Happy (Almost) Thanksgiving!

Bonjour, Chers Lectours!

Happy Almost Thanksgiving!

A grand bienvenue - welcome -to all my new followers. I am so glad you are here on our adventure.

What do the holidays have in store for you? Will you be cooking? Baking? I’d love to hear about your holiday traditions!

Or if you are not a baker, maybe you are a pickler? Over the course of the last few weeks I have started the fermenting process for about 10 quarts of turnip kimchi.

But then, I made one giant cabbage worth of my husband’s mother’s recipe for Polish cabbage rolls, Golumpki. This giant cabbage made a lot of cabbage rolls, trust me. But for heaven’s sake, why Golumpki at a time like this?

For the usual reason, puppies!

Here’s to puppies! Both past puppies and present puppies. Has your dog ever had a litter of puppies?

As it turns out my husband’s mom and dad, yup, that would make them my in-laws, used to breed English Sheep Dogs. When my husband was a boy, he helped take care of the puppies. I only knew their last sheepdog, Wendy, named after the loveable dog in Peter Pan.

But here we are knee deep in November and the miracle of almost 2 week old 9 beautiful roly-poly golden retriever puppies. So, it seemed like the perfect time for a little Golumpki-making. And the perfect time for eating a golumpki is at the stroke of midnight when you are on puppy and Mamacita Sunnie duty.

Have you ever made stuffed cabbage rolls?

Is your recipe different?

Golumpki - Stuffed Polish Cabbage (Gołąbki)

serves 12 hungry people

1 large green cabbage

golumpki filling:

1 pound lean ground beef

1 pound ground pork

1 small yellow onion, minced

4 large garlic cloves, minced with salt

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel from 1 lemon

2 large eggs beaten

2 cups cooked rice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

tomato sauce:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

½ small yellow onion grated

3 large garlic cloves grated

28 ounces crushed tomatoes

3 tablespoons capers

½ cup water

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

how to make:

first boil your cabbage:

remove the stalk from the bottom of the cabbage head.

place the cabbage in a large pot filled with 12 cups of water. cover and place over high heat.

bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium. continue to cook until the cabbage leaves become bright green and pliable, about 3-5 minutes. the leaves should not be limp, they should hold their shape.

remove cabbage from water and place in a large bowl to cool.

make filling:

in a large bowl combine ground beef, ground pork, onion, garlic, lemon zest, egg, and rice. place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

make tomato sauce:

in a medium pot over medium heat add oil. once simmering, stir in onion and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. then, add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds. pour in crushed tomatoes, capers, water, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. increase heat to high. once bubbling, reduce heat to low and simmer tomatoes for 15 minutes.

prepare cabbage leaves:

once the cabbage has cooled, remove the leaves from the cabbage head.

using a paring knife, cut the thick stem or membrane from the back of each leaf. be careful not to cut through the entire leaf.

prep oven and baking dishes:

move oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions. heat oven to 350 degrees f.

you will need a 9x13-inch baking dish and a smaller, 2-quart baking dish for this recipe. spread ¾ cup of sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch dish and ½ cup sauce in the bottom of the 2-quart baking dish.

stuff & roll cabbage leaves:

This process is similar to making a burrito! Or an eggroll!

place 2 tablespoons of filling on the bottom half of a cabbage leaf.

fold up the bottom part of the cabbage leaf.

then, fold in the sides.

next, roll forward until the cabbage leaf completely covers the filling. repeat with remaining cabbage leaves and filling.

place the stuffed cabbage leaves into prepared pans in neat rows. pour the remaining sauce evenly over the cabbage rolls.

bake for 50-60 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking.

place pans on a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. sprinkle with chopped fresh dill (optional) and serve.

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C’est si Bon! Cooking School:

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An Excerpt From My Next Novel A Hundred Years of Becasse

Is your book club looking for special event in 2024?

I’m super excited to offer a customized Tales of the Mistress experiences!

We can have heated discussions about: The Tales of Psomi, Psomi is the secret agrarian society of the Mistresses. And each Mistress has a Tale.

And here are Three Tales of Psomi

"Pain Prend La Vie De Feu, Pain Donne Sa Duree, De Vie Sur Le Feu, Aussi."

Bread takes its life from the fire, but in the end bread returns its life to the fire too.

"Faire Monter L'aioli"

Stir garlic into everything.

“A Cado Ausèl Soun Nits Qu'i Es Bèl.”

Every bird thinks his own nest is the most beautiful.

So now that you have some food for thought, :) please know that I can visit book clubs virtually and in person (depending on distance). Just reply to this email and invite me. Let’s make it unforgettable!

And, coming soon…

The Bread of Dreams, Recipes and Portraits of the Mistresses of Psomi.

Follow me on Instagram for a very special giveaway related to the upcoming cookbook.

Grand Prize: A Bread of Dreams Recipe Box (follow me for the reveal of what’s included in the recipe box).

Secondary Prizes: Three signed copies of the companion cookbook, "The Bread of Dreams, Recipes and Portraits of the Mistresses of Psomi."

In the Next Newsletter:

Travel Adventure Memoir with Trains: You Only Live Nice + Socca au Four + Schiacciata con l’Uva made with a sourdough levain.

And speaking of Sourdough Levain, did you know about the

Wild Sourdough Project at NC State in North Carolina?

Tell me your favorite novels set on trains! “Murder on the Orient Express” by Agatha Christie is a classic, but have you read “Peaces” by Helen Oyeyemi?

“Oyeyemi once again pushes the boundaries of the novel. . . . A surrealist tale of love, heartbreak, and being haunted by the past.” —Kirkus Reviews

Thank you, Chers Lectours! (Dear Readers!)

All my gratitude to you for being along on this adventure and for reading my novel, Tales of the Mistress! I would so appreciate it if you would post a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Truth is, even a few words can help others find my book!