Kite Hill and Galumpki!

Watching hawks soaring freely and effortlessly on thermals at Kite Hill in Ancram, New York gave me hope that we will soon have more freedom-I have just had my second vaccine!

In the next few weeks, I will spread my wings and I can rehearse again with my group Hevreh Ensemble and we will be able to invite couples over for dinner and maybe even go to a museum! On our Kite Hill walk with distant views of the Catskills, my spirits began to soar!

At the top of the field is a small rustic gazebo that overlooks the distant mountains. This will be the site of my first outdoor spring musical improvisation!

But, perhaps not so fast! The recent events that happened to a good friend’s daughter, brought to mind the kind of experiences that the famous Yiddish novelist Issac Bashevis Singer wrote about; characters that are often victim to cruel and unusual twists of fate!

Here is a true life story (with fictional names) that is akin to a modern day Yiddish Folk Tale!

Rena Hilfemacher is a gifted and accomplished photo journalist who works for several top New York City publications. During the pandemic she has ridden her bicycle tirelessly (no pun intended) on assignments throughout the city; many of them potentially exposing Rena to the covid virus. This past year, she has taken over 10 covid tests, thankfully all negative. When the vaccine became available in New York for certain age groups, she became somewhat of a maven in finding hard to get appointments for her parents, uncle, her parent’s friends, etc.- she was an online dervish- nothing could stop her! She thought wistfully that it would be wonderful if she too could get vaccinated. Rena had heard from a friend that if one volunteered with a soup kitchen, you would be eligible to be vaccinated; so this is what she did. She spent an afternoon, masked and socially distanced helping out in a soup kitchen; it was very rewarding and then at the end of the day, she received the document that she needed to sign up to get vaccinated.

This is where it starts to get interesting. A few days before Rena volunteered at the soup kitchen, one of her assignments was to photograph a family in their home and to document their struggles during the pandemic. The family was masked and she had on a double mask, but the thought had been at the back of her mind, that maybe she should get tested, just to be safe.

As she walked down the street, she saw an ominous looking black van with the following lettering, Covid-19 Testing: Lab Q and a placard next to it said, “Skip the Line.” A small voice of reason in her head, said “Walk away, now!” But then, her impetuous side took over, “Why not-what could it hurt, I’ll know quickly if I was exposed and then I can go get my vaccine!!

The result came quickly and unfortunately the test was positive. In shock and disbelief at this disturbing news, upon the advice of her mother she decided to get another test. This thankfully, came back negative and she breathed a big sigh of relief. However, unbeknownst to Rena was that her first positive test had been reported to contact tracing and soon after, she received a text stating that she needed to receive two negative tests and in the meantime she was required to quarantine for 10 days. Contact tracing recommended that she go to Bellevue Hospital for a test, as the tests done there are reported to be trusted and accurate.

She followed this advise and went to Bellevue, took the test and then went back home to her cozy quarantine to await the verdict. The results came back and said she was negative- great news- but not so fast!! They texted her shortly afterwards and said that the vial had been dropped and the contents had been contaminated, so could she come back for another test??

Again, luckily the result was negative, but in the meantime, contact tracing reached out to Rena and asked that she fill out an online report 2 times a day and the last I heard, Rena is finishing up her quarantine. In the meantime, her friends hearing about her prowess at getting vaccines for people, have been texting her-“Can you find me an appointment?” She did have a bit more free time for the next few days, so why not!! I am reminded of the old Yiddish proverb: “Mann Tracht, un Gott Lacht”- “man plans and god laughs!”

*Good news update: Rena finished her quarantine and was able to get an appointment for the Moderna vaccine at the Jacob Javits Center this weekend for herself and also for a friend who is a reporter!

This short story put me in the mood for some Eastern European comfort food and I thought of a big casserole of stuffed cabbage or in Polish, Galumpki!

Galumpki is a satisfying but very heavy dish; often made with pork or beef and smothered in sour cream. It might also be served with sauerkraut that has been cooked with crunchy bits of meat and mashed potatoes. Just imagining all of this makes me feel like a stuffed cabbage!

Thinking about a making a lighter version, brought to mind a quirky, very creative vegan restaurant that we visited a few years ago in Pittsburgh, called Apteka. The cuisine features food from central and eastern Europe. The food is entirely vegan and we came away after a meal feeling satisfied but not overfull. I checked out their current menu and this week the dishes included: Koltlet Selerowy- a celery root schnitzel with dilly potatoes, dressed beets, cabbage slaw, leek and apple and horseradish sauce! Another special this week is roast endive with black currant raisins, sour cherry vinegar and toasted hazelnuts. They also offer potato pancakes with celeriac remoulade, smoked cabbage and prune paste.

I decided to create light and healthy stuffed cabbage that also would fit in the category of comfort food. Cabbage rolls appear throughout central and eastern Europe with different names and versions. The name golabki means “little pigeons” in Polish referring to the roll’s rounded shape. The Czech and Slovak rolls are called holubky and Serbian and Croatian rolls are sarma- all unique and delicious! I am not sure what category my cabbage rolls would fall under, but I channeled my eastern European roots and carried on!

I made a tomato sauce with lots of vegetables including onion, garlic, zucchini, carrot and kale seasoned with dried thyme, paprika and hot pepper flakes. I cooked it all up and then pureed it with an immersion blender. For the filling, I had some leftover parsley pesto(that I made with parsley, toasted walnuts, garlic and olive oil), brown rice, sauteed shallots and mushrooms- seasoned with dried sage and thyme, a pinch of cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste. I stuffed the mixture into cabbage leaves, poured tomato sauce over it and baked it all until the cabbage rolls were tender and the sauce was bubbling and aromatic. To serve the dish, I thinned a bit of non-fat yogurt with water and poured this over the top of the cabbage rolls.

So, here they are! This would be great with a glass of cold frosty beer and some really good dark rye bread smeared with softened butter! I hope you enjoy making these!!

Vegetarian Galumpki

Ingredients:

6 cabbage leaves from 1 small green cabbage

For parsley pesto:

1 bunch organic Italian parsley

1/2 cup toasted walnuts

1 clove garlic

extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Rest of ingredients for filling:

1 cup cooked brown rice (I used organic brown basmati rice)

2 shallots finely chopped

3-4 mushrooms finely chopped

1 teaspoon ground sage

1 teaspoon dried thyme

pinch of cayenne pepper or more to taste

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Ingredients for Sauce:

1 large can whole tomatoes

1 carrot finely chopped

1 small zucchini finely chopped

1 medium onion finely chopped

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

1 /2 cup kale, stems removed, finely chopped

1 bay leaf

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste

To make Galumpki:

Prepare cabbage:

Remove core from cabbage and run hot water into the cored area to help in removing outer leaves. Remove 6 leaves and remove any thick ridges, this will make it easier to fold the rolls into packages. Keep remaining cabbage for other use.

Make Sauce:

In an large pot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and over medium heat, saute onion until it softens, add garlic and saute a few minutes more.

Add chopped zucchini and carrot- saute for a few minutes.

Stir in tomatoes and add kale, bay leaf, thyme, paprika and red pepper flakes.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 45 minutes. This can also be made the day before.

Remove bay leaf and blend with an immersion blender until the sauce is smooth. It’s fine for small chunks of vegetables to remain!

Adjust seasoning and set aside.

Make Parsley Pesto:

Wash parsley thoroughly with cold water, cut off ends of stems. Don’t worry about drying the parsely, the extra moisture is good!

Place in food processor with garlic, toasted walnuts and olive oil.

Process until mixture is coarsely chopped.

Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.

If mixture seems too stiff, add a bit more olive oil.

For this recipe, use 1/2 cup. You will have leftover pesto for another recipe!

This can be made a few days before, keeps well and is also great over whole wheat pasta!

Make rest of filling:

In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil, add chopped shallots and saute for a few minutes until softened. Add chopped mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms release their juices.

Add brown rice to onion mixture. Stir in 1 cup of the parsley pesto, 1 teaspoon ground sage, 1 teaspoon dried thyme and a pinch of cayenne pepper or to taste.

Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Assemble Galumpki:

Pre-heat oven to 350 Degrees

In a medium size casserole dish place half of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish.

Divide filling into 6 portions. Place a cabbage leaf on a plate and place a portion of the filling in the center. Fold both sides of cabbage leaf in towards each other and then fold from bottom to top. Place seam side down in dish on top of tomato sauce. Continue stuffing rest of rolls. Pour remaining sauce over the top of the rolls.

Cover pan tightly with foil and bake about 45 minutes until cabbage is easily pierced with a sharp paring knife. Uncover and bake about 10-15 minutes more.

Yogurt Sauce:

1 cup non-fat plain yogurt

mix yogurt with water until the consistency is pourable, but not too thin!

Let sit for a few minutes and then pour yogurt sauce over the top of the galumpki.

ENJOY!

AND: I leave you with The Tree of the Week!

STAY SAFE!