Happy New Year!
Given everything going on with the economy, I decided I needed to follow the advice of my father's German born family. Eat pork and sour kraut on New Years Day for a prosperous new year!
Reading other blogs and web sites, it seems the southerners really go for the black eyed peas for a prosperous new year - one food network chef has what she calls a "Money Salad" which is not too unlike my chopped salad. But nobody seems to be talking about the pork and sour kraut tradition. When I was growning up, my mom kindly made all different preparations of pork and sour kraut every New Years day. As kids we only had to have one small bite of the sour kraut, but you know kids. Even a small bite came with lots of whining and complaining. One year my mom even went so far as to make a chocolate sour kraut bundt cake. It was pretty good too, as I remember. The kraut reminded me of coconut as really you just had the texture at that point. Now, why didn't people say you could have German Chocolate Cake for a prosperous new year??
I ordered a boneless roast from Fresh Direct. They sent me this enormous piece of meat. I rinsed it and spread some olive oil over the top. Then I crumbled some of the rosemary and thyme from my herb wreath I bought at the Union Square Farmers Market. I used quite a bit as I have lots - probably a couple of sprigs of each. The flavors together were divine. I'm not a huge rosemary fan, but when it is paired with thyme it has a whole different flavor. I roasted the meat for an hour, and then added baby veggies I got from the Grand Central Terminal Market. Baby zucchini, and patty pan squash, and teeny brussel sprouts and hericot vert. They were all bite sized and fun for a holiday. Rick asked for mashed potatoes with sour cream and I made those as well. He liked them a lot! Less calories to add sour cream than to add butter :)
So, hopefully as a result of eating pork and sour kraut, as well as love and luck, we'll have a prosperous New Year. Hope you do too!
3 days ago
