Why Cabbage Wins

Hello Friends!

We're nearly 20 days into the year 2022. How are you? If you're like me, you're back to being rather selective about the social gatherings you're attending right now. Maybe you're cooking more than usual, or if you're like me, you're doing a "30 at Home" challenge, and cooking all the time. If it all feels dreadfully familiar, here are some recipe ideas to hopefully SpIcE uP yOuR LiFe!

CABBAGE:

I keep pitching a cabbage story to several publications I write for, but no one is biting. Here is a synopsis of what the tale would tell: Cabbage is the best vegetable of this moment. It is incredibly versatile, and can be eaten raw (Southern coleslaw style, or any other flavor combo), or, it can be stewed down into something silky. The sturdy leaves can serve as wrappers to roll up hearty fillings, and it can be sliced in thick steaks or wedges for a vegetable that feels like a main. It makes the perfect pickle, too. It has a LONG shelf life, and I love to forget about the head of cabbage in my crisper drawer until I'm out of everything else. Unlike lettuce which can turn in what feels like moments, you can essentially stock your fridge with a cabbage salad for a hungry day.

• CABBAGE SLAW with fish sauce, lime, honey, and a touch of mayo. Also a home for SCALLIONS, CILANTRO, and CARROTS.

• Japanese CABBAGE salad with miso, maple, and ginger. CARROTS here, too.

• Chopped CABBAGE and KALE salad from Food and Wine. Think: feta, walnuts, lots of lemon.

• Stuffed CABBAGE ROLLS. A labor of love, but one well worth the effort.

• Roasted CABBAGE STEAKS. I like to crank my oven to 425 when roasting big wedges of cabbage. Truly, one of my favorite ways to eat cabbage is like this... roasted with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then topped with lots of lemon at the end. Make sure you steaks have plenty of breathing room on the pan, else they'll steam.

• Adeena Sussman's MELTED CABBAGE recipe. You read that right. I like to make this, and then serve over a big bowl of steaming cous cous. Perfect for a cold night.

• One of our CSA Members, Michael, emailed in the photo below of the mushroom and sauerkraut Slovak soup he made. "The soup is called Jucha (sounds like youka) and is from extreme Eastern Slovakia, an area once part of a place called Ruthenia." Thanks for sharing, Michael! Here is a recipe I found if you want to be like Michael and mike this soup!

Moving on. KALE is around, and I've found my new favorite way to incorporate the dense leaf into salads: massage it with some salt, an idea I got from this "It just keeps getting better Lentil Salad" recipe. In the past, I've done the massage-thing with oil and salt, but really, you can skip the oil. Not that there is anything wrong with using it, but it's not necessary to actually tenderize the kale. I think I've shared that lentil salad recipe before, but it's worth sharing again because it does indeed just keep getting better. I recently brought my 4 day old leftovers to a potluck, and everyone raved about the salad and asked for the recipe.

Here is another, KALE centric, salad. But not just any Kale Salad. It made the cut for Food 52's Genius Recipes (a think I just learned about), and Heidi Swanson, the woman behind 101 Cookbooks if you're familiar, describes it like this, "Meaning, there you are enjoying a fork full of Lacinato kale, and along comes an exclamation of cheddar, or all-caps CRUNCH of almond."

I don't think you need help finding ways to *use* your GREEN ONIONS, but maybe you're looking for a way to make your green onions SING?! I LOVE this Allison Roman recipe which I've made versions of many times. If you're missing the cilantro and just have the onions, don't be deterred. It works just as well as an onion-centered dip. Here is another Charred Scallion Dip recipe from Food 52.

And last but not least, I leave you with something sweet to make use of those Vrdnt CARROTS: "Warm and cozy, this big-batch baked oatmeal takes inspiration from those beloved hippie muffins known as morning glory. It’s loaded with grated carrot and apple, two kinds of oats (rolled and steel-cut) for an extra fiber punch, and sweetened with fresh orange juice, raisins, and a touch of maple syrup instead of refined sugar." Morning Glory Baked Oatmeal.

Happy Cooking, y'all. Next week, all things Rutabaga.