First Post: Sauerkraut Stew

I mean really, if the blog is going to be named after a stew/Eintopf, how can I not include as my first post one of my own creations or rather adaptations of a recipe I found online.  Before we get to the details lets discuss the inspiration.  I love soups and stews, when I go out to eat on festive occasions I can not resist ordering a soup as an appetizer and I alway try to order something I have never had before or variation of a favorite.  This gets me labeled a "Suppenkasperle" after a beloved German children's story, ironically the main character does not eat his soup and withers away.  Picture from German Wikipedia site and I would paste the wiki into Google Translate as the english version in Wikipedia is pretty weak.

http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:H_Hoffmann_Struwwel_18.jpg&filetimestamp=20051217205200

The love of stews come from my formative years that I often spent with my German Grandparents especially my "Opi" (Grand-daddy).  He was born and raised in Bochum at the heart of the coal mining and steel mill region of Germany.  Bochum is in Nordrhein-Westphalen (North Rhine-Westphalia) and Durcheinander - stews are extremely popular in this region.  Even though the origins of meal hark back to more meager times and were the staple of working class folk,  they are usually potato based with a single type of seasonal vegetable (Leak, Cabbage, Carrots, etc) and maybe a tiny bit of meat for flavoring as meat was alway expensive.  Regardless they were his favorite meals and mine as well.

Now to the stew in the title although it has sauerkraut in it, I have never seen it on a German menu.  I discovered this great dish during a mountain bike trip in Slovenia.  I stumbled upon a little mountain hut in the Triglav National Forest Park, north of Lake Bohinj near a beautiful waterfall.  The Sauerkraut Stew was the house specialty plus a tasty Slovenian Pilsner was just what the doctor ordered to reinvigorate this mountain biker.

O.K. so now after much dilly dallying here is my version of the soup and below that are the originals I found as a guideline, try at your own risk:

Mark's Sauerkraut & Bean Soup or Stew

4 cups of beans or 12 - 18 Ounces (Your choice I like to mix at least three types of beans with one being Kidney)

4 Onions chopped

3 Potatoes chopped

Nice piece of smoked ham is optional but reccommended

6 - 8 Polish sausages browned then cut into bite size pieces and fried some more with a little (teaspoon) bacon grease

4 Cloves of Garlic finely chopped or minced

Bay leaf

Tablespoon of Parsley

Bullion Veg or Beef

Can of Sauerkraut 

Season to taste with: Salt, Pepper, Cayenne Pepper & Paprika

Throw all ingredients in Crockpot, fill with water and set to slow-cook at Low Temp

Original Recipies:

Ingredients: 1 can sauerkraut, partially rinsed 1 pound good wieners or 6-8 Polish sausages 1 medium onion, chopped 1 large bay leaf 1 can kidney beans 3 potatoes, diced 1 clove garlic, minced  Cracklings Salt and Pepper to taste Directions: In a large pot, place partially rinsed sauerkraut, beans, onion and garlic. Add diced potatoes and pieces of sausage which have been cut in 1/4-inch pieces. Add water to cover. Add pepper and bay leaf and just a bit of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 2 hours (the longer it cooks the better it tastes). When ready to serve, heat cracklings in a frying pan and pour on top. Directions: The cooking begins with beans that have been pre-soaked. Add diced potatoes and cook until beans and potatoes are soft. The sauerkraut is cooked separately with a few cloves of garlic and 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds. Mash the bean-potato mixture and add to the sauerkraut. Make a roux of lard (or shortening), flour and more garlic and blend into bean-potato mixture, adding more water as needed. Season with salt and pepper. Sour turnips can be used instead of sauerkraut in this recipe. Google Translate link from the site www.marions-kochbuch.de : http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http://www.marions-kochbuch.de/rezept/2225d.htm