As I'm doing my back and hip rejuvenation this morning, the alarm clock goes off with further discussion of the G20 Summit presently going on in Seoul. Much is still being said about the summit of Toronto of this year. I'm not defending anybody here you understand, and if I'm saying something you don't like please feel free to click out the same way you clicked in. What does this have to do with recipes and Sauerkraut soup. Well, my husband is a retired police officer, he would have been one of those officers "policing "Toronto during the summit, weather or not he was actually at the summit? police work carried on throughout the city during that time. In the summer, during the nightmare of Caribana, and he policed it, many a time, I'd be expected to have a meal that would compliment the fact that he hadn't eaten or drank much during his 12hour shift, many time more than 12 hours. As one of his partners said, "it never fails, you're five minutes from the end of your shift and "something " happens, and as an officer you stay with that case till it's processed. So I imagine that throughout the summit not too many husbands/wives made it home for dinner, or even to sleep. So today, being a little chilly, he's no longer a policeofficer, he's retired, but he is a private investigator. As such he's doing jobs that private companies hire him to do, because there are just not enough police officers to do private duty.Or at least this is what I'm lead to believe.
I always remember an advertisement that the city of New York had. It pictured a Police Officer entering a very dark alley, it read "You wouldn't go into that alley for a million dollars, yet we expect our police officers to do it for a lot less." My suggestion to you is next time you see a nice police officer, and there aren't many, say thanks, or like I do ask him to come home for soup. What am I saying, my guy is not nice...
He was off in the wee hours, and he'll be standing for 12-15hours in this cool temperatures, on concrete, no amenities, no lunch, no coffee breaks. So with his fowl mood tonight and his cold feet, I thought I'd save myself so grumbling conversations and serve his favourite, cold melting, sour puss sweetening Sauekraut soup. (P.S.it keeps well for days, and then I don't really have to cook anything else he likes for days,)
I started my soup today on stock that I had made with my turkey carcass. I sautéed a whole, large onion chopped with a couple of strips of finely chopped bacon, added this to the stock.I threw in a couple of potatoes peeled and cubed, two carrots chopped, a couple of ribs of celery whole, (I take them out after the soup is done) a couple of chilli peppers, (from my garden)and a jar of drained sourkraut. (Taste this, as sometimes it's very sour and you need to rinse with cold water, another reason I drain it, the liquid could be used, but if it's really sour, you'll be puckering up for days) I put in a tbsp. of Vegeta/or bouillon cube and cook on a low temp heat for a couple of hours, (have your fan going, it stinks). After a couple of hours I threw in a couple of smoked sausages, (these were already cooked, but if they were raw, I'd have cooked them first, the saurekraut doesn't allow the meat to not be red , and I don't like that) And now all I have to do is give him a gigantic bowl and some rye bread and viola dinner is served, and it's not even 10a.m.
So when you're watching the news and you see the cops doing their stuff, think of their poor wives who have to live with the bitching that they come home with, and the meals they have to make, just to shut them up.
I always remember an advertisement that the city of New York had. It pictured a Police Officer entering a very dark alley, it read "You wouldn't go into that alley for a million dollars, yet we expect our police officers to do it for a lot less." My suggestion to you is next time you see a nice police officer, and there aren't many, say thanks, or like I do ask him to come home for soup. What am I saying, my guy is not nice...
