Natterings From Nepantla

There is a German recipe, with probably as many variations as there are grandmothers, for preparing red cabbage. It is boiled, sometimes with wine, sometimes with apples, often (God alone knows why) with juniper berries — I like to use apple cider vinegar if I have any. The colour changes somewhat in the process of preparation, and depending whom you ask, the result is either called Blaukraut or Rotkohl.