It’s been 2 weeks since my last post and nearly a month since my last ingredient of the week. I guess I have some catching up to do!
Now that I’ve enrolled in school and the weather has been nicer, my free time has been occupied with optional school work and getting outside for workouts as much as possible. I will continue to do the ingredients of the week, but they will not be every week. I hope to still do it twice a month, but we’ll see what happens as the year progresses…. it’s going to be a busy spring and summer!
This week I chose a vegetable that up until last spring, I had never before bought or cooked, and barely ever ate. Today it is one of my favorite vegetables! Crunchy, juicy, healthy, yummy – I find cabbage to be a versatile veggie that can be used in a number of ways.
Red Cabbage from my CSA on 2/9/12
Ways to use and cook cabbage:
- In boiled dinners with root veggies
- In soups and stews. Check out my new recipe for Cabbage, Leek, and Potato Soup
Cabbage, Leek, and Potato Soup
- In slaw. Check out my recipe for Winter Cabbage Slaw, which uses cabbage and winter root veggies.
Winter Cabbage Slaw
- In sauerkraut. I took a class at Brookford Farm in the fall on how to make sauerkraut and was shocked at how easy it was. The course used Sally Fallon’s recipe from her book, “Nourishing Traditions,” and uses only 3 ingredients: Cabbage, whey, and sea salt. It takes only about 10 min. to make.
Lacto-Fermented Sauerkraut Recipe, from Sally Fallon’s “Nourishing Traditions”
- 1 head of cabbage, sliced thinly
- 2 Tbsp. whey
- 2 Tbsp. sea salt
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Using your hands, turn the cabbage constantly until it begins to reduce and you start to hear fizzing sounds, about 10 min. Then, pack the cabbage into a wide-mouth canning jar, I typically use quart size, and seal with a lid. One head of cabbage typically yields one quart jar.
Let the jar sit on the counter top for 5 days. If you hear fizzing that is normal, as it is building pressure as the cabbage is fermenting. Release the pressure on day 5, then seal back up. Store in cold storage for up to one year.
You can also add other ingredients to the sauerkraut, such as onions, carrots, daikon radishes, apples. Sauerkraut goes well with pork, in soups/stews, on burgers and hot dogs. I put it on tuna sandwiches and I love it!
When you make sauerkraut and allow the cabbage to ferment, it increases the vitamin content of the cabbage, especially vitamin C.
- Health Benefitsof cabbage can be found on the following websites:
Amazing Health Benefits of Red Cabbage
Health Benefits of Lacto-Fermented Sauerkraut
