Sauerkraut and Potato Cheddar Pierogi

Today is January 25th and it is a day to be celebrated!!  I got to call my Dad for his birthday!! In August, that was something that I feared would never happen again.

This is the reason that you have not heard from me in a while. As you know, I started this blog in a time that I was going through some hard issues. I have blogged through the separation of my marriage, my divorce and all the heartache that comes with separating that life. I have blogged through finding new love and all the greatness and adoration that goes with that. You have seen me in my highs, my lows and my appreciation of multiple people in my life. I have held little back!! That was the reason for starting this blog. From the very beginning, I have said that cooking is my therapy and MY LOVE begins in the kitchen. This blog has been an outlet for me to speak in times when I needed to get thoughts out and until this time, I have not had any problems with that.

 I have learned to realize that a lot of people don't deal with feeling and emotions well and can not express to others what they want and need. I see this daily with my patients who hold things in until their problems express themselves physically and this lack of feelings has been a problem in the relationships of my past. I have worked diligently to be able to say what I feel when it is pertinent, but, nothing has stopped me in my emotional tracks like this August.

This August my family experienced an event that shook who we were. With out much detail, my Dad became incredibly sick very suddenly and was hospitalized for a significant time. The details are not important and quite honestly too much for me to talk about. But since that time, I have not been the same person. None of us have! In just a few days in August, everything changed for me. Since August, we, as a family have been collectively holding our breath... waiting, hoping, praying and whatever else it took! I have learned there is one thing that happens when you hold your breath. You lose passion and desire to do anything... but wait and hope. That is where I have been. Kind of suspended in time... waiting! I am afraid when my phone rings. I am worried when it doesn't. A lot has happened since August. And most of it I have had little influence on nor have I had the power to create (which I hate to say.) Time has passed, for me relationships have been lost and we are still taking it day by day. I am in no way saying that this struggle has been mine alone. My Dad has had the biggest fight and once again in his life has come out strong, but we have all taken some burden in this ordeal.

In some ways, this past month has been healing for me. I feel like I have rejoined a part of my life. Since I live a far distance away, I was able to take a breath in this situation when I got to spend an extended Christmas holiday at home. It was so empowering to see the progress firsthand. It was good to talk and appreciate and love the people most important in life- family.  It was good to just be present in someone else's life who has done so much for me. There are things that will never be the same and I am careful to not say some things will be better, because we don't really know yet. But there are some things in life that will just be and how you deal with them will determine your character. If there is nothing else I have learned from him; that is it. We can't control everything, we can't change fate but we can deal with in the most powerful way we know.

Today on my Dad's birthday, I celebrate him and everything he has taught me. I appreciate all the times he stood by me and hope in some way, I have supported him in this past few months. And lastly, I hope he knows I am proud of him. He has come back to us in a way we never would have imagined and has shown us again what strength is.

Veggitastic Vegetable Soup

OK, so I do not have a huge story about this recipe, other than I have fallen in love with this soup!! I have made this soup 3 times in the past 3 months. It was a recipe that I found in my Eating Well magazine a few months ago and put aside in "my vault of recipes that will never be made."  My BFF Ginny also saw this recipe and decided to make it. She brought me a bowl and it was delish so I began chopping, and chopping and chopping. Yes, this soup takes a lot of prep, but it is worth every bit of work and it makes a ton of soup. Since I have some late nights at work, I have been making this soup and freezing it in individual serving size containers. I get it out in the morning before work and it is ready to heat up for dinner. Also if I want to add a little more bulk to my bowl, I will drop in about 1/3 of a cup of organic brown rice and stir and enjoy.

Ham Cabbage and Potato Soup

Guess what?? I still have lots of cabbage from this weekend. Sooooo.... I cook!! This is a really simple recipe that is really filling and great from a cold winter day. My Dad used to whip up this soup after a holiday or any time we had a left over ham bone. He still does. I called him for the basic recipe and then added some of my special touches. No matter how you make this soup it will be great!

One of my cabbages- after 1 month in the garden. I just love the pic!

Halupki (Cabbage) Casserole

This past Saturday I was prompted to take some cooking action. Here in South Carolina we rarely get snow or any kind of inclement winter weather. They threaten us multiple times throughout the winter but usually that all it is- a threat! My friends and I always say that we think the weatherman and the local grocery store chains have an agreement that when grocery sales are a little low, their buddy the weatherman calls for some snow or ice. At the first sign of these threats families run out  and stock their cabinets and fridge. Cha- ching for the weatherman- luxury car payment for the month of February! But that is just our "conspiracy theory...."

Back to my story, so this Saturday as I am pulling in to my driveway from work and the gym, it starts to snowand it was coming down fast. Being from PA originally, snow does not bother me, but I know here all things cease. At first, I was put off by that but now I have learned to appreciate the time off in my normally busy life. In my back yard, I still was nurturing some veggies that I had planted in a fall garden. I had been using these veggies kind of slowly, but here where the weather is temperate, cabbages, collard and some root veggies will overwinter and be ready to eat at any time. Snow and freezing temps will challenge the cabbage though. So, out I go with my big butcher knife and a laundry basket to cut the rest of the cabbages -five in total, some as big as basketballs. So this weekend, I have been forced to cook cabbage; which is OK since I love it (and I was slacking a little on using them quickly enough.) As you all know, any time commitment to the kitchen makes me happy. In this case, not only do I get to eat something I love, I get to enjoy the time prepping it. And the best part, the cabbage was homegrown my ME!

Stuffed Cabbage (Halupki)

Halupki, Stuffed cabbage, Pigs in a blanket, Golabki ... however you say it....YUM!

Every year I  look forward to my parents Labor Day visit and this year we were really laid back; seeing some sights in Greenville, eating some great homemade food and just really being with each other. Of course we also did a lot of work. When my parents come, and especially my Dad, work will be done! This year, and as always, I was happy to have the help. We totally cleaned my garden out and replanted my fall garden (pics to come soon!) My mom and I redecorated my back porch in bright new hues that just make me happy, and best of all my mom and I combined efforts in the kitchen to cook one of our family's favorite meals. As a family, we always called these Halupki or Pigs in a Blanket but every time I explain them to someone they have a different name for them- stuffed cabbage, golabki, dolma etc. So of course I had to look up the origin of this simple comfort food. See the history and heritage of this food here.  I thought that this was really an amazing story of something I have eaten since I was a tiny girl.
It was interesting, while making these with my mom this year, I asked how my little northern Italian Grandmother learned how  to make this Slovak/ Polish recipe. She explained that when my Italian Gram married my Pap who was Slovak, this was one of his favorite meals.  Since my Pap was the baby and all his big sisters looked out for him, they took my Gram under their wing and showed her how to make Halupki. And over the generations this has become one of our winter, comfort food staples.

When my mom and I both spotted this huge cabbage at the farmer's market we knew that it was destined for one thing...