Cabbaged Contemplations
It seems to me that we have a tendency to think more highly of ourselves than we ought, likely more than any other generation throughout history.
We think this time is more important than any other, our place in it more crucial than our ancestors who, from our vantage point in time, we think lived simple lives.
The reality is, the odds are, that will be our story too.
I’m chopping cabbage still warm from the sun, phloem still bleeding water from the core, to make the Haluska recipe my great-great grandmother Hlazny brought with her from Pliešovce, Slovakia to America at the end of the 19th century. Zsusanna’s work, and life, and legacy are about to be wilted down in the skillet and served to the rest who are now in the garden digging up a row of potatoes. A mere 130 years later that’s all that’s left of her life- so little that most would forget, yet so much that, without her, none of it would be in existence.
Likewise, we assuredly will be forgotten sooner than we’d like to think.
And our only contribution to the world will be in the little faces that are the most worthy demand of our time and attention.
Nothing we say is as important as what we say to them.
Nothing we do is as important as what we do for them.
No accomplishments or praise or 🔥🙌👏 is as significant as what we accomplish for them.
No work is as eternal as the work we do in service to them.
“We thought that it is right to begin with the obligations of home; and that, while those are overlooked and neglected, no other duties can possibly be substituted for them.” - Charles Dickens, Bleak House
We may delude ourselves with excuses and “but not me’s, my work/ministry/service is different” but, Mrs. Jellby, you are mistaken. Nothing, nothing, not a single contribution is of greater worth than that which is made in your home.
Let us be doing it with all our might.
Cabbage Haluska Recipe
A simple old-world recipe for cabbage haluska with potato dumplings that has been handed down from the kitchen of my Slovakian great-great-grandmother and is so enjoyed by her heritage that it has even been requested for birthday dinners.
You’re welcome to download this recipe card to your device to save or print. Enjoy!
Ingredients
2lb. head of cabbage
½ cup butter
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
pepper, to taste
Potato Dumplings
4 ½ cups potatoes, grated
2 eggs, whisked
3 ¾ cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
Directions
Prepare the dumplings by whisking the flour and salt together.
Toss the shredded potatoes in the flour to coat them.
Stir in the eggs until a stiff dough is formed.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Meanwhile, thinly slice a head of cabbage.
Melt butter in a large skillet.
Add the cabbage and sprinkle with sugar, salt, & pepper.
Caramelize over medium heat until brown yet with a little crunch left.
Pinch small dumplings from the potato dough and drop them into boiling water.
Boil for 8 minutes after all of the noodles have been added.
Drain and serve over fried cabbage.