Hotel Gourmet: Hitchin, Day Four

It was day four of my two-week FMT stint in Hitchin, UK. I was feeling good and I was cabbage-rich. In revisionist hindsight, the advance cabbage purchase wasn't so much an impulse as it was a sound investment. I had just finished reading about the benefits of leafy greens, specifically those of the brassica family (of which cabbage is a member). I also don't see tall green pointed cabbages like this back home. Clearly, I just struck while the iron was hot.

When I first started cooking in hotels, I went small, placing a high emphasis on convenience. This often meant I ate sardines with lunch and with dinner. If I was feeling adventurous, I might eat meat not out of a can. It was not long, though, before I tired of the canned-fish-for-days routine, realizing that empty sardine cans actually smell worse than spent meat wrappers. With daily housekeeping, what difference does it make anyway?

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Another day, another cart

Fully embracing my gastronomic quest, I scoured the shelves for something that would get me excited about supper, and also complement my hoarded brassica--I would know it when I saw it.

...And there it was: a pack of free-range British pork spare ribs. Tonight, I would dine like a true gentleman caveman.

Other good finds:

Fennel--I love fennel raw and cooked. It is one of the few vegetables I could eat raw (and tolerate) with a roughed- up gut.

Parsley--I wanted some greens, but not too many--the Goldilocks amount of greens. Remember: no fridge.

Dead Sea Salts--I brought no supplemental magnesium. Osmosis to the rescue! Tonight's feast was followed by a soak in the tub.

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This is what I ate for dinner:

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Chopped Parsley and Fennel Salad

• Chop parsley and fennel and add to a bowl.
• Squeeze on some lemon juice and add good quality olive oil and salt.

Rinse and chop

Add lemon and oil

Enjoy

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Hungarian-Style Caraway Pork Ribs and Cabbage

• Put ribs in pot.
• Chop and add onions.
• Chop and add cabbage.
• Add LOTS of caraway seed, some salt and a little water.
• Cook on low heat until cabbage and ribs soften (1.5-2 hours).
• Stir the pot and add lemon juice for acidity.
• Savor.

Add meat to pot

Chop onions

Add onions

Chop cabbage

Fill 'er up

Add caraway seeds

Cook until soft

Add lemon juice

Enjoy

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This one really hit the spot and it felt good to get some meat diversity into my diet. I also did not realize in advance how much I was missing meat on the bone and all of the collagen and minerals that come along with it. Add all of that caraway seed into the mix and this one should make my Hungarian in-laws (and ancestors) proud!

Thank you to everyone who has reached out to support me on my journey!

In good health,
Ethan