Kraut Conquers All

  One thing we really try to do in this family is to buy "used" whenever possible.  I hate how everything these days is made to be thrown away.  You buy a toaster today and you are lucky if the thing lasts a couple of years, I remember as a kid we had the same toaster for my entire time living at home and I am pretty sure my parents had it for a while before I came along.

  Because of my love for all things reused and upcycled I am always checking out local thrift stores and rummage sales.  I always head straight for the kitchen items and cookbooks.  I love to look for old   cookbooks that people now toss aside because they think the nourishing recipes are unhealthy.  Also, these days I have been doing most of my fermenting in fido jars so I am always on the look out for more.

  This week was the annual rummage sale for a very large Catholic church in the area.  I discovered this gem a few years ago and I look forward to it each July.  So of course the kids and I headed over the other day to see what we could find.  When we entered we went right into the kitchen section, sadly it was mostly picked over but I did come out with a 1.5 L fido jar and a few various sized stainless steel mixing bowls.  After we hit the toy section we went into the books.  My brain could hardly take it there were so many book.  The kids were looking through some boxes so I took a minute to browse the cookbooks.  Most of them made me want to gag!  I believe the one title was Microwave Gourmet, ok those two words do not even belong in the same room together.  There were literally shelves upon shelves of low fat, non fat, aspartame filled recipes so I gave up.  I turned to some boxes sitting by the windows and right in front was a small little book screaming my name!

  Put Some Kraut in Your Life published by The National Kraut Packers Association and I am guessing circa 1970's.  It is a great little 29 paged book with the history of kraut, nutritional value, and many recipes on how to add kraut into your diet.  This book has it all!  There are recipes for kraut sandwhiches,roast duck, kraut barbecue sauce, and all the way to kraut chocolate cake and Lemony Kraut Ice Cream.

Here is a photo because I know you are thinking that I am lying!  The recipe says "This rich fudge cake has a coconut-like texture and the kraut keeps it wonderfully moist and fresh for several days."

  The only thing I do not have on the Kraut Conquers All...Chocolate Cake list of ingredients is the unsweetened cocoa.  I think the kids and I will be heading to the store in the morning and tomorrow we will indulge in kraut cake!!