Cabbage and Noodles? Why not?

Some time ago I was made aware by Betty that there was a dish that is made out of cabbage and noodles. I had never heard about something like it. Cabbage - yes. Noodles - yes. But together?

As usual I went online and - TADA! - there are tons of recipes describing Cabbage and Noodles in a combination. Amazing!

As I understand it originates as a Hungarian or Polish dish.
Makes sense to me. That was what people had available on their small farms. Cabbage from their fields/gardens; hens gave the eggs and milk from a cow, and ham from a hog. There was no way of going to the next supermarket. You had to do all from scratch.
Even the noodles. (egg, milk, flour, salt and nutmeg)

Fill casserole with layers of cabbage and noodles

And here comes the difference. I didn't have any real home made egg-noodles (Spaetzle) and I didn't want to try making some. (It might be idea for another posting.)
Plain noodles had to do the trick.

Cabbage-Noodle Casserole

I found a recipe I liked and added some ham and a milk and egg mixture before setting the casserole in the oven. The dish can good be an "all vegetarian" if one doesn't add the bacon and ham.
Easy to make, tasty, and nice on the budget.

Glazed Pork Sirloin with Roasted Potatoes

For the time being we are camped out near Quartzsite, AZ . The vegetation is different than near Holtville, CA, lots of Saguaro cacti that give a great photo motive.

January is the month where many winter campers gather here in the desert of Arizona to the visit flee-markets, vendors and RV-shows.

We use the occasion mainly to visit with friends and fellow bloggers who happen to be in the area.

Close by we found the winter "homes" of Toni and Doug, Sandi and Jim, Teri and Jerry, and Denise.
Yesterday we met with Jim and, today we visited with Al and Kelly.

Amazing how many great people we learned to know through boon-docking and through blogging.

Before we went to Quartzsite, AZ our refrigerator was stocked up and, today was the day were I had to do something with the pork loin.

I saved half of the seasoning mix that was meant to be on the Christmas ham.
I guessed that if this was good enough for a ham, it might be good for the pork loin as well.
So I used a generous portion of the seasoning to cover the pork loin from all sides, heated the oven up to 375 °F and roasted the meat for about 35 minutes. It turned out very well.

While the meat was cooking I cubed a sweet potato and two white ones, boiled the pieces for 10 minutes and then fried the cubes in a little oil until done.
For vegetables we had steamed cabbage and some kale.

Glazed pork sirloin on cabbage with roasted potatoes.

Ingredients for 2 pers. :

1 sweet potato, cubed
2 potatoes, cubed
1/3 of a medium cabbage head, finely sliced
2 leafs of kale, sliced
oil
1 pound pork sirloin
1/2 cup Glazed Ham Seasoning (leftover from Christmas cooking)

Creamed Cabbage

Cabbage in white sauce was on the menu today. Both of us grew up on this tasty winter food. Serving the cabbage covered in a creamy white sauce makes it very mild and not so "cabbagy".
How to:
For the interested reader:
Finely chop the cabbage and steam it in an inch of water and a pinch of caraway seeds until soft but not mushy.

While the cabbage cooking I prepare a simple white sauce from scratch.
Melt a tablespoon of butter and add flour into the sizzling fat. There should be enough fat to cover the entire amount of flour.

Turn down to medium heat and stir for a minute.

Fill up with milk. Continue to stir while the sauce is simmering and thickening. Season generously with salt and nutmeg. J.P. likes a spoon of sour cream added, but that is optional.

Meanwhile the cabbage is done. Drain the water and pour the white sauce over the cabbage and stir until all is well blended.

Serves with beef stew and boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes. J.P. loves it so much, he could eat it every day. (says he)
The red bits is bacon, by the way. My husband likes bacon a lot.

Ingredients for 2

1/2 head of white cabbage, finely chopped
water
1 tsp caraway seed

For the sauce:


1 1/2 tblsp butter
1 tblsp bacon bits (optional)
2 tblsp all purpose flour
salt
nutmeg
1 tblsp sour cream (optional)

Chickken Breast and Steamed Cabbage

Bake 2 chicken breasts in the oven about 20 minutes per pound, and boil some potatoes. Cut a green cabbage (I had only a white cabbage) i several 1 inch chunks, remove the stem. In a casserole boil 2 cups of water (500 ml ),1 tbp. butter and 1/4 tsp. salt. Steam the cabbage until tender for about 5- 7 minutes. Drain the water. Bland the cabbage with sour cream and tarragon leafs. Season with salt and pepper, or serve with reduced balsamic vinegar and stewed tomatoes. This is a easy, plain dish. We tried both and liked the variation with stewed tomatoes best.

Chicken Breasts and Steamed Cabbage

Hühnerbrust mit gedämpftem Spitzkohl.
Die Hühnerbrüste im Backofen ca 20 Minuten per 500 g garen. Kartoffeln aufsetzen. Den Kohl wie folgt zubereiten. Einen Spitzkohl in 2 cm dicke Scheiben schneiden (Ich hatte nur normalen Weißkohl zur Hand und meine Scheiben waren zu dick). Den Strunk entfernen. In einem Topf 500 ml Wasser, 1 Eßl. Butter und etwas Salz zum Kochen bringen. Die Kohlscheiben darin etwa 5-7 Minuten weich dämpfen. Das Kochwasser abgießen.
Den Kohl mit Creme Fraiche, einigen Estragonblättern, Salz und  Pfeffer würzen. Alternative: mit eingekochtem Balsamiko Essig und Tomatenwürfel servieren. Wir hatten beides, und mochten die Tomatenversion etwas lieber.

Smørdamped spisskål: (oppskriften er fra Aftenpostens matsider)
2  spisskål,1 ss  smør, 1 1/2 dl  seterrømme,2 ss  estragon, salt og nykvernet pepper.  Brun kyllingbrystene og stek dem møre i panne eller stekeovn; ikke for lenge så de blir tørre. Del kålhodene i to og fjern midtstokken. Kutt stykkene i fine kløfter. Kok opp ½ dl vann med smør og salt. Legg i kålen og damp dem så vidt møre, 5-10 minutter. Sil fra vannet. Bland avrent kål med rømme og estragonblader. Smak til med salt og pepper. Servering: Fordel kål/rømmeblandingen på varme tallerkener. Skjær kyllingbrystene i rause skiver og fordel ovenpå. Servér eventuelt med innkokt balsamico og terninger av flådde tomater. Jeg hadde kun vanlig kål, det gikk bra men skivene var litt for tykk.) Vi prøvesmakte hadde begge sauser og likte den tomat variasjonen littegran bedre.