coconutty-almondy-chocolatey-joy!

a sweet treat - gluten free and delish!
and super easy too!
find the recipe over here at my friend a.borealis who blogs at Rain Garden.
she eats a lot like we do, you'll probably love her stuff!!

Corned Beef and Cabbage

our expectations were exceeded when we made this version of Corned Beef for St.Patty's Day this week! in my usual style, i couldn't follow the directions exactly, so here are my changes:
i boiled the corned beef as explained in the recipe, but only added about 6 cups of water, just enough to cover the brisket.
seriously, the broiling with mustard horseradish crust is what does it! i'm thinking of doing this with a steak sometime - so super easy, and seems so very gourmet!
i cooked the potatoes and thought the lemon/parsley and butter combo went well with the beef.

when it called for adding the cabbage, i skipped this part and just kept dealing with that brisket.
i used a different cabbage recipe, one i have been wanting to try for a long time, from the Black Forest Inn in Minneapolis. this one batch was enough for four families to share:

combine the following ingredients in a large cooking pot (LARGE!) and bring to a boil. mix well and cook approximately 10 minutes:
1 3/4 cups red wine vinegar
3 cups applesauce
5/8 cups sugar (i used brown)
1 1/4 tsp cloves
2 bay leaves
3 tsp black pepper
3 TB salt
1 1/2 cups apple cider

Add 5 lbs sliced red cabbage
3/4 cups diced onions
cook approximately 13 minutes (sounds exact to me). the cabbage should be a little crunchy ans served warm. remove those bay leaves first!
this reheats well, and we have nibbled on the leftovers cold as well as warm.