Kindness never tasted so good

I haven't felt like cooking lately so I've been lax on posting recipes. But today I was given an easy solution to my laziness and lack of motivation. The solution: Post food someone else prepared!

In our office we have many thoughtful and generous patients that we are especially fond of. Today one of my very favorite patients, Gail, brought in lunch for our whole team. I asked her why she was so good to us, and she said, "Just cause I enjoy it." I wish I had a heart that loving and giving. But since I don't I'm glad to be on the receiving end of the ones that do.

This amazing woman brought in Caravan rolls, fruit salad, Japanese salad, a vegetable tray, and assorted sweets, crackers, nuts, and chocolates. It was lovely, thoughtful, and Oh, so delicious.

Today's feature recipe is the Japanese salad. She said her girls grew up on this salad, and they still ask her to make it for gatherings.

GAIL'S GIRLS JAPANESE SALAD

2 bags of shredded cabbage (or one head cabbage shredded)
2 bunches green onions, chopped
2 or 3 pkgs Top Ramen (use only the noodles) crush slightly
1 cup sunflower seeds
½ to 1 cup sliced of slivered almonds

Saute the seeds and almonds in a skillet with a little vegetable oil until golden brown, stirring often. Let cool.

DRESSING
1 cup vegetable oil
4 Tablespoons sugar
1 tsp. Salt
6 Tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar (I use Nakano Brand “Original” flavor)

Mix all salad ingredients together at serving time and pour dressing over and toss.

SERVES: A crowd of ten or more.

Beerock and roll

Since I have a hefty dose of German blood running in my veins (a long with a potpourri of other blood) I ate lots of German food growing up. Of all the German dishes my mom prepared, my all-time favorite was beerocks. Mom usually made them when we were having company, which irritated me and my siblings. That meant we would have to share them with others and there wouldn't be as many left over.

Now that I'm and adult, my daughter and I make beerocks about four times a year. That isn't as often as we would like, but that's not because we don't love them. It's because they take so much time, and we make such a mess in the kitchen.

Beerocks are a Russian-German dish of yeast bread dough filled with meat, cabbage, onions, and seasoning. The original recipe for beerocks was thought to have been brought to mid-west America by the Volga Germans in the 18th century. There are several pronunciations and spellings of the word beerock (bierrock, berrock), but most Americans don’t care how they are spelled or how it’s pronounced. They just know they love them.

There are several ways of preparing beerocks. I prefer using chopped up chuck roast that has simmered in a crock pot all day, but my family likes them better with ground chuck. The advantage of using ground chuck is that it decreases the preparation time by about 4-5 hours.

These Russian-German pockets of goodness freeze up nicely so I always make a double batch. They are so popular in my house that they never make it passed a week in the freezer, no matter how many I make.

BEEROCK

Ingredients
3 loaves frozen bread dough (3 lbs. Brigeford) available at any supermarket.
2 pounds ground chuck
1 head cabbage, sliced
2 yellow onions, diced
Salt & Pepper, to taste
variations: Ground allspice, garlic, or cayenne pepper to taste.

Preparation
• In a very large skillet, brown ground beef. Drain off most of fat. Add onions and saute until tender.
• Add the shredded cabbage and cook until limp.
• Add salt, pepper to cabbage mixture and let stand until cool slightly.










Assembly
• Cut the frozen loaves into 6 sections each, working with one at a time.
• Roll out each section into an 6 inch circle on a well floured bread board and rolling pin. Place 2-3 tablespoons of filling onto the circle (pinching in four seams meeting in the center) and seal up well, pinching tightly so no juices can escape. Set the Beerocks on greased cookie sheet to rise again for 15-20 minutes. Place in 350 degree oven on lower rack and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until nicely browned.


• If you like a crusty beerock, spray the rolls with water just as they begin to brown. This may be repeated during the browning process.

• Serve hot.

Makes 18

Sometimes I add some 1/2-1 cup mashed potatoes (or instant potatoes) to help hold the meat and cabbage together and keep them moist.