Some years ago, my father was working in Eldorado, KS (we lived in
Texas). While there, he roomed with a private family, and the
housewife was interested in his descriptions of stuffed cabbage and
other Central European fgavorites of his. He offered to show her how
to make them, and she gratefully accepted.

One day after he and his landlord returned from the worksite, they
were greeted by the enthusiastic housewife, who had a surprise
waiting. She had actually made stuffed cabbage and she was quite proud
of her accomplishment.

The excitement lasted until they began eating....

The men noticed a strange bouquet to the dish and there were some
quizzical expressions around the table.

Turned out the poor woman could get the cabbage rolls to pack without
unrolling (they were overfilled with meat) so she put a rubber band
around each cabbage roll to make them all behave. She snipped the
rubber bands off before presentation.......

Alex