Someone gave us everything necessary to make corned beef.  Everything but the beef itself.  So I went to Centre Gel and picked up a good cut of meat and went to work.  It was a process of making the brine and adding pickling spices.  Everything was boiled together for a half hour.  Then when the liquid cooled I added the meat and put it in the fridge.  Every day I turned the meat so the brine could soak in evenly.  Finally it was time to take the meat out, wash it, and cover it with water in another pot.  After adding more pickling spice I cooked it for four hours.  And was it ever tender and yummy!  I've never made corned beef.  On occasion in the States we would buy it when it was on sale.  Jim really loves it.

Meanwhile we cut up some cabbage and made sauerkraut.  You can't buy this in town either, so it's either make your own or go without.  Years ago I tired to mimic the old aunts whose parents had come from Switzerland.  These were my great aunts.  They used to make sauerkraut every fall in these wonderful old crocks.  But after a series of failures I resigned from the sauerkraut business.  Until now that is.  A few year back I came upon a recipe that is super easy.  You mix salt with the cabbage and pack it into canning jars.  Then you fill the jar almost to the top with water.  After loosely covering the jars with lids, you set them in a basin as the liquid will spill over.  I checked them every few days and skimmed off any mold and added more water.  When all the fermentation stopped (about a week later) I washed the tops of the jars, screwed down the lids, and canned them in a cold water bath.  The results are fantastic.

So now we are eating corned beef and sauerkraut with mustard.  We're in hog heaven!