By 4-0. The program is on a pace that would match the 2024 championship season. This is both reassuring and something I keep actively managed: a program that believes it can win a championship because it has won four is a program that might fail to earn the fifth. Belief is not the same as preparation. I remind myself of this and remind the coaches and remind the players, not with alarm but with the steady insistence of someone who knows what comfort produces.
Sofia is a junior. She has been recruited by eleven Division I track programs. She is ranked fifth in the country in the 3200 for her age group. She handles all of this with the equanimity of someone whose core identity is not their ranking — her identity is the act of running, the morning miles, the Tuesday interval workouts, the long Sunday runs that she talks about like they're conversations with herself. She came home from a long run last Sunday and sat at the kitchen table and ate scrambled eggs and said, "I figured something out today." I asked what. She said, "About my stride." She explained the biomechanical adjustment she'd worked out while running. I didn't fully follow the mechanics but I followed the mind. The mind is extraordinary.
Called Hector on Sunday. He sounded tired — a deeper tired than last week. Not alarming, just noticeable. He was still himself: he had opinions about the Eldorado Prep defense and he was not keeping them to himself. He said the linebacker needs to tighten his gap discipline. He was right. He's always right about gap discipline. He coached defense for twenty years and the knowledge is permanent in him regardless of what the body is doing.
Smoked pork ribs on Sunday. Low and slow, apple and hickory, the bark that takes eight hours to earn. The house smelled like Sunday the way Sunday is supposed to smell.
Eight hours of smoke deserves something on the side that can hold its own — not compete, just balance. The apple and hickory in those ribs was already doing the heavy lifting, and somewhere around hour six I started thinking about brightness, about something tart and alive to cut through the bark. That’s when the Cran-Apple Kraut made sense: the apple ties straight back into what’s in the smoker, and the cranberry brings a sharpness that keeps the whole plate honest. It’s the kind of side dish that a Sunday like this one calls for.
Cran-Apple Kraut
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large tart apple (such as Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
- 1 bag (16 oz) refrigerated sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce
- 1/4 cup apple cider
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Soften the aromatics. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6–8 minutes until softened and just beginning to turn golden.
- Add garlic and apple. Stir in the minced garlic and sliced apple. Cook for another 3–4 minutes, until the apple begins to soften and the garlic is fragrant.
- Build the kraut base. Add the drained sauerkraut to the skillet and stir to combine with the onion and apple mixture.
- Add liquid and seasoning. Pour in the apple cider and apple cider vinegar. Stir in the cranberry sauce, brown sugar, caraway seeds, and black pepper. Mix until well combined.
- Simmer and meld. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed and the flavors have come together. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
- Rest and serve. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Goes directly alongside smoked pork ribs or any slow-cooked pork.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 85 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Carbs: 17g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 320mg