So the 2 books were a mixed experience. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese was worth every minute of reading. The author is also a renowned physician! If you have the time and the inclination I highly recommend the effort. The other tome was a mystery by Robert Galbraith which I slogged through to an unsatisfying ending. Come to find out Galbraith is the pen name of J.K. Rowling. Enjoy the festive season!
Red Cabbage and chestnuts - a homemade recipe from Susan via Robert. You will love I promise.🐰
Hello Betsy
I made up this recipe years ago, it’s an amalgamation of a baked red cabbage casserole and a winter salad I used to make with red cabbage and apples. The quantities are ones we worked out when Robert took over the bulk of the cooking, I’m afraid when I make it I tend to throw in the amount that looks right of most of the ingredients. It’s best cooked the day before eating it, the flavours meld together and it has a richer taste. I hope you enjoy it, Susan.
Ingredients:
* 30ml oil (I use olive or groundnut oil);
* 1 teaspoon garlic (or as much as you prefer);
* A large red onion, thinly sliced;
* 4 apples (Egremont Russets are best, but a sharp Cox do) cut into eighths;
* 1 red cabbage, either cut into pieces about the size of the apple segments or thinly sliced, whichever you prefer;
* 120g sultanas;
* 30g caraway seeds (or whatever quantity you prefer);
* 30g redcurrant jelly;
* 15ml cider vinegar;
* About 500ml vegetable stock (Enough to cover the bottom of the pan so that it can simmer and produce steam to cook the ingredients, but not enough to cover the ingredients);
* Cooked chestnuts (for these quantities I would use at least one 180g bag of chestnuts, if not two, it really depends on how big the red cabbage was).
In a fairly large pan heat the oil and sweat the onion and garlic gently until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.
Add the red cabbage and cook for 20 minutes.
Add the sultanas, caraway seeds and seasoning and cook for 20 to 30 minutes.
Add the cider vinegar and let it cook off, then add the stock and cook on a low heat for another 20 minutes or until the cabbage seems nearly cooked.
If you are cooking this ahead of time, then at this stage add the apples and chestnuts, mixing them well and switch off the heat. The next day gently heat the mixture until it is hot. If you are eating it immediately, then add the apples and cook until the apples are cooked. Then add the chestnuts, mix them in well and heat until they are warm.
I had to put definite cooking times in this recipe since Robert started cooking it, but when I cook it, it’s very much a matter of ‘does it look/taste right?’.
This goes well with a ‘dollop’ of sour cream on top.
Dear Susan (via Robert) - Thank you for taking the time to write all this down for me! This sounds like a meld of the sharps and tarts and sweets that I love. I also really love cabbage. I'm really curious about it and want to try it. It's a cold-weather dish, surely, so I will make it soon, during our rainy season and pretend it's snowing outside.
Roasted chestnuts are a favorite from my childhood. My mom made them every fall. She lives in Florida now and I live in California, so every season we compare the cost. Chestnuts by her this year were $9.99 per pound and I was thrilled to find them for $2.99/pound in San Diego. I bit down on a hard one and when you factor in the cost of rebuilding my shattered molar, they came out to $1700 per pound.
Happy to say I read more in 2025 than I have in several years and have no idea why. Maybe because I made a pledge to myself to spend more time on the page and lesson the screen and kept my promise? Who knows? I am proud that I read the 2 longest books this year I have ever read and am open to many resources for book recommendations - including this Substack! I will admit that I only read books in book form. I lose my train of thought when I listen to an audio book and my patience with an e-book. Thanks for your many enjoyable posts!
This sounds like a wonderful year for reading for you. What were the two big books? There is some mething luxurious about sinking in to one big book at a time and living in that world for a little by time.
When I was a kid growing up in NYC, my parents often took me to the Museum of Natural History on Central Park West. Always, out on the sidewalk, there was a vendor selling roasted chestnuts. I loved them, almost as much as I loved the whales and dinosaurs inside. Thanks for reviving that memory, Betsy. Sorry it was so painful for you...As for books, I read a lot of good ones this year, mostly historical fiction: "The Alice Network," "The Huntress," and "The Rose Code," all by Kate Quinn; "The Vaster Wilds," by Lauren Groff; "The Conclave," by Robert Harris; "Hamnet," by Maggie O'Farrell; "The Last Painting of Sarah DeVos," by Dominic Smith; "Clear," by Carys Davis; and "Small Things," by Claire Keegan. Each of these, in its own way, highlights individual or team efforts to stand up against oppression and conformity. A couple of other great books: "Concerning the Future of Souls," by Joy Williams, and "Orbital," by Samantha Harvey.
Loved this issue, Betsy! I had no idea you had the horrible chestnut experience! Now here is my literal question: Were there no instructions on the package?? That’s from this literal reader when it comes to the kitchen. Has served me well as I deal with groceries and cooking in Germany. Kind of a discovery experience for an older mind.
Not a single instruction was on the package. The package was one of those green cardboard things with cellophane stretched over the top with a price on it. That was it! As I mentioned to Morgana, the Internet might have saved me today...
We had zero books in common this year (only because I've yet to read Sex of the Midwest, it's on my list). I also did some re-reading, and this week is the last week of the year-long read with Simon Haisell of the Cromwell Trilogy. I'll be posting about my reads in my next stack. I read Beverly Nichols' Down the Garden Path for the third time this year. One of my favorite books this year was non-fiction The Dressmakers of Auschwitz.
I will definitely check out your reads next week, Sandra and I'll be looking forward to learning more about The Dressmakers of Auschwitz and why the re-reads kept happening for you as they did for me.
The re-reads keep happening for me for two reasons: 1. I've forgotten I read it, so I enjoy it all over again; and 2. I re-read on purpose because I enjoyed it before.
I didn't know either, back then. I sure do now! These days there are instructions and warnings all over the Internet. It would have been easier to avoid disaster if I'd bought them today.
Well, as the human brain would have it, now I'm very curious to try roasting these dangerous little "beasts!" Having learned from your near-disastrous experience, however, I'll be certain to carefully research the safe way to proceed! As an aside, I always thought you were, hands down, the prettiest girl in our class, and it's honestly horrifying to think these nuts could have marred you for life! As for myself, who is realistically a woman of only average looks, I can't afford any points off for chestnut scars! Big Smiles to you, friend!
I bet you’ll like them a lot but it is a good thing you are going to do all the research first. As for our high school days — is there a high school girl in the world who looks in the mirror and sees anything but what she wants to fix? I’ve never met one. Those years are incredibly fraught. I’m glad we are both here, now, to talk about chestnuts and how to cook them and how to live as the women we are now.
Fraught, yes (high school). Incredibly so? Yes, again. I think, perhaps, in a magical sequence, I might be convinced to return to my thirties or forties, but not my teens... yikes! Well into my adulthood, my dear Mom, whom I truly loved full well, would greet me with, "How heavy are you now?" I knew she meant well, but really... ! These days she'd probably think I don't eat enough. Sometimes there's no pleasing! :D Have wonderful holidays!
I remember buying chestnuts on the street in NYC during the holidays and feeling a bit of let down; the taste didn't fully match the romance of the moment for me.
I miss tamales at my grandparents. The big deep soup kettle packed with corn husk wrapped deliciousness was always steaming in the background by the time we set the table in their upscale mobile home. My mouth waters, thinking of it.
I get it. I wish I'd been in your grandparents' kitchen. I bought some tamales the other day because we've never done that at Christmas. They came right out of the pot and were still steaming when I got them home. Alas, they disappointed. Are they supposed to be heavy and dense and slick? The flavor was good but eating them was not the joy I'd been looking forward to.
Heavy maybe but not dense...it is hard to find great tamales, though, especially as many are made far ahead of time and frozen or kept very cold. The masa should be like pound cake, the filling dense and yummy!
Ouch, Betsy! My lips are hurting. My mother always roasted chestnuts for her stuffing, so one year I decided to wow the extended family with my own chestnut stuffing. What a project. Julia Child explained the method, but I was the one who had to bear the painfully hot fingers. The family didn’t notice the chestnuts. No one said a word about the stuffing. My current go-to recipe, Mark Bittman’s does not call for chestnuts or much of anything except crumbs, herbs and copious quantities of butter. This year I decided to simplify further: The butcher will provide the stuffing. No more chestnuts for me, unless someone else is roasting.
I LOVE chestnut stuffing. I made it two years in a row here in San Diego (with pre-steamed and peeled chestnuts) and no one liked it but me. I made it with wild rice, and all the other usual stuffing components. These days, I let my husband do the stuffing the way you describe and I don't eat it. No one cares!
When you think about it, it's the only time I risked killing myself in the kitchen and it all turned out okay -- my skin was very smooth and tender when it healed. As a beauty regimen, though, I don't recommend it.
Okay Betsy, I have not read beyond the chestnuts yet because I cannot answer the question in the absence of a tickbox for the option ‘Cooked and shelled ready to eat/use’ - which is how I always buy them and have for decades. They sit a store cupboard in their bags and on Boxing Day will be used to make a red cabbage, Cox’s apple and chestnut casserole to eat with the remains of our rack of pork, then with jacket potatoes. I use them to make soup as well and, then, of course, we just open a bag and eat them - yummy!🐰
P.S. I will post a picture to NOTES in the next minute and add a link here:
Just checked them out, Robert. What I want is your entire recipe for a red cabbage, and the soup. Are the ones in the bag roasted or steamed and does it matter?
Betsy, we have just checked and it seems sending cooked chestnuts in any form is a no no. Once we bought asparagus in France and French customs would not it leave France, so we gave it to the officer who had said ‘Non’. He looked very pleased at our generosity. I will post the recipes online tomorrow.🐰
So the 2 books were a mixed experience. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese was worth every minute of reading. The author is also a renowned physician! If you have the time and the inclination I highly recommend the effort. The other tome was a mystery by Robert Galbraith which I slogged through to an unsatisfying ending. Come to find out Galbraith is the pen name of J.K. Rowling. Enjoy the festive season!
Red Cabbage and chestnuts - a homemade recipe from Susan via Robert. You will love I promise.🐰
Hello Betsy
I made up this recipe years ago, it’s an amalgamation of a baked red cabbage casserole and a winter salad I used to make with red cabbage and apples. The quantities are ones we worked out when Robert took over the bulk of the cooking, I’m afraid when I make it I tend to throw in the amount that looks right of most of the ingredients. It’s best cooked the day before eating it, the flavours meld together and it has a richer taste. I hope you enjoy it, Susan.
Ingredients:
* 30ml oil (I use olive or groundnut oil);
* 1 teaspoon garlic (or as much as you prefer);
* A large red onion, thinly sliced;
* 4 apples (Egremont Russets are best, but a sharp Cox do) cut into eighths;
* 1 red cabbage, either cut into pieces about the size of the apple segments or thinly sliced, whichever you prefer;
* 120g sultanas;
* 30g caraway seeds (or whatever quantity you prefer);
* 30g redcurrant jelly;
* 15ml cider vinegar;
* About 500ml vegetable stock (Enough to cover the bottom of the pan so that it can simmer and produce steam to cook the ingredients, but not enough to cover the ingredients);
* Cooked chestnuts (for these quantities I would use at least one 180g bag of chestnuts, if not two, it really depends on how big the red cabbage was).
In a fairly large pan heat the oil and sweat the onion and garlic gently until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.
Add the red cabbage and cook for 20 minutes.
Add the sultanas, caraway seeds and seasoning and cook for 20 to 30 minutes.
Add the cider vinegar and let it cook off, then add the stock and cook on a low heat for another 20 minutes or until the cabbage seems nearly cooked.
If you are cooking this ahead of time, then at this stage add the apples and chestnuts, mixing them well and switch off the heat. The next day gently heat the mixture until it is hot. If you are eating it immediately, then add the apples and cook until the apples are cooked. Then add the chestnuts, mix them in well and heat until they are warm.
I had to put definite cooking times in this recipe since Robert started cooking it, but when I cook it, it’s very much a matter of ‘does it look/taste right?’.
This goes well with a ‘dollop’ of sour cream on top.
Delia Smith (known as ‘the blessed Delia’ in our house) has a much more traditional recipe on her website (https://deliasmithrecipes.uk/delia-smith-braised-red-cabbage-recipe/) which I’ve never tried but is no doubt delicious.
Dear Susan (via Robert) - Thank you for taking the time to write all this down for me! This sounds like a meld of the sharps and tarts and sweets that I love. I also really love cabbage. I'm really curious about it and want to try it. It's a cold-weather dish, surely, so I will make it soon, during our rainy season and pretend it's snowing outside.
Roasted chestnuts are a favorite from my childhood. My mom made them every fall. She lives in Florida now and I live in California, so every season we compare the cost. Chestnuts by her this year were $9.99 per pound and I was thrilled to find them for $2.99/pound in San Diego. I bit down on a hard one and when you factor in the cost of rebuilding my shattered molar, they came out to $1700 per pound.
Oh my God, chestnuts need to come with a warning label!
Happy to say I read more in 2025 than I have in several years and have no idea why. Maybe because I made a pledge to myself to spend more time on the page and lesson the screen and kept my promise? Who knows? I am proud that I read the 2 longest books this year I have ever read and am open to many resources for book recommendations - including this Substack! I will admit that I only read books in book form. I lose my train of thought when I listen to an audio book and my patience with an e-book. Thanks for your many enjoyable posts!
This sounds like a wonderful year for reading for you. What were the two big books? There is some mething luxurious about sinking in to one big book at a time and living in that world for a little by time.
When I was a kid growing up in NYC, my parents often took me to the Museum of Natural History on Central Park West. Always, out on the sidewalk, there was a vendor selling roasted chestnuts. I loved them, almost as much as I loved the whales and dinosaurs inside. Thanks for reviving that memory, Betsy. Sorry it was so painful for you...As for books, I read a lot of good ones this year, mostly historical fiction: "The Alice Network," "The Huntress," and "The Rose Code," all by Kate Quinn; "The Vaster Wilds," by Lauren Groff; "The Conclave," by Robert Harris; "Hamnet," by Maggie O'Farrell; "The Last Painting of Sarah DeVos," by Dominic Smith; "Clear," by Carys Davis; and "Small Things," by Claire Keegan. Each of these, in its own way, highlights individual or team efforts to stand up against oppression and conformity. A couple of other great books: "Concerning the Future of Souls," by Joy Williams, and "Orbital," by Samantha Harvey.
Loved this issue, Betsy! I had no idea you had the horrible chestnut experience! Now here is my literal question: Were there no instructions on the package?? That’s from this literal reader when it comes to the kitchen. Has served me well as I deal with groceries and cooking in Germany. Kind of a discovery experience for an older mind.
Not a single instruction was on the package. The package was one of those green cardboard things with cellophane stretched over the top with a price on it. That was it! As I mentioned to Morgana, the Internet might have saved me today...
We had zero books in common this year (only because I've yet to read Sex of the Midwest, it's on my list). I also did some re-reading, and this week is the last week of the year-long read with Simon Haisell of the Cromwell Trilogy. I'll be posting about my reads in my next stack. I read Beverly Nichols' Down the Garden Path for the third time this year. One of my favorite books this year was non-fiction The Dressmakers of Auschwitz.
I will definitely check out your reads next week, Sandra and I'll be looking forward to learning more about The Dressmakers of Auschwitz and why the re-reads kept happening for you as they did for me.
The re-reads keep happening for me for two reasons: 1. I've forgotten I read it, so I enjoy it all over again; and 2. I re-read on purpose because I enjoyed it before.
That's quite a tale, Betsy; I'm very glad you didn't do any permanent damage! And I never knew about this dangerous side of chestnuts! :)
I didn't know either, back then. I sure do now! These days there are instructions and warnings all over the Internet. It would have been easier to avoid disaster if I'd bought them today.
Well, as the human brain would have it, now I'm very curious to try roasting these dangerous little "beasts!" Having learned from your near-disastrous experience, however, I'll be certain to carefully research the safe way to proceed! As an aside, I always thought you were, hands down, the prettiest girl in our class, and it's honestly horrifying to think these nuts could have marred you for life! As for myself, who is realistically a woman of only average looks, I can't afford any points off for chestnut scars! Big Smiles to you, friend!
I bet you’ll like them a lot but it is a good thing you are going to do all the research first. As for our high school days — is there a high school girl in the world who looks in the mirror and sees anything but what she wants to fix? I’ve never met one. Those years are incredibly fraught. I’m glad we are both here, now, to talk about chestnuts and how to cook them and how to live as the women we are now.
Fraught, yes (high school). Incredibly so? Yes, again. I think, perhaps, in a magical sequence, I might be convinced to return to my thirties or forties, but not my teens... yikes! Well into my adulthood, my dear Mom, whom I truly loved full well, would greet me with, "How heavy are you now?" I knew she meant well, but really... ! These days she'd probably think I don't eat enough. Sometimes there's no pleasing! :D Have wonderful holidays!
I remember buying chestnuts on the street in NYC during the holidays and feeling a bit of let down; the taste didn't fully match the romance of the moment for me.
I miss tamales at my grandparents. The big deep soup kettle packed with corn husk wrapped deliciousness was always steaming in the background by the time we set the table in their upscale mobile home. My mouth waters, thinking of it.
I get it. I wish I'd been in your grandparents' kitchen. I bought some tamales the other day because we've never done that at Christmas. They came right out of the pot and were still steaming when I got them home. Alas, they disappointed. Are they supposed to be heavy and dense and slick? The flavor was good but eating them was not the joy I'd been looking forward to.
Heavy maybe but not dense...it is hard to find great tamales, though, especially as many are made far ahead of time and frozen or kept very cold. The masa should be like pound cake, the filling dense and yummy!
Ouch, Betsy! My lips are hurting. My mother always roasted chestnuts for her stuffing, so one year I decided to wow the extended family with my own chestnut stuffing. What a project. Julia Child explained the method, but I was the one who had to bear the painfully hot fingers. The family didn’t notice the chestnuts. No one said a word about the stuffing. My current go-to recipe, Mark Bittman’s does not call for chestnuts or much of anything except crumbs, herbs and copious quantities of butter. This year I decided to simplify further: The butcher will provide the stuffing. No more chestnuts for me, unless someone else is roasting.
I LOVE chestnut stuffing. I made it two years in a row here in San Diego (with pre-steamed and peeled chestnuts) and no one liked it but me. I made it with wild rice, and all the other usual stuffing components. These days, I let my husband do the stuffing the way you describe and I don't eat it. No one cares!
Oh my goodness, Betsy! I could only enjoy a laugh-out-loud moment because I knew you survived this! 🎅🏼 Yikes!
When you think about it, it's the only time I risked killing myself in the kitchen and it all turned out okay -- my skin was very smooth and tender when it healed. As a beauty regimen, though, I don't recommend it.
😂😂😂
Okay Betsy, I have not read beyond the chestnuts yet because I cannot answer the question in the absence of a tickbox for the option ‘Cooked and shelled ready to eat/use’ - which is how I always buy them and have for decades. They sit a store cupboard in their bags and on Boxing Day will be used to make a red cabbage, Cox’s apple and chestnut casserole to eat with the remains of our rack of pork, then with jacket potatoes. I use them to make soup as well and, then, of course, we just open a bag and eat them - yummy!🐰
P.S. I will post a picture to NOTES in the next minute and add a link here:
https://substack.com/@paperbagstories/note/c-189868345?r=svzuc&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
Just checked them out, Robert. What I want is your entire recipe for a red cabbage, and the soup. Are the ones in the bag roasted or steamed and does it matter?
Betsy, we have just checked and it seems sending cooked chestnuts in any form is a no no. Once we bought asparagus in France and French customs would not it leave France, so we gave it to the officer who had said ‘Non’. He looked very pleased at our generosity. I will post the recipes online tomorrow.🐰
Oh Robert, thank you! As it happens I have located a source here. I'll watch for the recipes!!!