Fried Cabbage "Strudel" Rolls with Powdered Sugar and Jam

You might think I’m crazy, but today we’re pairing powdered sugar and jam with…cabbage! Mmmm…cabbage dessert! I know it sound pretty weird, but these cabbage rolls, smothered in powdered sugar and dipped in jam, are something from my childhood. One of my favorite comfort foods! I used to ask for these for my birthday every year (for breakfast!).

Spicy Sesame Soba Salad with Tofu

Let's talk about salad bars for a minute. 

My family has always steered clear of salad bars. Of course there's the whole gross-out factor of everyone being able to touch the food with grubby unwashed hands. There's that. But there's more, too. The town where my sister and I were born was the location of a giant bioterrorism attack… and it happened the summer before I was born, when Amanda was a baby. Several salad bars in town were deliberately contaminated with salmonella. Over 700 people were harmed, in an attempt to control an election. You can read about it here… and you should, the whole thing is really interesting. It's also crazy to hear my parents talk about what it was like living there at that time, how no one wore the same colors as the group responsible, the Rajneeshees, for fear of being associated with them. And how everyone was scared and on edge and basically preparing for battle. 

But anyway, salad bars. My parents weren't harmed by the attack, but it did make them very anti salad bar. So, needless to say, I grew up fearing salad bars, buffets, potlucks, and most self-serve public eateries. Even though I'm still a bit wary, I've become more lax in my old age (speaking of age… Evan just turned 28! We're nearing 30, folks!). I occasionally visit the salad bar near my office for lunch. John and Mel would be appalled. 

My typical salad bar salad is a weird combo of spring greens, cold sesame noodles, cold fried tofu, purple cabbage, and sesame-soy dressing. Ok, that combo doesn't sound very weird. The weird part is that I usually add a dollop of bleu cheese dressing too. Seriously, try it. This soba noodle salad here, fresh and lightly dressed, full of cabbage, carrots, green onions, noodles, and baked tofu is inspired by my go-to salad bar creation and another salad bar favorite, the spelt berry and tofu salad from PCC. And, since you make it yourself, you can avoid all salad bar threats, grubby hands or otherwise. 

Spicy Sesame Soba Salad with Tofu

Adapted from this recipe

Serves 2-4 as a meal, 4-6 as a side

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon cayenne 

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 package extra firm tofu

3 ounces soba noodles

4 green onions, sliced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 cups finely shredded purple cabbage

1 carrot, shredded

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 325°

Stir together soy sauce, ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, cayenne, sesame oil, and olive oil. Cut tofu into 1-inch cubes, and add to a baking dish. Pour half of sauce over tofu and bake for 15 minutes. Gently stir and cook another 10-15 minutes. Cool.

Meanwhile, boil soba noodles until al dente, drain, and rinse with cold water. 

Gently toss cold noodles, cooked, cooled tofu (with any sauce still in baking dish), cabbage, carrot, green onion, cilantro, sesame seeds, and remaining half of sauce until combined. 

A Lil' Cabbage Bacon Love

Maybe it's because of my eastern-European roots that I love cabbage, and because of my Oklahoma blood (on my moms side) that I love bacon (my grandma Carol cooks everything in bacon grease…we even have a family recipe for salad smothered in warm bacon grease dressing, but that's for another day). 

Or, maybe it's just that these two things effing rock. Which they do. Especially together. And even more especially when you add little gems of mini cabbage heaven—Brussels sprouts—to the mix. And triple, no, quadruple that especially by throwing in some sour cream and lemon. You heard me. Cabbage, bacon, Brussels, sour cream, lemon. And the bacon is actually pancetta, fancy-town. Oh, and I'm talkin' about soup. I know! Life=complete. 

Cabbage and Potato Soup with Crispy Topping & Lemony Cream

Adapted from Bon Appétit 

1/2 cup sour cream

juice and zest from half a lemon

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 head of green cabbage, chopped

1 large onion, diced

3 cups peeled and cubed potatoes 

1 bay leaf

6 cups (or more) chicken broth

1 sprig fresh thyme 

salt and pepper

1 cup thinly sliced brussels sprouts

2 1/4th inch thick slices of pancetta, diced small*

olive oil

salt and pepper

Whisk sour cream, lemon juice, and zest l in small bowl. Cover and chill. 

Melt butter and olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add cabbage and onion, and sauté until just tender but not brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in potatoes, add bay leaf and thyme. Add broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes. 

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400. Spread brussels and pancetta on a sheet pan, and light drizzle with olive oil. sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in oven until pancetta is crispy and brussels are slightly charred but not burnt. Keep an eye on it, it could take anywhere from 5-10 minutes (and you may want to give it a stir after a few minutes). Remove from one and set aside. 

Discard bay leaf and thyme sprig from soup. Using immersion blender (or regular blender, working in batches), puree until smooth. Simmer until heated through, adding more broth if soup is too thick. 

Top each serving with some of the crispy brussels and pancetta, and a hearty dollop of the lemony sour cream. 

*I get the 2 pieces of pancetta from the deli/meat counter. You can get exactly as much or little as you need, just thick enough, without paying a million dollars. 

Warming the House

Well, we’re finally all settled in. Sort of. Basically, I planned a housewarming party, complete with evite and hors d'oeuvre menu… before we actually had things unpacked and settled. The bad part was that we rushed and drove each other nuts trying to get everything done in such a short amount of time, amidst other craziness like Brit’s wedding. The good part was that we actually got a kick in the pants to get our place put together, which maybe would have never happened otherwise. The great part is that I got to host a housewarming party in our new apartment, and prepare an awesome menu of Asian inspired hors d'oeuvres for our friends to enjoy (and praise).

My hors d'oeuvres were by no means authentically Asian, yet they followed an Asian theme, using pan-Asian flavors. The first thing I knew I absolutely had to make was Rumaki. Mel and John used to make Rumaki all the time when I was a kid- much to my pleasure and Amanda’s disgust. Rumaki is basically a mock-Polynesian hors d'oeuvre, consisting of soy-marinated chicken liver and water chestnuts wrapped with bacon. DELISH! While my mouth watered at the thought of Rumaki, in all its livery glory, I wasn’t so sure my guests would feel the same way. Therefore…Mock-Rumaki with chicken breast pieces in place of the liver was born… or Rumocki, if you will.

Next came the fresh Vietnamese-style spring rolls. I remember first trying these little diddies in high school. Amanda loved them so much she immediately went home and learned how to make them. I, on the other hand, didn’t care much for them (what…where’s all the fried awesomeness of an eggroll!?). Years later, with a more mature palate (and a more mature metabolism) I’ve come to love fresh spring rolls, preferring them over their greasy, hip-widening counterpart. My favorites have fresh veggies and tofu… but for the party I stuck with just veggies, filling my tapioca wrappers with a schmear of hoison, leafy lettuce, matchstick carrots, green onions, basil, cilantro, and rice noodles. The spring rolls were a total hit, the freshness and simplicity of them countering the bacony Rumocki.

I wanted a little something for the carnivores and herbivores to nosh on, so in addition to the Rumocki, I made ginger beef skewers with peanut dipping sauce, and in addition to the spring rolls I made teriyaki sautéed mushrooms and broiled tofu.

The final item on the menu, thrown together at the last moment, ended up being the belle of the ball. I had planned to make mini cabbage egg rolls, but the rolling wasn’t going so hot. After failed attempts and a small temper tantrum, I pulled out my mini cupcake pan. I cut the egg roll wrappers in squares, pushed them into the cupcake pan, forming little cups, filled them with cream cheese and sautéed cabbage, and popped them into oven until the wrappers were browned. I then mixed some sweet chili sauce (which I had purchased to dip the eggrolls in) with cut up mango and green onions, and spooned that on top of the cabbage filled cups. It was a pretty simple last minute improvisation, but everyone gave it the thumbs up.

All in all, the housewarming was a success. Amanda and Jim brought cookies, and Vanessa brought brownies. We also got a LOT of wine, and had a great time. With all our friends, and some awesome food, the party was a perfect way to celebrate our new place!

My Oma is Better than Yours

When you have an Oma, you have no choice but to be crazy about food and cooking. Amanda and I got our food-frenzy from our parents, and John most certainly got it from his parents- my Oma and Opa.

Oma and Opa (my Yugoslavian grandparents...from back when there was a Yugoslavia) came to the good ol’ US of A in the early 50’s, with the twins Walter and Ernie in tow, and lil’ Johnny just a bun in the oven. Having survived the war, Oma and Opa spoke no English, had little money, and set out to achieve the American Dream. They ended up in southern California (Hemet, to be exact) where they started an egg ranch. From raising chickens and selling eggs for a living, to making homemade sausages, liquor, goulash, paprikash, spaetzel, schnitzel, and strudel for their growing family, Oma and Opa had a love affair with food from get-go, and passed it directly to their boys- who have taken turns working in restaurants and butcher shops, and who all have fantastic gardens and palates.


Growing up, Amanda and I experienced these delicious traditions through Oma’s Christmas boxes (Oma cookies will kick the butt of your American Grandma cookies any day). Filled to the brim with homemade Christmas cookies (nutty crescents, jam filled butter cookies, sugar cookies with a lemony icing) and thick, heavy strudels with flaky sweet dough (a walnut/rum/raisin, and a gooey-amazing poppy seed) the arrival of these gift baskets meant Christmas had truly arrived. Growing up we didn’t always have the means to make trips to Southern California from Washington, so Oma’s Christmas cookies were the next best thing.

In the summer of 2002, Amanda and I visited Oma and Opa for the first time in about 7years (for the first time as adults), and were greeted with the best of all greetings- a ham hot from the oven with homemade horseradish and fresh juicy garden tomatoes, hot cabbage rolls in flaky wonton type wrappers-still dripping from the fry pan (just a snack, Oma says), and crispy yet moist homemade ‘fryin chicken’ (just an appetizer, Oma says). During that visit, we ate until we could barely move, played more games of dominoes than I can count, marveled at old black and white photos of Oma and Opa in Europe in the 40s and 50s, and snuck into the Orange groves with Opa, where he proceeded to climb trees and toss oranges to us. Opa passed away later that summer, and we have never forgotten how special that trip was, or how happy we were to have spent that time with him. Since then, the four of us (John, Mel, Amanda and I) have made sure to visit more often… which we just did.

Last weekend the fam flew down to Hemet. Our trip started, as most Oma visits do, with a hot freshly baked ham (even in 100 degree Southern Californian August), made into sandwiches on rolls slathered with horseradish and piled high with Uncle Walter’s juicy sweet tomatoes. We dined on ham sandwiches morning, noon, and night, in addition to sticky buns, cookies, pork chops, pasta salads, chicken & rice, burgers, and potatoes. Halfway through our trip, Oma pulled a tray of cabbage rolls from the fridge… all rolled up and ready to fry. We devoured those in seconds.


On our final morning at Oma’s, Amanda and I got a lesson in Oma Cookery. Oma’s “fryin’ chicken” is somewhat of a legend. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, really, just basic fried chicken, but Mel, try as she might, has never been able to recreate the golden fried deliciousness of Oma’s chicken. Amanda and I donned our European style aprons and got to work, frying chicken with our Oma. You can try to recreate Oma's chicken, but it probably won't be the same if you don't actually make it with an Oma.


Oma’s Fryin’ Chicken:

Step 1: Combine 2 granddaughters and 1 Oma
Step 2: Button up your Euro-style aprons
Step 3: Have Uncle Walter or Uncle Ernie de-bone the chicken breasts and slice them thinly
Step 4: Arrange said chicken breasts in kitchen sink and pat dry- sprinkle first with seasoning salt, then with salt & pepper- rub.
Step 5: Whisk 'a little bit' of milk with eggs in a bowl, mix 50/50 Italian bread crumbs and plain in a flat dish, fill another flat dish with flour.
Step 6: Dip chicken breasts in flour, egg, breadcrumbs- repeat with all pieces. NOTE: gently pat breadcrumbs into chicken… do not flatten with your fist.
Step 7: Pour vegetable oil into electric skillet circa 1962 (they just don’t make them like they used to). Heat to about 467 degrees.


Step 8: Add chicken pieces to oil, turning once after a minute or two.
Step 9: Drain on paper towels.
Step 10: Eat as much as you can possibly stuff in your overly full belly, then pack the rest for the plane ride.
Step 11: Hug Oma, kiss Oma on the cheek, devour chicken, repeat.