Kalona Historical Society Cookbook II- Spiralbound Cookbook #29

I have been through Kalona many times.  It's "on the way" to Iowa City, where I did my undergraduate and graduate work in elementary education and library and information science.  I have to admit that, once they built the bypass over to highway 218, I rarely went "the Kalona way"...two lane highway, no chance to pass for miles at a time, and LOTS of horses and buggies because of the large Amish population in the area.

The creamery, on the outskirts of town used to be a draw...especially for their delightful cheese curds, but, alas...they closed a few years ago.  My friend Jim lives in Kalona, so I DO still go, occasionally, and stop for a glass of wine on his MAGNIFICENT patio, but, other than that, I rarely get there anymore...which is sad.  It's a cute little town.

Not sure where I got this cookbook, but it has a Goodwill sticker on it, so I'm assuming it came from the Iowa City Goodwill store...which is the only Goodwill in the area (besides the "new-ish" one in Fairfield).

Here's the cookbook, printed in April of 1987:

Here are some fun, old pictures of Kalona (it WAS printed by the Historical Society, after all!):

The recipe I've chosen to post for this entry is for BULGARIAN CHICKEN (not sure there are too many Bulgarians in Kalona but...so be it!):

Bulgarian Chicken

3 C. coarsely chopped cabbage
1 (1 lb. can) sauerkraut (drained)
1/2 c. uncooked regular rice
3/4 c. water
3 T. cooking oil
1 chopped onion
1 (1 lb.) can tomatoes
1 T. brown sugar
3/4 tsp. caraway seed
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 (2 1/2 lb.) broiler fryer (cut into serving pieces)

Place cabbage in bottom of small roasting pan or 9 x 13-inch baking dish.  Top with sauerkraut; then rice.  Pour water over mixture.  Heat oil in skillet over medium heat, add onion and saute 5 minutes or until tender.  Add sauteed onion to baking dish; add tomatoes.  Sprinkle brown sugar, caraway seed, salt and pepper over tomatoes.  Place chicken, skin side up, on top of mixture.  Bake at 375 degrees until chicken is tender and golden brown, about 1 1/2 hours.  Makes 6 servings.

Enjoy!