It’s that time of year when you start seeing huge cabbages almost ready to pick. Cabbages fall into the brassicas family being closely related to broccoli, cauliflower and Brussel sprouts. Those domestically grown for household use are usually 1-2 pounds in weight but they can grow to over 100 pounds under the right conditions. Lots of things can go wrong when growing these tasty light green orbs including nutritional deficiencies and pests along with bacterial and fungal diseases. Cabbage is low in calories and is a good source of vitamin C and vitamin K. It is in the cruciferous family of vegetables high in phytochemicals that are thought to prevent cancer. Cabbage is often steamed, stewed, sautéed or braised in many European inspired dishes but here in the Midwest is typically used raw in our ever popular coleslaw. Fermented versions are popular in Asian cuisines and here at home the pickled version is a favorite as sauerkraut. I’ve even been known to eat the inner cabbage heart straight up maybe with a little salt. Yum!
Along with a plethora of produce, I gratefully accepted two large cabbages from my Wheaton cousin with the big garden but now that I am home I have to figure out what to do with it. I have learned ¼ head of cabbage is all it takes for coleslaw that serves four so what to do with the rest of the head. Luckily it will store well in the refrigerator while we figure it out over the next few weeks. Our first use was in an Asian inspired stir fry including: sausage, pork, green beans, zucchini, green pepper, onion, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, soy sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil. It was served on a bed of rice and was delicious. I want to make stuffed cabbage rolls but they always seem like too much trouble; I did find an unstuffed cabbage casserole that might be worth a try. I also saw an oven roasted cabbage steak recipe that looks interesting. Does anyone remember the cabbage soup used for weight loss? I’m just not up for that in this heat to say nothing about the flatulence that would follow. I hope to get in on my cousins sauerkraut making venture later in the season and grateful not to have to turn and store the stinky stuff in my garage as it ferments.
On to ruby red beets that frequent our tables this time of year. Who would guess these dirty crinkled brownish things pulled out of the ground could yield such lovely color and flavor. Beets are low in calories, fat and cholesterol and play a role in reducing inflammation and high blood pressure. Their red color comes from betaines that have a powerful antioxidant effect also supposedly playing a role in cancer prevention. My cousin gave us plenty of them so we canned our first 7 quarts of pickled beets this past weekend. I kicked my pickling up a notch by adding tarragon and fennel along with the pickling spices. We served beet salad for a birthday supper this weekend that included cooked chilled beets, red onion, walnuts and feta served on thinly chopped garden greens. Along with a little olive oil, vinegar, lemon, salt and pepper it was pretty tasty. Beets are really good oven roasted but don’t forget to add balsamic vinegar to amp up the flavor. I just saw a recipe for beet risotto (rice) that would perk up any dinner plate and might be worth the trouble. Finally, there is a beet hummus recipe I am going to ask Paul to make when we get our next freshly harvested batch of beets. Anyway, so little time, so many recipes to try!