Love is Like a Cabbage

My love is like a cabbage

Divided into two.

The leaves I give to others, 

The heart I give to you.

Cabbage Patch Kids – you had one as a kid.  Its okay you can admit it.  *I* didn’t have one . . . I am so happy to admit it!  Even if you didn’t have one you most likely know what they are.  Creepy little buggers, they are.  Kind of scary looking, actually.

However, if you just so happened to have lived in a cave during the eighties . . . Cabbage Patch Kids are a doll line created by Debbie Morehead and Xavier Roberts in 1978 and originally called "Little People". In the eighties the dolls became so popular that they couldn’t be produced fast enough to meet the huge demand . . . Mother Cabbage had to work overtime to pump out those little cabbages, I can tell you!  Fights actually broke out in toys stores by people who had to have the bizarre smooshy-faced little dolls.

Each Cabbage Patch Kid came with its own unique name and birthday, adoption papers, and a birth certificate.  Each doll was, due to some small variation, a "one of a kind."  Children loved the process of "adoption" for the dolls, where they would send adoption papers to adopt the dolls. 

Do you think the cabbage patch kids are confused that these people are not their real parents?  (Bonus points to anyone who knows where that statement comes from!)

While I am on the subject of cabbage . . . my Babba made THE most kickin’est stuffed cabbage . . . EVER.  Great gramma came to America from Czechoslovakia in the 1940’s and she brought the old world food traditions with her.

Slovak Stuffed Cabbage - HALUPKI RECIPE     

• 1 Pound Ground Beef
• 1 Pound Ground Pork
• 1 Onion, Chopped
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• Black Pepper To Taste
• 1 Teaspoon Chopped Fresh Parsley
• 1/2 Cup Cooked Rice
• 1 1/4 Teaspoons Garlic Salt           
• 2 (10.75 Ounce) Cans Condensed Tomato Soup
• 27 Ounces Sauerkraut, Drained
• 1 (29 Ounce) Can Diced Tomatoes
• 1 Medium Head Cabbage
• 5 Slices Bacon
• 2 Tablespoons White Sugar
• 3 Cups Water

1.         Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Bring a pot of water to a boil.

2.         Mix beef and pork together. Stir in onion, cooked rice, parsley, salt, pepper, garlic salt and 1/2 can of tomato soup. Mix well.

3.         Core head of cabbage, place in boiling water and boil until partly cooked. Separate leaves and trim stems. Reserve about 24 to 32 whole leaves. Cut remaining leaves and line the bottom of large roasting pan.

4.         Lightly pack a small handful of the meat mixture and place in the center of a cabbage leaf. Fold top part of leaf over mixture, then fold in the sides and roll until mixture is completely encased. Lay rolls on top of torn cabbage leaves in pan. Place sauerkraut evenly over rolls. Lay bacon on top of sauerkraut. Sprinkle with 1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar. Mix chopped tomatoes and soup with water and pour over rolls. Add additional water to reach top of cabbage rolls.

5.         Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 1/2 hours or until cooked through.

Serve with a heaping pile of homemade smashed taters!  YUMS!