Food Waste....Monday (and I need cabbage ideas!)
I skipped Food Waste Friday this past week due to the July 4th holiday, so here I am with my promised report.
It feels weird to write about food waste on a Monday!
First up, you all know about my kale struggles.
(You all left so many helpful comments in that post. Thank you!)
One thing several of you said was that orange juice and pineapple help to disguise the taste of kale in a smoothie. I had some OJ concentrate in the freezer, so I threw a little of that in along with some pineapple, blueberries, and peaches, and the resulting smoothie was far more drinkable.
Plus, it used up some miscellaneous frozen fruit and the last bit of oj concentrate in a can as well.
I still had more kale, and since many of you gave a shout-out to Zuppa Toscana as a great way to use up kale, I poked around on the web and found a recipe to use.
I saw that it called for chicken broth, and I remembered that I had a bunch of chicken bones in my kitchen freezer, just waiting to be turned into broth.
So, I threw them into a pot with some herbs and a few veggies.
I ended up with about 8 cups of broth, plus a lot more empty room in my freezer.
Win-win.
I only needed four cups for the soup, so I froze the rest.
(This is not the jar I froze. You can't freeze this much broth in a glass jar or the jar will crack. Headspace is a must!)
When I took the chicken bones out, I realized I also had a number of bread odds and ends in the freezer, so I toasted and cooled them and used my food processor to turn them into bread crumbs.
The bread crumbs went back into the freezer for use the next time I make fish cakes.
I also defrosted a package of Italian sausage that had been living in the freezer for a while.
(You guys, my freezer is looking so much better now!)
Then I made the soup.
And you know what? It was pretty good.
I've never had it at Olive Garden, so I can't vouch for the authenticity of the recipe, but it did make kale taste better!
The kale tasted a little like broccoli once it was in the soup, and I can totally deal with that.
I basically used this recipe, except that I subbed kale for spinach (obviously!), and I sauteed the bacon and the sausage in the same pot I cooked the soup in.
(I'm really quite unsure why the recipe calls for cooking the meats in a separate pan. It makes an extra dirty dish, plus you miss out on all the flavor from the browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Use a single pot, I say!)
Oh! I made another kale smoothie too.
Thank you so much for helping me get through my kale bunch. I feel much more confident about my ability to use it up if it appears in my produce box again.
And hey, I managed to get a goodly amount of kale into our bodies this past week, so yay!
I'm not really out of the woods yet, because I have a new problem:
I actually have two heads of cabbage from my produce box.
Oof.
We are not a cabbage-loving family, so I'm at a bit of a loss here. No one here likes coleslaw or sauerkraut or cabbage rolls or much of anything else I can think of to do with cabbage.
Help me out here! What can you do with cabbage that can win over diehard cabbage haters?
For cabbage - I like it. So I will usually saute it in olive oil. You could shred it and make egg rolls with other odds and ends from your fridge/freezer, but that's a lotta cabbage and a lotta work! Try it in soup with some sausage and lentils. Chop it finer than you normally would if you aren't a fan. Last suggestion is my goto for yucky tasting veggies: shred in food processor and add to hamburger meat, form into balls, and use it in spaghetti & meatballs. Once it's simmered in marinara a while, you won't know it's even in there.
We are harkening back to my Eastern European upbringing this morning -- try haluski (noodles and cabbage)! Guaranteed to win over even folks, like me, who never seek out cabbage otherwise: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/haluski---cabbage-and-noodles/
There is a salvadorean cabbage salad/pickle called curtido. We put it on tacos instead of lettuce. You can find lots of recipes on line. I like the recipe in the cookbook Viva la Vegan!
I know people who don't like cooked cabbage, but do like cabbage in a stir fry.
I second the soup suggestion, especially since that worked with kale.
Good luck with the cabbage. I've learned over the past few years that there are vegetables I thought I didn't like, when it was really the usual style of cooking them that I didn't like.
Some ideas:
-lazy golumbki casserole (see my recipe on my website)
-waldorf (apple-raisin) coleslaw, or a citrus (pineapple? mandarin?)fruited coleslaw
-a vinaigrette based coleslaw
-stif fry/fried rice
-sauteed with bacon
-roasted, drizzle balsamic at the end
HTH
Shred it, toss it in the freezer, and add handfuls to soups, sauces, etc. throughout the year. A quick nutrition boost to your food and cabbage used up.
Turn it into smoothies! I just bought a Vitamix (YAY!!!), and in the cookbook that it came with, there are a few recipes with cabbage. I've made the cabbage, carrot, grape, and peach smoothie. I thought it was quite delicious!
Also, I love to caramelize onions and then sauté shredded cabbage with it. At the end, I'll throw in some halved or quartered cherry or grape tomatoes.
I make a kale dish that my family loves and is a big hit at parties. Google "autumn kale salad". Bacon, sweet potatoes, kale and pomegranate arils.... it's delightful.
Have you seen Jim Gaffigan's kale skit? Google that too 😉
Well since you like to grill - if you've ever done grilled Romaine, we do something similar with cabbage - we like to cut the cabbage into hunks and grill it with some kielbasa... Also my husband (not a cabbage lover) likes New England boiled dinner; we make it with sausage instead of corned beef (I'm sensing a theme here.. We'll eat cabbage if it has some sausage near it...)
I like cabbage sauteed with egg noodles. You boil the noodles as normal while the cabbage (shredded or cut up) is being sauteed in lots of butter, when the cabbage is soft you add the noodles and stir them together and let the noodles get all buttery. This cooking process leaves the cabbage soft and sweet. Good luck with it all.
We like it cooked with melted cheese over it!
VERY finely shredded and with seasonings for grilled fish tacos like this:
http://foodess.com/2014/06/spicy-fish-tacos-with-cabbage-slaw-lime-crema/
My family eats more cabbage if I serve the slaw with the lime crema mixed in
I do a lazier version of this. I use a mandoline to shred the cabbage super fine and then - wait for it - I don't tell anyone it's cabbage! We use it for tacos, tostadas, burritos, pretty much anything Mexican. Leftovers hold up better than lettuce. Anything I can't use up I just toss into the next salad and no one even notices. Funny, I just shredded half a head for tostadas tonight and the other half will disappear into tacos tomorrow. (Why, because it's Taco Tuesday!) We love, love, love Mexican food at our house!
This is my favorite, easy way to serve cabbage:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Buttered-Cabbage-241777
I discovered it the first year we had our veggie box and had no idea what to do with all that cabbage!
I make something very similar to this, and even my picky eater likes it. In fact, maybe I'll go get some cabbage...
Cabbage can go a LONG ways cooked some ways (i.e. coleslaw) or be used up really fast other ways. The fastest and yummiest way I recently discovered is ROASTED. Yum! Quick, easy, flavorful, and that head of cabbage is gone in a jiffy! Here's one recipe of probably a million others out there: http://www.marthastewart.com/315062/roasted-cabbage-wedges
P.S. I love cabbage because it will last for weeks in the fridge without going bad!
oooh! thanks for that one. Now I just need a cabbage.
We love cabbage! We make a recipe called Vietnamese Spring Rolls, which uses lots of vegies in a rice wrapper instead of a wonton wrapper. They are eaten as a vegie burrito, of sorts. I also deconstruct the recipe when there is no time to roll them, we just keep the ingredients in a big bowl and call it salad! The dipping sauce becomes dressing and we add chicken to make it a more filling meal.
Have you ever made cabbage and kielbasa? It's super frugal, and since the cabbage soaks up all the kielbasa juices, it tastes really good. Just slice your kielbasa or smoked sausage into bite size portions, throw them in a skillet with maybe a touch of oil, and then add the cabbage leaves on top. Add more cabbage than you think could possibly fit because it cooks down so much. Put a lid on to keep the steam in, and stir occasionally to keep the kielbasa from sticking to the bottom of the skillet. It's done when the kielbasa is nicely browned and the cabbage is wilted and soft. It's so quick and easy, nutritious, and frugal.
http://happyherbivore.com/2009/09/quick-mexican-cabbage/
That is all.
Cabbage has many uses:
1. soup, especially with smoked pork products and beans
2. kimchee
3. addition to salad (I prefer wilted in bacon grease to raw)
4. addition to stir-fry
5. many things that have already been mentioned: coleslaw, grilled
Over the weekend I made Two Penny Soup, which uses a lot of cabbage. If you're interested I'll post the recipe. It's a frugal soup so you can add lots of this-or-that to it. Frex, I used up ham stock, limp celery, and beans as well as the stated cabbage, onion, potatoes. If I hadn't used ham stock I would have used a tomato product, preferably V-8 or bloody mary juice.
Thought of another one:
6. fried rice.
We are not coleslaw fans in our house, either, but carrots, raisins and walnuts disguise the cabbage flavor in this recipe. We have used many a Csa cabbage this way and served and taken it to many a potluck, always with accolades. The absence of mayo gives it some extra shelf life too on these hot days. Think lunch side ala Waldorf salad. Good luck!
http://www.food.com/recipe/coleslaw-with-walnut-raisin-28894
My family dislikes cabbage also, except in this recipe which we love. I don't really have measurements as it's pretty easy to adjust this to the size of your family. It does cook down a lot and I am not skimpy with the cabbage.
Cook bacon until crisp in a frying pan. Remove bacon. Add hash-browns, either fresh or frozen and cook in bacon grease until almost done. Lower heat and cover the potatoes with thinly chopped cabbage. Cover with a lid and continue cooking until the cabbage is tender. Salt and pepper to taste. Keep an eye on things and toss as needed after you add the cabbage so the potatoes below don't burn. Near the end add the bacon and toss again. This is absolutely yummy. To make a healthier version you can use turkey ham instead of bacon and cook the potatoes in a healthier oil.
To use up that cabbage, you should give this recipe a try:
http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/03/caesar-roasted-cabbage/
It's so easy to eat and love!
Ooh, also, Erica made this salad for us after we had Evelyn last fall. It was delicious (she used mango instead of green papaya)!
http://pinchofyum.com/chopped-thai-chicken-salad
Hi,
I actually love cabbage so I try to find different ways to win other people over 🙂
My favorite is a Cabbage and Mushroom galette ( http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/10/cabbage-and-mushroom-galette/ ). I promise you, you can't even taste the cabbage and I had issues with the dough so I just bought frozen puff pastry and that turned out very well. You can also slice and roast them ( http://wellnessmama.com/5909/roasted-cabbage-slices/ ) and that turns out pretty good as well!
sounded like a food saving post to me. . .
I was trying to find a recipe an old friend made for me once with cabbage. I'll have to ask her if I misunderstood because I swear it didn't taste like cabbage. Anyway, in my searching I found this:
http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/cabbage-kofta-recipe-cabbage-kofta-curry/
If your family likes Indian food it might be a fun one to try.
Cabbage: shredded and added to green salad, just like you can buy in the bagged mix.
Or sautéed, as others have said. For an Asian twist, stir in a tiny (start with just 1/2 teaspoon and increase to taste) bit of chili-garlic sauce.
Or shredded and added to stir fry. It sort of melts down and you don't see it or even taste it much.
We love it cut into wedges, drizzled with olive oil and roasted in the oven. Also like to sauté some shallot, garlic and just a little pancetta or bacon for flavor and then remove that from the pan, leaving the grease and then sauté the cabbage in that with a little olive oil added. Those 2 methods also made my cabbage-hating hubby eat it.
I am actually a huge cabbage fan and love all the recipes above, however, the best way to win over die-hard cabbage detesters(?) is to fine a nice family who likes cabbage and bequeath to them your lovely 2 heads. Problem solved and all is happy.
I've used cabbage to make Chinese dumplings. When you chop up the cabbage and squeeze the water out (use salt) it shrinks down quite a bit so you can use up quite a bit of it. I'm doing a farm share this summer and it's forcing us to try lots of new things too!
Have you ever tried runzas? I think they are also called bierocks. Basically a little bread hot pocket thingy stuffed with beef or pork, cabbage, and onions. I think the other ingredients mask the flavor of the cabbage a little. I like and would recommend them 🙂
Nebraskan, perchance? But yes, a strong second for runzas, as I don't like cabbage much but will eat runzas. This recipe is a strong tastealike to the ones from Runza restaurants: http://www.food.com/recipe/runza-80204.
Also, core the cabbage, force a bunch of processed cheese in it (yes, velveeta) and put it on the grill. After quite some time, at least an hour depending on how warm your grill is, the cheese will have capillary-actioned itself between all the layers and the cabbage itself will have cooked. Slice and serve. Oh, yes, tasty.
Have you ever tried a ramen noodle salad? It typically is made with coleslaw mix, but you could easily shrewd some cabbage and make it. It is sweet and tasty salad, but not coleslaw!
I was going to say sauerkraut for the cabbage, but then I saw that you don't like sauerkraut. Hmmmm. Cabbage isn't very easy to disguise.
You can make egg rolls with the cabbage. Yum! Another option is the runza -- it's a meat/cabbage mixture in a bun. It's kind of like a homemade hot pocket. I'm not a huge cabbage fan, and both of these recipes kind of mask the cabbage flavor.
Have you tried a coleslaw using vinaigrette instead of a mayo dressing? Add thin slivers of red bell pepper, red onion and pea pods. It's yummy. Also Nom Nom Paleo has a dandy stir-fry recipe I use all the time:
http://nomnompaleo.com/post/41781593486/whole30-day-29-garbage-stir-fry-with-curried-cabbage
Roasted cabbage is yummy, sweet & crispy (but I love all roasted veggies, so maybe I'm biased).
I also love cabbage soup (cabbage, onions, crushed tomatoes, spices). I just found this recipe yesterday but haven't tried it yet: http://www.notveganyet.blogspot.com/2014/05/fat-burning-cabbage-tortilla-soup.html
this might not work for this time of year but you can look up Divas can cook website or youtube page and search for her cabbage soup , it's to die for, I'm not a big fan of a tomato based soup so I wasn't sure until the first bite, delicious!
I have a rather cautious relationship with cabbage as well, but I absolutely love this [non traditional] coleslaw recipe: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2007/06/and-then-i-moved-into-the-refrigerator/
(The other recipes on this page are amazing as well)
Also, cabbage is very good if it is sliced -very- finely and served in fish tacos.
Hope this helps!
Laura
Cabbage makes a really good soup too...sub it out for the spinach or kale, or make up your own soup--the one I make has cabbage, cooked ground sausage, carrots, heavy cream, and chicken broth.
We like bangers and mash a lot here. If you don't have bangers, a specific sausage, I'd just use a good Italian sausage. The mash is cooked cabbage mixed with mashed potatoes and it's awesome. We don't really like cabbage either, but mixed with mashed potatoes it's great! I just searched recipes online. Good luck!
Ham and cabbage is palatable, and uses up a pretty good portion of cabbage in making it.
You can also try using cabbage leaves to make lunch wraps with various other seasonal veggies and lunch meat.
You could try Cheeseburger Cabbage Skillet
http://justrightporridge.com/cheeseburger-plate/
or
Eggroll in a Bowl
http://www.bigtastetrimwaist.com/2014/03/17/egg-roll-in-a-bowl-s-e-or-fp/
Hi
I grew up earing ethnic foods as my mother and her family are from europe. We ate a lot of cabbage growing up. I actually like cabbage however one of my favorite dishes is saute cabbage in butter, sugar and salt and pepper. It is then mixed with cooked bowtie noodles. Simmer for about 7 minutes until flavors are mixed. Obviously you use enough butter to create a sauce for the noodles and the cabbage is cooked down. I have messed with the recipe over the years and added yellow squash and carrots from time to time for variety but the original recipe is just cabbage noodle butter sugar salt and pepper. The amount of sugar is to taste but it tends to be on the sweet side. My husband likes it on the salty side so he adds more salt on his plate. The amount of butter is 1 stick to start but cabbage is watery so you may add more or less butter depending on moisture of the cabbage.
I make roasted cabbage 'steaks'. Slice the cabbage in 1" 'steaks' (horizontally or vertically - doesn't matter). lightly oil a pyrex dish and put the cabbage in the pan, sprinkle a little more olive oil on the cabbage slices and sprinkle with salt and pepper. roast in the oven at 375 or 400 (depending on if you are cooking anything else with it) for about 20 minutes or so. it makes the cabbage taste sweeter and it loses some of the cabbagey taste that most people don't like.
I'm Not a Cabbage Lover either.
The only way I can eat it is if it is Boiled Or Steamed to a SOFT texture.
& I hv to hv Mashed Potatoes to eat with it in a bite 😉
I think the Kale tastes like Broccoli too. I made the chips they were good til I put them in a plastic bag & they went from Dried Chips to Moist Soft Mess ...YUCK ! :/ lesson Leraned
I even let them completely Cool & sit out for 1-1/2-2 hrs but I guess plastic bags ( zip loc ) are Not the way to store them. Bummer it was about 1-2lbs of Kale Chips 🙁
PS
I like Cabbage in Portuguese "Soupish "
That's where I fits had Cabbage 🙂
Oh I just Remembered I Can tolerate Cabbage ( not a Fan of Cabbage ) in that Top Roman Noodle Salad. It's pretty good I don't like a lot of it but good as a Side w- Chicken 🙂
Several years ago I faced the same cabbage dilemma with a husband and kids who stuck their noses up at the mention of cabbage, but I participated in a neighborhood veggie coop and cabbage was oftentimes included in our box. The following stir fry became a family favorite and my husband and I will eat it as a complete meal.
Stir Fry Veggies
Coarsely shred one large cabbage head
Thinly slice 2 large onions
Chop or shred 3 carrots
Slice 2 green peppers and 1 red pepper (or 3 green ones)
Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large electric skillet or large frying pan or wok. Sauté 1 tablespoon minced garlic. Add all the vegetables. At first you will think you have enough to feed a small country, but it all cooks down. Occasionally stir to allow all the veggies to cook through. Salt and pepper to taste.
**Of course if you have any cooked chicken, ham, sausage, hamburger, or beef you could add at the end to heat through and allow the flavors to meld.
I have a friend who puts her garden over-abundances on free cycle- you could do that with the extra cabbage.
I really like irish colcannon. Mashed potatoes with sauted onion bacon and cabbage. Yummy
I see that others mentioned adding the cabbage to fried rice and that is the suggestion I was going to say. Shred it (and a carrot or two) and stir fry with some sesame oil and soy sauce (chicken stock if you want, also)until it wilts down. I add it to my fried rice and it seems to add a different flavor to it without being an overwhelming cabbage taste. (I also make egg rolls out of the cabbage/carrot mix.)
I am also a big fan of kimchee, but it is definitely an acquired taste (and smell).
For another alternative, add a sweet dressing, shredded carrots, raisins or craisins and pinneaple to shredded cabbage for a sweeter cole slaw.
(Side comment. The soup you made is a favorite of ours and one I make at home regularly.)
I'm learning to like cabbage more, but historically have not been a huge fan.
Shred it and add it into a regular chopped vegetable salad. Raw mixed in with lettuce & other greens and it blends right in.
I agree with the others who mentioned it in soup. Again, shred and I've added it to tomato based vegetable soups.
I am from India, and I love to eat curried cabbage vegetable. So, if you like to try you can make a simple curried Indian style vegetable and have it with plain rice and yogurt, whole wheat tortillas or pita breads, some yogurt, and Indian mixed pickle.
I make it quite often, but have been making for a long time and don't have a recipe written down with measurements :-). Here's a recipe you can try:
1. Cabbage Vegetable
http://www.girlcooksworld.com/2013/04/spicy-yellow-indian-cabbage.html
2. Cabbage Paratha
Then there are stuffed cabbage tortillas (I don't know what to call them in English; in India they are called Cabbage Paratha), that are yummy with ketchup or soup or mint chutney or a cup of nice hot tea or coffee.
http://www.tarladalal.com/Cabbage-Parathas-%28-Nutritious-Recipe-For-Pregnancy%29-22459r
I don't know about this claim of good for pregnancy, but they are good to eat for sure :-). And, I'm a guy so I'm not so worried about this added benefit for me per se LOL!
3. Cabbage Muthia (Steamed Dumplings)
There is another cabbage recipe that is just too good. I am not too good at making these, but back home my mom makes these and they are too good as snacks with a cup of tea / coffee, mint chutney and ketchup.
http://www.chefandherkitchen.com/2013/07/cabbage-muthia-gujarati-snacks-recipes.html
I'd be interested to know if you made any of these, and how did you like them.
Enjoy!
It may sound a bit unconventional but grilled cabbage is absolutely delish for non-cabbage lovers. As a plus, it also doesn't make your house smell like cooked cabbage. I slice my cabbage into fourths (leaving the core in place). Drizzle olive oil and about a teaspoon of sugar onto each segment (the sugar is actually essential). Then grill until done.
My go-to way of cooking cabbage is to slice it into very thin shreds and slowly saute it in a combo if oil and butter (salt and pepper too, of course). I usually then have it with and egg or two, toast or hash browns or roasted potatoes and sliced tomato if I have any.
If you've got carrots on hand, shred both super thin for a cold salad and dress with olive oil, salt & pepper, lemon, and chopped garlic (you can skip garlic if that's a no-no for some or swap/add minced ginger to change up the flavor even more). In any case, raw green cabbage is pretty mild in this form.
If you're into lettuce wraps you can mix shredded raw cabbage with sprouts as part of the filler, and if you choose a soy-based dressing or peanut sauce, that'll prob mask most veggies anyway.
We make a yummy Japanese salad with cabbage - you can find it here!
http://www.companyscoming.com/pdf/freestuff/recipes/Japanese%20Cabbage%20Salad%20.pdf
I make cabbage stir fried for dinner with Asian style chicken and rice. It is super good. Here is my recipe:
http://www.5dollardinners.com/danas-stir-fry-cabbage/
One of my favorite ways to use cabbage is to cut it into wedges, roast it, and drizzle it with balsamic vinegar. I also like Cabbage Slaw with Orange-Pumpkin Seed Dressing from "The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper" - you can make the whole thing in the food processor so it's super easy and the flavors (cumin, coriander, garlic) are really different than typical coleslaw.
Though I'm not really a huge cabbage fan, I have fallen in love with a salad from the Smitten Kitchen blog. She calls it a slaw, but it's really just a salad. I usually use Napa cabbage in it, but as long as you're shredding VERY FINE, regular cabbage should work fine. Maybe leave the dressing on the cabbage for a few hours before finishing the salad. http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2010/07/mango-slaw-with-cashews-and-mint/
Also, when I use kale in salad, I'll often stretch it out half and half with shredded cabbage. With a sturdy dressing, the flavors of the greens aren't overpowering. Nice and crunchy. I know it's a big risk to make a LOT of salad that potentially no one will like. But if you make a little sample salad, not too much is risked.
Happy Cabbage to you!
I really love this recipe: http://lookimadethat.com/2011/05/27/cabbagepeanutsalad/
When cabbage is finely shredded and covered with a delicious peanut sauce, it doesn't so much taste like cabbage as much as it just gives a really great crunch.
My parents make a vegetable casserole. They make it on the grill but I'm sure it could be made in the oven as well. It is very versatile as well. It is usually cabbage, squash, potatoes, onions, butter, salt and pepper. They sometimes also add in zucchini, mushrooms, carrots. It is fabulous. All vegetables are sliced except the cabbage. You don't really even notice the cabbage with all the other vegetables in it.
I saw this recipe for cabbage and it looks good. The bonus is if you don't like it roasted you could disguise the leftovers in soup.
http://skinnyms.com/dijon-roasted-cabbage/
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/creamed-cabbage-soup
My dad hates, hates, hates cabbage, and loves this!! This is our favorite receipe, and we make it all the time!
A reader of mine told me about a curried pea and peanut slaw, using cabbage, that my family REALLY loved. Here's my post on that, if your family likes curried peanut anything. It is yummy and I've now made it several times, tweaking it here and there (adding green onions makes it especially good!)
http://www.creativesavv.com/2014/03/curried-pea-and-peanut-slaw.html
# 1 cabbage will last for a long time so doesn't have to be used this week.
#2 shred some in any green salad we love it this way prefer the purple but the green works just as well.
#3 if invited to any get together take slaw others love it even if your family don't ( only part of us here does).
#4 hopefully it won't all go to waste 🙂
In Nebraska, extra cabbage is a good excuse to make Runzas: delicious meat and cabbage filled bread pockets. This recipe is similar to my grandma's recipe. We always added dried oregano, garlic, mushrooms and Swiss cheese to the filling.
http://www.dumplingsanddoughnuts.com/2013/04/03/family-recipe-grandmas-runzas-or-nebraska-meat-pies/
They are time intensive, but they freeze well.
Two fabulous soups:
http://www.alexandracooks.com/2013/01/09/paul-steindlers-cabbage-soup-and-a-peasant-bread-follow-up/ This is a middle-European holiday cabbage soup, with a very slight sweet-and-sour cast, rich and unusual and really special. It was originally published in the NY Times in 1983, but for some reason they've got the recipe formatted in a way that's impossible to read, so I'm sending this version. The soup went viral at the time (although we didn't know to call it that back then), and with good reason. It is a cool-weather soup, though, at least to my way of thinking.
http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/2161167-Minestrone-alla-Romagnola And Marcella Hazan's minestrone. This is really wonderful, easier to make than the Steindler soup, and Marcella says that it is traditionally eaten at room temperature as well as hot. You can use frozen Italian green beans if fresh ones aren't available. I don't soak the zucchini. And we always cut up the parmesan rind after it's been cooked into little cubes and put them back in the soup. Everybody fights for their fair share of the pieces...
Sauté half a pound of bacon with half a head of cabbage, shredded. While that's going boil some egg noodles and when they're done throw them in with the bacon/cabbage mixture and add a ladleful of pasta water. Let it all cook together for a minute or two. So yummy and cheap! The cabbage flavor is really mild with this. Really anything combining bacon and cabbage is going to be good 🙂
My son spent 4 years in Japan and came home with this recipe. It's now one of my favorites and a good way to use up veggies. I've altered this recipe several times adding whatever happens to be in my fridge. Here's one of my favorite combinations:
Okonomiyaki -
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup water
2 eggs
1/2 head cabbage, shredded
1 zucchini, sliced thin
1 japanese eggplant, sliced thin
1 sliced green onion
10 raw medium shrimp, cleaned and cut into quarters
vegetable oil
For toppings:
ao-nori (dried seaweed powder) *optional
okonomiyaki sauce (it's like a thick teriyaki sauce)
mayonnaise (traditional is the "Kewpie" brand)
katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) *optional
beni-shoga (pickled red ginger) *optional
Preparation:
Put flour in a large bowl. Pour water and mix to make batter. Rest the batter for about an hour in the refrigerator. Layer the eggs and veggies over the batter and gently mix together. Heat a pan (I use cast iron) and oil lightly. Pour the batter in the pan and make a round shape. Cover and cook for about 5-7 minutes. Flip the okonomiyaki and cook for about 5 minutes or until cooked through. Flip the okonomiyaki again and spread okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise on top. Sprinkle aonori over the sauce. Sprinkle katsuobushi and beni-shoga if you would like. The toppings can be purchased at an Asian Market in the Japanese section. Or, if you prefer, just eat them plain…it's super delicious either way.
I shred my cabbage, then saute with mushrooms and onions or leeks, before adding a protein (choose one: diced pepperoni or chorizo, shredded or cubed poached chicken or turkey, leftover baked pork, chopped walnuts for a veggie option) and dressing with maple-mustard dressing. In the winter, I eat that warm over rice or mashed potato, in the summer, I often roll it in spring roll wrappers - one head of cabbage will usually serve two adults over rice, or one or two adults as spring rolls (depending, of course, on the size of your cabbage).
This probably doesn't help you, but the first use I thought of for cabbage is to reducing engorgement when your milk comes in after giving birth. 🙂
Haha, yeah...I'm kind of past that stage of life!
Well... I'm another cabbage fan so I'm not sure how this will translate for cabbage haters but... one of my favorite things to do with cabbage is to saute it and add it to a stir fry. I like it as a stand alone veggie in the stir fry, but since you're dealing with cabbage haters, you can easily disguise it amid a bunch of colorful veggies like red peppers, broccoli, snap peas, carrots, etc. The shredded cabbage basically disappears into the mix. Add some soy sauce, Shao Xing cooking wine and maybe a few hot peppers if you like spicy Chinese food and voila! They'll never even know it's in there!
Just thought of another way to hide cabbage. Make borscht! I can't find my recipe at the moment, but you can just google borscht cabbage recipes and you'll find a zillion. The one I used had tomatoes in it which also helped to hide the cabbage.
When I was growing up, my mother would boil a ham with potatoes and cabbage all in the same pot so the cabbage was very wilted by the time it came to serving. I prefer lighter preparations. Have you tried making an Asian flavored slaw? I usually dilute the cabbage with grated carrots and cucumber. The dressing is a combination of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, and a hot sauce (I use any Asian chili sauce). Add crushed peanuts for a salty tang or a peanut dressing (the same ingredients with peanut butter added). Good luck!
Looks like you already have plenty of cabbage suggestions. I would say for kale that it is so easy to freeze. Wash, chop, freeze. Ready for future use in smoothies and soups if it's at risk for turning into slime in your fridge.
I either saute it or cut it in wedges and roast it with a little bit of EVOO, salt and pepper. Delicious!
I would use up the cabbage as bubble and squeak. My husband is from England and this is a dish of his childhood. Basically it's cabbage, onions, potatos (and any other leftover veg) sauted with butter and maybe some bacon and you can eat it for any meal. Also great to use cabbage in stirfry and make some into pickles. Enjoy.
USING CABBAGE: Try the Moneysavingmom.com recipe for Hamburger Soup, it is delicious. All of my kids love it and it uses a few cups of cabbage.
We have a microwave red cabbage dish that we do. WE leave the red cabbage crispy, as that is the way we prefer it and we do not tend to like cabbage. But do like german cabbage dishes. It is cooked in the microwave, so quick to prepare, but needs some marinating time before the cooking.
Ingredients
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. white grape juice
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
1 clove garlic , minced
1 dash ginger
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 dash cayenne
1 1/2 lb. chicken breast , boneless/skinless
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 red pepper cut into strips
1 cup red cabbage , shredded
1/4 cup green onion sliced (optional)
8 oz. of spaghetti
Directions
In 10x10x2-inch microwave-safe baking dish, combine soy sauce, 1 tablespoon olive oil, grape juice, brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, ginger, black pepper and cayenne. Cut chicken into 1/2 inch strips. Stir chicken into sauce. Cover dish with plastic wrap and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes. Remove chicken from marinade. Stir cornstarch into marinade until well blended. Place chicken in an even layer in marinade mixture. Recover, turning back one edge of plastic wrap to vent. Stirring halfway through cooking time, microwave on high until chicken is tender and sauce is thickened, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in red pepper, cabbage and onion. Recover with plastic wrap, turning back one edge to vent. Microwave on high until vegetables are crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Cook pasta according to directions on package and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Serve chicken and vegetables over pasta.
Source: A calendar from a local tea shop
THIS I can deal with. Much moreso than kale.
The best way I've found to deal with spinach is to make spring rolls. Marinate pork, tofu, or chicken (maybe beef? I don't eat it) in some soy sauce, fresh ginger, and lime juice. Add hoisin if you wish. Cook, and add finely chopped veggies - cabbage, carrots, onion, celery, and so on. Either seal in wonton wrappers or use spring roll wrappers; in the summer, I don't even crispy-bake the spring rolls, we just have them "raw." Best of all (for me), spring roll wrappers are made of rice and tapioca flours, so they're gluten-free.
You guys, thanks so much for all of the suggestions! I really, really appreciate the help, and I'm feeling a little more optimistic about my chances of using up my cabbage now.
On Bread crumbs:
I don't think you need freezer space for your bread or bread cuumbs. When I have stale bread I let it completely (just air dry or in the still warm oven after I've used it) when several slices accumulate I chop them with my food processor, and, store them in a covered plasticware container in the cupboard.
I wasn't a cole slaw fan myself until I had some at my friend Mary Jo's house. Her "recipe"marinate shredded cabage in Italian salad dressing for several hours, add chopped apple, sunflower seeds and mayo. Try it I think you'll like it.
I was completely surprised when my children devoured ALL of the cookeed cabbage I made (for myself). They have since repeated this phenomenon. All I do is add butter/olive oil to a (lidded) pan. Then I add chopped cabbage and stir it around some. I add salt and pepper. Stir it around some more and put on the lid for a bit. Then I stir it around some more and put the lid back on and cook it until it's "done". It really sweetens up the cabbage and tones down the yucky taste.
Again, I as surprised. If you've not tried it, you might be, too.
I like cabbage in veggie soup and I also had it cooked once where it was sauteed' in oil (she used a LOT more than I'd probably use but it worked) but she did the onion and sausage with it - think she used a spicy Italian but the cabbage soaked the flavors of the oil, onion and sausage and was wilted and really good. I don't like raw cabbage like in cole slaw but can eat it cooked.
Does your family not like creamy Cole slaw or any cole slaw? I was an adult before I knew non-creamy existed so if you haven't tried that you could - my husband disliked creamy but loves this stuff.
http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/59318/amish-slaw
And this Korean noodle recipe is really good
http://4littlefergusons.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/korean-style-chicken-bowls/
Yeah, Mr. FG and the kids aren't really big fans of any sort of coleslaw. I don't mind it myself, but I'm not too motivated to make it just for me!
Here's a cabbage recipe I tried recently that we loved.
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/irish-skillet-dinner/
I thought we'd like it more with polish sausage so I bought a beef sausage link & sliced it thin. It was very good but I plan to try with the ground beef next time. My husband especially loved it.
This is one of my favorite soups to make - so easy and packed with so many delicious veggies! A single recipe called for 1/2 head of cabbage 🙂 http://kitchen-parade-veggieventure.blogspot.com/2006/01/day-285-weight-watchers-zero-points.html
Oriental Coleslaw Salad
1 package oriental-flavored ramen noodles - crushed
3 green onions, chopped (use only if very mild-I usually omit)
1 (16 ounce) bag angel hair coleslaw mix (not sure how this would convert to using actual cabbage heads)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 can mandarin oranges (cut oranges in half if you want)
Combine the above ingredients.
Dressing - mix in a jar you can shake
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
reserved seasoning packet from noodles
Pour the dressing over individual servings.
Add cooked bacon, shrimp, turkey or chicken for a main dish.
It's yummy, I promise!
I've never had it at Olive Garden either but Zuppa Toscana is a favorite over here too.
EGGROLLS!!!! Uses lots of cabbage with shredded carrots, onions, and ground pork or chicken.
But so much work. I don't know if I'm just really lazy, but egg rolls always seem to take so much time. And then I'm not a big fan of deep-frying because of the mess either.
Maybe if I did it more often, I'd get faster at the whole process?
We make a south Indian dish called thorn. This can be made with a variety of vegetables but we typically make it with cabbage as this dish is one of our main uses for it.
You just put some oil in a pan and add about a teaspoon of mustard seed to it. Wait for the mustard seed to start popping and then add chopped onion and the sliced cabbage (in about equal amounts) to the pan along with a teaspoon of turmeric and a teaspoon of salt. Then, add grated coconut...there is no set amount for this but more is better (and yummier!). I usually add between one and two cups of grated coconut (This is actual grated coconut...not that stuff you can find in the baking aisle!). Then let everything cook together until it is soft....you want to start it on low heat to bring the moisture out of the cabbage as this is a dry dish and then raise the heat after a few minutes to allow it to finish cooking.
With credits to The China Study cookbook . . You will love this one!
Sesame Noodle salad:
2 cups shredded cabbage
1 red bell pepper diced
2 medium carrots shredded
1 cup peanuts crushed
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 scallions diced
4 ox whole wheat pasta (cooked)
dressing:
1/4 cup light soy sauce (we leave this out - too much salt)
2 T tahini
1 T finely minced ginger
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 T agave
1/2 T sambal Oelek (we leave this out - too spicy)
1/2 tsp pepper
mix the salad ingredients, mix the dressing, pour over and toss.
I suppose you could add chicken if you wanted to.
My mum and I make a version of chow mein that uses chicken flavored ramen noodles, drained, minced beef, shredded cabbage and other veggies, onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and the seasoning packet from the ramen.
You can't taste the cabbage once it's cooked down and mixed with all the other flavors.
I can confirm that your version is close to the Italian recipe. And it really looks yummy! Though I think you put some cream (or similar) in it, while an Italian would put a bit of olive oil (personally I approve of creamy soups!).
Oh yes. I really adore creamy soups. In fact, creamy anything is my favorite!
I still remember some chowder I had in Ireland... 🙂
Creamy sauces are awesome too. I feel like almost everything can be improved with the addition of a creamy sauce.
I *totally* agree (and can you believe I have a friend who hates any kind of sauce?).
Yep-a friend of mine dislikes creamy things, which is completely unfathomable to me. Ha.
I have made the mu-shu chicken recipe from weelicious.com and my whole family loves it - great use of cabbage and easy recipe to follow. Also, I put chicken with bbq sauce in the crockpot for a few hours, shred, add more sauce. Put the chicken on a hamburger bun with shredded cabbage. Yummy and super easy!
Everyone has given some great recipe ideas, so I will just say if you can't /don't want to eat it all do you know a cabbage lover you could give it to? I know that is not frugal to you but then it wouldn't go to waste and I'm sure someone who likes cabbage would appreciate it
If you want my Cabbage Patch Stew email me. My 9 year old requests it, even in the summer.
I know I've come late to the cabbage party but wanted to toss a couple of ideas your way. Cabbage is very sweet tasting if you steam it. Try rough chopping some and the steam it till it is fairly done, then toss it in with a bunch of other veges that you have prepped for stir-fry and combine to make it into chow mein with whatever goodies you want to add, we like chicken, bean sprouts, every kind of vege going, toss in the steamed cabbage (it's amazingly sweet).
The other thing that is really a goodie you all might light is to make creamed potatoes and try adding some of the steamed cabbage in. If you like, sprinkle cheese on top of each bowl. We like creamed cabbage by itself with the cheese sprinkled but your family might need something to cut the straight flavor.
Enjoy! Bon Appetit!
Egg rolls are great, and scalloped cabbage (basically white sauce with cheese over steamed or baked cabbage) is a great disguise--check old cookbooks for this recipe. Also bierrocks (yeast rolls with cabbage and hamburger inside--great with ketchup) are usually kid-pleasers. How about roasted cabbage wedges? Roasting improves just about any vegetable, we think.
Where I grew up, something called cabbage buns were a staple during harvest time because they are filling and can be eaten while driving farming equipment. Everybody has their own recipe, but I make them by frying together a head of diced cabbage, a couple pounds of hamburger and a diced onion or two. Season it with salt and pepper or whatever your family likes. Let the mixture cool. While you are doing this, mix up a batch of bread dough (whatever kind you usually make will work) and let it rise. Now for the fun part. Flatten out a circle of dough until it is about the size of a CD. Put a big spoonful of burger/cabbage in the middle and seal it up around the edges. Put it seam side down on a pan to rise again and then bake it until the bread is cooked. Eat them warm right away or pop them in the freezer for later. Kids like to poke a hole in the top of the bun and squirt in ketchup. The cabbage totally "disappears" in terms of taste and texture but makes the ground beef stretch a lot farther and provides some moisture so the little sandwich isn't dry. This might sound like a lot of work, but it actually doesn't take long and makes a lot of tasty, healthy little buns.
If you like sauerkrautyou can shred and fermeny your own. 14 cups shredded cabbage makes 3 pints that once fermented to your liking last for months in the fridge. I use the fermented sauerkraut recipe that was featured in Martha Stewarts magazine- just cabbage salt and caraway seed- as my basic one.
My mom used to grill the cabbage. She cuts it up in chunks, adds olive oil, chopped onion, and adds salt pepper and lowrys seasoning salt. Then grills it until the cabbage is wilted. She would use 1/2 cup olive oil per head of cabbage, and seasoning to taste. It was the only way we would eat it as kids, now I love it!
You can boil the cabbage in a little chicken stock, then blend it to a fine pulp in the food processor. Add some corn, onion, bacon and maybe a dash of flour to thicken, and voila: corn chowder. Boiled and blended cabbage works great in any chowder as a substitute for cream.
Hi there. I just stumbled on your site by complete accident and I love it.
We like Holupki (sp?) but you said no cabbage rolls so I'm not sure if that's what you meant. I don't usually like cabbage, but with tomato broth, beef, and rice it's yummy. You could also probably add some to a puréed soup, like squash soup?
I like to make Chinese Chicken Salad. Any kind of cabbage works good. Chop up the cabbage into thin slices along with thin slices of peppers, snow peas and green onions. This is the base for the salad. Get some chicken thighs and marinate them in any honey ginger or teriyaki type sauce and then broil them. Slice the chicken into narrow strips. Mix all together with the cabbage.
Cabbage is one of those ingredients that doesn't seem like goes with anything sometimes. My husband loves it boiled (yuck!) but I like it incorporated into things. Egg rolls are tasty, but a lot of work, and don't necessarily use up a whole head. If you're looking to use up a whole head, make cabbage rolls (labour intensive... no lie), or lazy cabbage rolls. Very simple, in terms of ingredients.
1 large head of cabbage (or two small ones)
3-4 cups prepared rice (any type)
1 lb of bacon OR ground beef (I recommend 80-20)
2 large onions, diced
salt, pepper
2 cans of tomato soup (IF you're making actual cabbage rolls)
If you're making rolls, freeze the head of cabbage and let it thaw, it will make using the leaves so much easier. Just cut out the thick stem. If you're making lazy cabbage rolls, shred whole raw cabbage.
Sautee the meat with the onions until the onions are slightly carmelized. Season appropriately (you're going to need a lot of salt if you use ground beef, and none if you use bacon) -drain about 1/2 the fat. Toss in the shredded cabbage, stir it as it cooks down. When the cabbage is cooked through and starting to carmelize add in the cooked rice and stir well, heating the rice through. Taste and season appropriately - serve hot or cold.
If you're making rolls, sautee meat and onions until cooked through, add rice, season to taste. Spoon about 2tbsp of cooled mixture into a whole leaf and roll it up like a burrito. Place seam side down in a baking pan. When whole pan is filled, top with tomato soup and bake in oven at 350 for about 40 mins to 1 hour, or until cabbage is tender. Serve.
Both these methods are GREAT for using up extra cabbage, I made lazy cabbage rolls last night, took about 40 minutes and used nappa cabbage in place of regular cabbage.
You could also make kim chi if you're adventurous!
Way to go, me for not noting that "no cabbage rolls" was mentioned. Lazy cabbage rolls taste almost nothing like cabbage rolls. Especially if you use bacon...
I almost forgot! Piergies!They're a little labour intensive, but they're little nuggest of delicious! carmelized onions, carmelized cabbage and mashed potato filling. My recipe is posted here for the dough... (scroll down) http://inspiringsavings.com/2013/02/09/latkes-potato-bacon-coupon-pierogies-recipe-contest-submissions/
the filling can be mixed and matched however you need... just make sure it's all well cooked.
Cabbage pizza. For reals.
I've used this recipe before http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2007/08/16/cabbage-pizza/ but have also just put it on as a topping. After I discovered it's an awesome way to use cabbage, anyway!