Galumpkis

I don't know if this will be frowned upon my my family, but I hope not! I was reading a post about cooking with love on Feel Good Eating a day or two ago. I was reminded of how I used to cook with mom from time to time. I remember a few times making galumkis with mom and Jody (my big sis). I commented about this on the post and was asked what galumpkis are. Therefore, this post.

I think everyone should know what a galumpki (gah luump key) is. In fact, a lot of people probably already make something like it but just don't have a cool name like galumpki! It's a stuffed cabbage roll. See, nothing too crazy. My mom's mom was from Lithaunia. There are other strains of Eastern European blood mixed in my veins too, but I think the galumki recipe is Lithuanian. In the end it probably doesn't matter so much because there are stuffed leaf recipes all over that region of the world, so if you don't have your own and don't like our family's...keep trying. It seems like something oughta click for you!

Ours, though, is simple and tasty. And, without further ado, here it is...

Grandma's Galumpkis

1 head cabbage
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup cooked rice
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can tomato soup
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

Cut out the core of the cabbage. Place the head into boiling water. Peel off the leaves as they become tender and loosen off. Cut the rib out of each leaf.

Combine the meat, rice, salt and pepper. Place a rounded Tbsp of meat mixture (or more if leaf is larger) on each leaf. Roll leaves from rib end, tucking in ends, to make bundles. Place bundles in pan.

Mix tomato soup and paste; dilute with cabbage water until you have enough liquid to cover bundles. Cover pan with aluminum foil or glass cover. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

I haven't made these since becoming Primal, but I think the recipe would be easy to adapt and wouldn't suffer for it. Drop the rice, use canned tomatoes rather than soup. I've even used other ground meats. So, play with it and make it your own...and enjoy!