Embrace Your Inner German: Sweet and Sour Cabbage Recipe

What this recipe should look like if you are better than me at
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My half of the marriage is definitely the South part of the East Meets South name -- my family tree goes back to a German immigrant who came to America in 1754 and eventually settled in what is now Rowan County, North Carolina.  By the way, it is incredibly fascinating to be able to trace this history--I even know the name of the boat that my ancestor came to America on!  Thank you, internet.  I've found that most people from this area of North Carolina have a strongly German heritage, but when anyone asks me about German food I am totally lost.  It's been a few hundred years, people.  I don't know anything about German food past movies like Beerfest (and a recent trip to Guglhupf in Durham).  Then I realized that most of the food that we think of as traditionally North Carolinian has a strong German stamp -- vinegar based barbecue? saurkraut?  If I am cooking I will put vinegar on almost everything, which I soon realized was less than tasty to someone with a love for asian flavors (my poor husband).  But in small limits (and with bacon to sweeten the deal), I have found one North Carolina approved/German friendly recipe that translates to my East Meets South household: Sweet and Sour Cabbage. You can find the original recipe on Spicy Southern Kitchen!

With the bacon -- looking good

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into ½-inch pieces  Feel free to add more!! I did
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 medium green cabbage, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces
• ¼ cup cider vinegar
• ¼ cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions

• Heat oil in a large pan and then cook bacon until crispy and brown
• Set bacon aside on a paper towel to absorb excess oil
• In the same pan where you just crisped the bacon, add onion and cabbage.  Cook about 10 minutes or until both are "clearing" and wilted in appearance
• Add vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce and cook until cabbage begins to crisp, about 10 more minutes
• Stir in bacon
• Ready to serve as a in independent side dish, or also great as a relish on a hearty bratwurst or sausage sandwich

Served with a steak for me, it was a perfect meal. Don't worry, my husband's plate was heartier.