And a recipe...

I realized after sending the link for this blog to my mum that I hadn't posted anything really about cooking. So, anyone who knows anything about growing up Polish and Slovak knows that cabbage is a main ingredient in, oh, everything. We boil it, fry it, stuff it, dress it. It's cheap and pretty much always available and very versatile. And I love it! Halushki is an ethnic food that has tons of variations, but here's how we make it (which is how my grandma made it, which is how my great-grandma from Prague made it).

Shred a head of cabbage and a small onion or two. Melt a stick of butter and a stick of Promise in a ginormous skillet and toss in the shredded veggies. It will look like a lot, but it will cook down, I promise.
Forget the cabbage for a few, and get a bag of noodles. My grandma used either those teeny squares or the itty-bitty bowties, so that's what we use. Cook them like the package says to.
Give the cabbage and onion a stir every so often and make sure it's not sticking. If it starts to look too dry, add some more butter and Promise (always in equal amounts - I didn't say this was figure friendly, people.).
Add some salt and pepper to taste. Keep cooking the cabbage over medium heat so it's making noise without popping too much or burning. Cook it down until it's sort of a tan color and soft - about a half hour, I guess.
Drain your noodles and add them to the skillet. I like my halushki really cabbage-y, so I usually have some leftover noodles. But if you're a first-timer or not a huge fan of cabbage or you used a hu-u-u-u-uge head of cabbage, you'll want to use the whole bag of noodles. A really yummy thing to do with the leftover noodles (or any leftover noodles) is to mix them with some cottage cheese and a little butter. It sounds weird, I know, but I don't eat cottage cheese any other way! These are both staples for any family picnic for me. Enjoy!

Peace, love, and cabbage,
Kim