St. Patrick's Day Special - Corn Beef and Cabbage anyone?

"Happy St. Patrick's Day"

Since ancient times, cabbage has been a source of vitamin C during the winter months for people living in northern climates, from the "Orient to the New World." Cabbage is a good source of fiber as well as carotenoids, B complex, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium and calcium. Raw cabbage has more vitamin C than cooked; I mentioned the benefits of fermented cabbage (saurkraut) in previous posts.

Folk medicine values cabbage for the stomach; Irish girls traditionally drank cabbage water for their complexion. Recent research shows cabbage juice to be highly beneficial for ulcers.

Corned Beef

1-2 pound beef brisket, frozen 14 days and thawed (preferably)

1/2 cup whey

1 cup filtered water

2 tblsp. sea salt

1 tblsp. mustard seeds

4-5 bay leaves, crumbled

1 tblsp. Juniper berries, crushed

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

Mix seasonings and rub into both sides of brisket. Place in a bowl that barely holds it. Mix whey with water and pour over brisket. Cover and marinate at room temperature for about 2 days, turning frequently. Transfer to refrigerator. Use for sandwiches or corned beef hash or simply with cabbage.

*Whey is the liquid on top of your yogurt or sour cream. So you can make your own or use what you have. To make your own: line a large strainer set over a bowl with a clean dish towel. Pour in the yoghurt, cover and let stand at room temp. for several hours. The whey will run into the bowl and the milk solids will stay in the strainer. You can tie up what's left in the towl (careful not to squeeze) and continue to allow the whey to drip. Once the bag stops dripping, you've made homemade cream cheese and you can store the whey in a mason jar and cream cheese in a covered glass container. Refrigerated, the cream cheese keeps for about 1 month and the whey for about 6 months.

Cooked Cabbage

The secret to delicious cabbage is to shred it very finely and cook it just until tender; don't boil it to a mushy mess. Remove outer leaves and shred cabbage with a sharp knife. Rinse cabbage with filtered water and place in a heavy skillet. Don't shake water off - you'll need that little bit to cook the cabbage. Top cabbage with a little salt, plenty of pepper and several good pats of butter. Turn heat on and lower when cabbage starts to steam. Cook about 5 minutes, covered, or until cabbage is just wilted.