Canning & Eating Sauerkraut – A New Year Tradition

canning-saurkraut-processed-jars

On New Year’s Day, Hubby and I canned the homemade sauerkraut we made this year at Krautfest about 12 weeks ago.

canning-saurkraut-marty

In past years, we froze it in Ziploc bags, but we decided to can it this year, and I’m so glad we did.  It tastes so much better this way, and no freezing and thawing.

canning-saurkraut-packed-jars

It was really quite simple to do.  We “cold-packed” it – meaning we did not heat or “cook” the sauerkraut first.  We simply packed the cold sauerkraut in warm, sterile jars and processed them in a hot water bath for 25 minutes.

canning-saurkraut-pot

Easy instructions can be found HERE.

Pork or kielbasa and sauerkraut is a New Year’s dinner tradition in our home and in our area.  Eating it on New Year’s Day is supposed to bring good luck and fortune in the new year.

So eat it we did!  Did you eat yours?

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

It’s Krautfest Time!

kf cover

It was an absolutely gorgeous Fall weekend, and a great one for the Annual Brugnoli Krautfest Party!  What a joy to be a part of the amazing festivities.

You may be thinking to yourself – “What the heck is a Krautfest?”

Our family has a long-running tradition of making homemade saurkraut, and our amazing Joyce and Rob know how to turn a “chore” into a party!

So about 40-50 family members and friends ranging in ages from 2 to 82 got together on Saturday with 600 pounds of cabbage and made a party out of making kraut!

Join me through a pictorial journey of the wonderful day.

It started with cutting…

cutting

cabbage girls

then chopping and slicing and dicing…

marty choppingMarty used his grandfather’s 100-year old cabbage cutter and embraced the heritage of using something today his grandfather used in exactly the same way all those years ago.

mason cabbage  mason cabbage 2and new generations learned the tradition.

chopping

there were measurers and salters…

measuring  measuring and salting

Then lots and lots of pounding and stomping and smooshing and smashing.

pounding

pounding close up

pounding 5

pounding 4

pounding 3

pounding 2

There was food galore!

reuben pierogies
One of my favorite treats of the day were these Reuben Pierogies!  We sauteed potato and cheese pierogies in butter until browned, then layered with a slice of pastrami, swiss cheese, picked purple cabbage, and a small dollop of Thousand Island Dressing.

mason pretzels

Warm soft pretzels were served with homemade mustard and cheese sauces.

pierogies

We also had Parmesan Ranch Crusted Pierogies and Buffalo Hot Sauce Pierogies.

painting 3There was pumpkin painting,

painting 4

painting

painting 2

ella painting

ella painting 2There were games…

mother daughter

joyce

donut game

donut game 2

dg 6

dg 5

dg 4

dg 3

dg 2

dg 1

game

laughs 3Zip-lining and Swinging

zip line

zip line 1

zip line 2

zip line 3

swinging

swinging 4

swinging 3

swinging 2

Friendship, Hugs, and Laughs

watching

talking

talking 3

talking 2

rob

rob jodi

nikole

Michael and Ella

laughs

marty nik

games face

babies

bear

babies 2

Delicious cocktails – my favorite was the Bourbon Apple Cider with Rosemary Sprig!

bourbon apple cide

bourbon apple cider

We ate halushki, halupkis, pork and saurkraut, kielbassi, german potato salad, cheese polenta with homemade sauce. Oh the delicousness!!

We sang!

singing

The saurkraut is divided up evenly between all the crocks and buckets to send home with each family…

to wait – and taste test – and wait some more – remembering the special memories we created and looking forward to enjoying the fruits of our labor throughout the year.

kraut

It was a BOOtiful day!  Thanks Joyce and Rob for your amazing hospitality.  We love you dearly!

boo

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi

Dilly Beans & Spicy Pickled Peppers

dilly beans

I’m on a little bit of a canning kick…

jalepeno peppers

Last weekend, I gathered all the banana peppers and jalapeno peppers I could harvest from my tiny little garden, sliced them up, and pickled them.

peppers

This weekend, I tried some Dilly Beans.   (As I type, the jars are cooling and “popping.”  Pure joy to anyone who has ever canned – right?)

dilly beans

If you are looking for something to do with all of those peppers or beans, here are a couple very easy recipes to try.  How yummy they will taste in the middle of winter to remind us of summer!

Dilly Bean Recipe (compliments of “Oh Rob” & Joyce Brugnoli)

2 pounds of green beans
1/2 cup of canning or Kosher salt
2 1/2 cups of vinegar
2 1/2 cups of water
4 cloves of garlic divided
4 heads of dill divided

Trim the ends of green beans,  Combine salt, vinegar, and water in a large sauce pan.  Bring to a boil.  Pack beans lengthwise into hot jars. Add one clove of garlic and one head of dill to each pint.  Ladle hot liquid over the beans. Add lids, and process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath. Yields approximately 4 pints.

 

Banana Pepper Rings (as found on The Virtuous Wife’s Blog)

15-20 banana peppers
2 cups white vinegar
2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 clove of garlic (per pint jar)
1 tsp canning/pickling or Kosher salt (per pint jar)
1 tsp vegetable oil (per pint jar)
3-4 pint jars and lids, sterilized and prepared for canning

Wash the peppers. Slice, remove seeds, discard stem ends.  In each sterilized jar, add one garlic clove. Pack jars with pepper slices.  In each jar of packed peppers, add 1 tsp canning/pickling salt and 1 tsp vegetable oil.  In a sauce pan, combine the vinegar, water, sugar, and ground turmeric. Bring to a boil.  Ladle hot pickling liquid into jars, leaving 1/2 inch head-space. Remove any air bubbles and add more liquid as needed.  Apply lids and bands, screw down to fingertip tight. Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes. Cool and store.

It is recommended to let both “cure” for approximately 2 weeks before eating. I’ll have to let you know how they turn out!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi