I was going to spend two nights in the woods and skip church on Sunday. But then my sub had to go out of town for a funeral. While I was still trying to figure out where I was going to get someone to preach, the Asst. SM informed me that he wanted to come back in Saturday night and not spend a second night on the ground. So I figured I might as well preach this Sunday and take another Sunday off in February.
I'm preaching a series on the Means of Grace (sacraments and other ways in which God meets our needs). Sunday, I'm preaching on marriage and family as a means of grace.
collinsmom is heading over to Mole Hill, IN, to see our son, siege. He is in general disarray right now. We want to help, but we also want to avoid rescuing him, because rescuing him means we assume responsibility for things that he really needs to keep responsibility for. And we can't afford to just throw money at him.Well, gotta hit the shower and make something out of this day.
Saarländer Eintopf (low-carb version by Yours Truly)
Caution: feeds a multitude
2-4 cans plain sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 stick butter
about 6-8 rashers of bacon (at least), cut up
1 clove garlic or 2 shallots, diced
1 bunch green onions, sliced
8 oz. fresh mushrooms (baby bellas are nice)
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp juniper berries (optional)
1 bay leaf, crushed
1 tbsp caraway seeds (optional)
1 pkg. spareribs or other pork
paprika or allspice (optional)
1 ham steak, trimmed of fat and cut into chunks
1-3 pkg. smoked sausage, polksa kielbasa, bratwurst, or other sausage, cut into chunks
Begin by draining and rinsing the kraut. This gets rid of the “whang” — the tart taste of the brine — that many people complain of. (Notice that there is no salt added to this dish; the kraut has plenty to go around.)
If you want to flavor up the pork ribs, rub them with the allspice or paprika or other favorite pork rub.
Then put the oil, the butter, and the bacon in the Dutch oven. Melt the butter and brown the bacon. Stir a bit to keep from burning.
Add next seven ingredients.
Pack sauerkraut in on top. As Eintopf cooks, the oil and butter and meat juices will flavor the kraut in amazing ways. Layer in ribs, ham chunks, and sausage.
Add just enough water to keep from cooking dry. (Cooking will pull water out of the kraut, and if you add too much at the beginning, you’ll have a soupy Eintopf — which won’t harm the flavor, but makes it a mess to serve.)
Cover and cook for an hour or so. If using particularly tough cuts of pork on the bottom meat layer, cook longer (2-3 hours on low heat) and add sausage halfway through.
Serve with rye bread. Yum!
I make Eintopf in two sizes: your standard 12" Dutch oven, and my mega-feeder 20 qt. Dutch oven. I'm using just two pkg. of sauerkraut tomorrow with my twelve-incher, but when I'm whomping up enough to feed a big crowd, I'll put four pkg. in the twenty-quart beast. Likewise, all ingredients are subject to adjusting the amount to one's personal whim or availability of ingredients: I get to the point where I'm just throwing stuff in, Iron Chef style.