimmedelicious.com. Not only are these low carb banana muffins, they fit the bill for paleo and gluten free too.

Low carb banana muffins

The muffins are light, almost souffle-like. I’ve adapted the recipe by adding chopped cherries rather than chocolate chips, not that I have anything against chocolate chips. There just weren’t any on hand.

If you’re committed to eating a paleo or gluten free diet, these muffins are just the thing. I might be better off if I fit that description, but I haven’t made that lifelong commitment. I do, however, like to try things. Ours is a kitchen where you’ll find coconut flour in the freezer. These low carb muffins are very satisfying in a way that food that’s low on the glycemic index tends to be. I can feel the benefits of that fact that my baked goodie had no added sugar and no white wheat flour. I’m satiated, I don’t feel hungry, I’m not tempted to pop back into the kitchen to eat the other five muffins.

At the same time, I can’t say this is the best banana muffin/bread I’ve ever eaten. That distinction belongs to this recipe. I missed the al dente quality that wheat flour and it’s gluten provide, and the way sugar seems to amplify the banana flavor. Maybe there’s a perfect option out there. Perhaps next time I’ll try combining the two recipes, get the added fiber of the coconut flour, use less wheat flour and sugar. Maybe you can have it all.

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Low Carb Banana Muffins

  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 mins
  • Total Time: 25 mins
  • Yield: 6
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Description

A low carb, paleo, gluten free banana muffin

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup almond butter
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 cup coconut flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • 1/4 cup diced cherries, fresh or frozen in a pinch

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Spray muffin pan (6 muffins)
  3. Combine bananas, egg, almond butter, and vanilla (I used my food processor)
  4. Add coconut flour, cinnamon, baking powder,baking sods, and salt (again a quick blitz)
  5. Stir in cherries
  6. Spoon into muffin cups
  7. Bake 15-18 minutes, or until browned
  8. Cool before removing from pan

 

 

Mockmill Grain Mill

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A month ago, I would have said that I have every attachment I need for my KitchenAid mixer. Now, I know that I also needed a grain mill! Until recently, my friend, Prethi, was the only person I’ve known with their own mill. Prethi’s is a large appliance, set up in the basement of her home. It was just like the grinding stones I’ve seen in ancient gristmills, scaled down to a table top version. On one of the many fun days I spend cooking with Prethi in her kitchen, she took me downstairs to show me the mill. It was her dry mill, I think she has a wet one too. They are necessary items in a well-appointed Indian kitchen. On the day I visited, Prethi was grinding white lentils to make flour for dosas. My kitchen is too small to devote much space for a mill, so it was exciting to see that I too can easily make my own flours with a Mockmill, a compact attachment for stand mixers.

Mockmill

Mockmill

The Mockmill uses real stones, just like Prethi’s for grinding non-oily grains. It attaches easily to my mixer and dispenses flour into the mixing bowl. The coarseness of the grind can be adjusted, from bulgar for tabouleh to the finest flour. The grinding stones turn easily with no strain on the motor.

The thing I noticed as I ground rye on the finest setting was that not everything that came out of the mill was the same size. That’s because grains consist of three basic parts: endosperm, the germ, and the bran. Most commercial flour is just ground endosperm. The slightly coarser germ and bran have been sifted out. These two missing parts contain most of the grain’s minerals, vitamins, and fiber.

Nutrition

The Mockmill is designed in Germany by people who are passionate about eating better, much like my friend, Julie. I’ve mentioned Julie on this blog before. She sees a nathuropathic oncologist and eats very clean since her cancer diagnosis. One of the things I’ve learned from Julie’s wisdom is that it’s better to grind flax seeds right before you eat them rather than buying a box of ground flax to add to your morning smoothie or yogurt. The seeds offer the most nutrition right after they’ve been processed. While I won’t grind flax seed with the mill because of the high oil content, I have to think the optimal nutrition immediately after grinding is also true of other seeds, such as wheat berries, corn, lentils. The book Flour Power by Marletta F. Basey confirms this line of thinking.

Mockmill cleaning

Cleaning

Let me share one last thought on the mill before I get to my baking project. The manufacturer mentions that it’s easy to clean. I felt like I should check that out for you. It was with much trepidation that I took the mill apart to clean the grinding compartment with a pastry brush. I needn’t have worried. It really did disassemble and go back together very smoothly. German engineering at its finest! Cleaning isn’t necessary between uses, but if you were going to pack it up for an extended length of time, you might want to, so it’s nice to know that you can.

Polish Sourdough Rye Bread

I ordered a five pound can of rye seeds from Amazon. Intent on giving my favorite Polish Sourdough Rye Bread a try with freshly ground rye flour. The timing was right. I’ve had trouble getting a sourdough starter to “start” in Tucson. My baking buddies have suggested that the dry desert air might lead to fewer wild yeasts.

We’re in the middle of our monsoon season, so this is as close as we get to humidity in Arizona. It took longer to get my flour and water mixture cooking than in Poznan (where it happened overnight), but we finally have a good rye starter.

I used my freshly ground rye flour to feed my starter everyday and to make this dense loaf, full of sun flower seeds, just like the bread we bought at Piotr i Pawel (the supermarket closest to our flat in Poznan).

 

Polish sourdough rye

Most days, I left the Mockmill attachment on and just ground a half cup daily to feed the starter. When I wanted to tidy up, I ground enough for several days and kept the flour in the freezer until needed.

 

If you are a serious baker or know someone who is, now is the time to pick up a Mockmill!!!

 

I received product to review in exchange for this post. The thoughts expressed here are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

Reduce Your Risk of Breast Cancer

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reduce your risk of breast cancer

Since October is breast cancer awareness month, I’ve asked my friend Julie to write a guest post. You may know Julie. She’s a frequent commenter on my blog and Polish Housewife’s facebook page. We’ve been friends for over 30 years.

I can still remember Skyping her to see how she was doing after a breast biopsy. We were both so confident that things would be  fine. . . the diagnosis was cancer.

Several years later, Julie is fine; she is more than fine. Julie is an awe inspiring cancer warrior now. She has become so well informed about things related to her health, and I can tell you that she really lives this. She talks the talk AND walks the walk.

Without further ado, here’s Julie with some dos and don’ts to help you reduce your risk of breast cancer:

 

Breast Cancer Awareness month never used to make much of an impact on me. I didn’t ever give it much thought at all until May of 2010, when a new spot on my annual mammogram turned out to be malignant cancer. Now, not only is every month Breast Cancer Awareness Month, every day is!

I led a fairly healthy lifestyle before my diagnosis, but with the help of my naturopathic oncologist and the Phoenix Cancer Support Community, I have changed what I put in my mouth, on my body and in my home. It all matters to my health now and I’d like to share a few quick hints that you can easily incorporate into your life. Little changes over time add up to big results.

3 Do’s:

Drink green tea. Green tea is great for your body and your skin. A compound in it may inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells. Try for 3 cups a day, but any is better than none. Did you know if you have a sunburn, that putting 2 or 3 green tea bags in a bathtub full of water will help your burn heal? That’s how healing it is to your skin!

Eat 2 white button mushrooms every day. They help to naturally lower your estrogen levels and estrogen feeds many breast cancers.

Eat 2 Brazil nuts every day. They provide your body it’s daily dose of selenium, which helps your body prevent development of breast and other cancers.

3 Don’ts:

Cut down on refined sugars, bad fats and alcohol. They all cause an inflammatory response in your body and cancer cells love the heck out of inflammation.

Read labels and don’t buy processed food, period. If there is even one ingredient listed that you can’t pronounce or haven’t the slightest idea what it is, put that package back on the shelf. Eat food as close to it’s natural state as possible.

Read labels of personal care products. Avoid phthalates and parabens, both of which are endocrine disruptors, mimicking estrogen in the body. See above, estrogen feeds cancers.

For more information:

Ewg.org is a wonderful resource to help you locate products which are not harmful to your body. Loads of great information on this site, it will open your eyes!

“Anticancer, A New Way of Life”, by Dr. Servan-Schreiber is the single best, practical advice book I read. I can’t recommend it enough.

Turmeric Milk or Haldi Doodh

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Turmeric Milk or Haldi Doodh

Golden Milk, Turmeric Milk or Haldi Doodh – whatever you call it, this a a tasty way to get some of nature’s most health-filled spices. I’ve known about turmeric’s anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, but Wed-MD has a much longer list of the benefits. It’s easy to see why I’ve been reading that this beverage is every Indian mother’s go-to remedy (sometimes without any sweetener, ugh). My friend Prethi confirms this, and judging by the expression on her face, it was an unsweetened version that she drank as a child!

We take supplements, but I strongly believe that it’s better to get nutrients as part of your food rather than concentrated if you can. I may have to make this a daily habit to see if it helps my arthritis.

I’m putting what I started with in the recipe. You can add more or less to taste or be adventurous and toss in other spices – kind like chai but without the tea. Exercise caution – the turmeric stains, worse than beets!  

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Turmeric Milk

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Prep Time: 1 min
  • Cook Time: 4 mins
  • Total Time: 5 mins
  • Yield: 2
  • Category: Beverage
  • Cuisine: Indian
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Description

A tasty, healthy alternative to coffee, tea, or hot chocolate

Ingredients

  • 2 cups milk, (any milk, I used coconut)
  • 1 heaping tablespoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon ginger

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan
  2. Simmer to heat and combine flavors
  3. If you’ve added some chunky spices, you may want to strain before serving

Notes

Substitute other sweeteners for honey, if desired

I would have grated a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, rather than using dried, if I’d had some

Optional spice additions: 2-3 whole black peppercorns, 1 star anise, 2-3 cracked cardomon pods, cinnamon stick (or sprinkle with ground cinnamon)

According to Dr. Weil, be sure to add some black pepper to your drink. The pepper will help your body absorb the turmeric!

 

Zupa z Brokułami i Marchewką Broccoli and Carrot Soup

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Broccoli soup with carrot red bell pepper soup
broccoli carrot soup
Inspired by a soup at Corleone, my favorite restaurant in Krakow, I’ve prepared two soups and served them up in one bowl. Together the soup colors and flavors complement each other making the combination so much better that either soup on its own. It’s easy to do and makes for a very striking presentation for Broccoli and Carrot Soup
My starting point for any soup is the prepackaged bundle of vegetables that every Polish housewife uses. I’m going to miss this when I return to the states.
the bundle of soup veg available in any Polish market

Smacznego!

Lois

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two-tone broccoli carrot soup

Broccoli and Carrot Soup

  • Author: Polish Housewife
  • Category: Soup
  • Cuisine: Polish
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Description

Two delicious soups in one bowl, what could be prettier?

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 leek (the white and light green part), sliced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 small parsnips, sliced
  • 1 small celery root, peeled and diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 8 carrots, sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 small head broccoli, chopped
  • Stock, chicken or vegetable (for vegan)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • a dash of cayenne (optional)

Instructions

  1. Divide the oil between two saucepans
  2. Divide the leek and onion between the two pans, season a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook over medium high heat until soft
  3. Divide the parsnip, celery root, and garlic between the two pans
  4. Add 7 carrots and the red bell pepper to one pan
  5. Add 1 carrot and the broccoli the other
  6. Continue to cook the vegetables, stirring often, for 3 – 5
  7. Add stock to both pans, just enough to cover the veg
  8. Simmer until everything is tender
  9. Blend until smooth (I use an immersion blender)
  10. Check for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if necessary, and cayenne if you’re using it
  11. Pour both soups into a bowl at the same time (easy to do with liquid measuring cups), adding whatever finishing touch your veggie-loving heart desires, suggestions below 🙂

 

Carrot – red bell pepper soup
Broccoli soup
Pour both soups into the bowl at the same time
Garnish with dots from a spoon handle
Or run a knife back and forth through the soup for a zig-zag pattern

Flax Seed Cranberry Muffin

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I’ve been reading The Breast Cancer Prevention Diet by Dr. Bob Arnot, recommended by my friend Julie. It has reminded me to incorporate flax seeds in our diet. Flax seed is the richest known plant source of omega-3 fatty acids and the richest sources of weak estrogens – a real superfood.  The recommended amount of flax seed is 25 grams a day.  If the seeds aren’t ground, many of the nutrients can’t be absorbed, and Julie tells me that freshly ground is best.  The book points out that commercially prepared breads only have 5 grams at the most in one slice.

With that news, I started searching google for a flax seed muffin recipe.  Mine is adapted from a recipe on Me & Jorge, a blog chronicling the author’s diet progress.  It contains no flour, no sugar, and depending on the container used could more accurately be described as a flax seed and fruit souffle.  While this muffin is pleasant, filling, and good for you, it cannot compare to the joy of traditional bakery muffin (which is not so good for you).  It’s not a dish I would serve to guests unless I knew they were very health conscious and would appreciate that aspect.

Just one more stir and ready to zap
Sometimes, this cooks up higher than others
Blueberry
Banana, made in a large mug

Ingredients

3 tablespoons flax seeds
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon dried cranberries (mine were sweetened)

Directions

  • Add flax seeds and baking powder to a small food processor (mine is an attachment for my immersion blender), process until seeds are finely ground
  • Transfer ground seeds to a coffee cup (no preparation of the cup is necessary)
  • Add the egg, oil, and cranberries, and stir until well combined
  • Microwave until done, about 1 minute and 10 seconds in our microwave
  • Run a knife around the edge of the cup and the muffin will pop out when you turn the mug over
  • I must confess that I put butter on these

Variations:
Fresh blueberries, rather than cranberries, I added 10 fresh blue berries and 1/2 a packet of stevia
Banana, rather than cranberries, I added 1/2 of a medium banana, mashed.  This required a longer cooking time, 2 minutes 50 seconds in our microwave; it was great with a little peanut butter

This is caloriecount.com’s analysis of the cranberry version:

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 77 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories

220
Calories from Fat

139
% Daily Value*
Total Fat

15.4g
24%
Saturated Fat

5.9g
30%
Cholesterol

164mg
55%
Sodium

70mg
3%
Total Carbohydrates

5.4g
2%
Dietary Fiber

8.7g
35%
Sugars

3.8g
Protein

11.6g
Vitamin A 4% • Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 19% • Iron 11%
Nutrition Grade B+
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Lemon Brine Chicken

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lemon brine chicken 500x333

Start this in the lemon brine early in the day, and by evening you’ll have moist, lemony chicken. It’s a classic flavor combination!

I’m not usually the one to do the grilling in our family, but I must have learned a little something watching over the years because this chicken turned out pretty well.

My parents have been brining the Thanksgiving turkey for the last few years.  (Brining is soaking the meat in a salty, spicy solution before cooking.) It makes for very moist, flavorful meat.  I would love to tell you that I always fix chicken this way, but the truth is I don’t usually plan that far in advance.  (That’s why I don’t have a list of crock pot recipes for you too!)

Lemon brine chicken

I had to take photos outside to get the last bit of natural light.  The chicken looks pretty good; the taste was even better!

Adapted from: myrecipes.com

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Lemon Brine Chicken

  • Yield: 8 - 10
  • Category: Lemon Brine Chicken
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Chicken that’s moist and full of flavor

Ingredients

  • 4 quarts water
  • 2/3 cup kosher salt
  • 3 lemons, quartered
  • 1/8 cup dried parsley
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 small onion, sliced
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 4 – 5 pounds chicken, cut up (I used a jumbo package of thighs)

Instructions

  1. Place water and salt in a large dutch oven, heat just enough to dissolve salt.
  2. Squeeze lemons over the  dutch oven, add the fruit as well as the juice.
  3. Add parsley, onion, garlic, and pepper.
  4. Add chicken to dutch oven.  The water should just cover the chicken.
  5. Cover dutch oven and refrigerate 6 – 8 hours.
  6. Grill or bake as usual.  I used indirect heat on a gas grill for about an hour and then medium direct heat to crisp up the skin.

 

Lemon brine

 

It looks like this chicken thigh is haning out of Wee Dax’s mouth like some kind of giant poultry stoggie, but it’s an optical illusion. He was just hoping I’d turn my back.

 

Stuffed Peppers

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A friend, who is also on Weight Watchers, is having dinner with us tonight. I was trying to come up with an entree that wouldn’t use up all of our weekly points, and this fit the bill.

Ingredients
1/2 c. white rice, cooked & cooled
1 1/2 lb lean ground turkey
3/4 c. onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg, beaten
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
3 red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, seeds & veins removed
1 3/4 c. homemade tomato sauce (details below)

For the homemade tomato sauce I simmered 1 3/4 cups canned whole tomatoes (because that was what I had in the freezer), with a clove of garlic, a sprig of basil, salt and pepper. Pureed with an immersion blender. You could certainly use a prepared tomato or spaghetti sauce, but the WW point value would change slightly.

Directions
Gently combine first 7 ingredients with 1/2 of the tomato sauce. Fill the pepper halves and place in a baking dish. Top with remaining tomato sauce. (Can be prepared ahead and refrigerated at this point. Add 20 minutes to baking time if refrigerating.) Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

PS – They were actually better the second day as leftovers.

6 Servings, 6 WW points each