The great thing about joining a CSA is that, as I've noticed, you can manage to avoid grocery stores for weeks on end. The not-so-great thing as that you no longer get a say in
what ends up in your fridge.
For the most part I've really enjoyed the challenge of cooking with a such a wide variety of veggies each week. Having to come up with new recipes and work with what I have has re-ignited a smoldering passion for cooking. My lunches have been filled with fresh salads giving me the energy to really go to town cooking dinner. My most surprising discovery to date has been the versatility of bitter greens. Swiss chard and beet greens have found their way into soups, stir-frys, pastas and
pastries. The snap peas have been snacked on, the broccoli braised, and this week I'll be turning out a batch of garlic scape and basil pesto. It's all been rather exciting.
But this weeks bag'o'food threw some challenges my way. For one, I now have 5 zucchinis in my fridge, on top of the dozens in my
home-away-from-home garden, and I will soon have to
confront this surplus. But worst of all, there it was at the bottom of the bag looming ominously... cabbage. And not the lovely kind you find in Chinese food or kimchi, but the big ol' round gassy kind that - for whatever reason - people seem to like pickled on their pork.
Not that I'm totally averse to cabbage...I'll eat pretty much anything, I'm just not cabbage's biggest fan and I don't really know where to start. I'm pretty coleslaw'd out thanks to 3 weeks of kohlrabi, and the only cooked incarnations of cabbage I've come across are cabbage rolls and borscht. Now I like a good perogie, but that's pretty much where my love of Eastern European cuisine comes to an end.
So I'm putting the call out. Send me all your cabbage recipes. I will pick one to use with this head of cabbage and the winning entry gets my next head of cabbage...deal?
If I don't get another cabbage, then I've got some
Gold Rush and Costata Romanesca zucchinis with your name on it!
(You must be in the downtown Galt area to win...I doubt cabbage does well by Canada Post)
Update:
Here are the winning recipes, submitted by one of our own staff, Ewa (and no I'm not playing favourites, she was the only one to submit recipes):
VEGETARIAN CABBAGE SOUP
Ingredients:
2 cups chopped cabbage
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 large gold potato
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
4 cups of filtered or spring water or vegetable broth
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Use 4 cups of water or vegetable broth to boil all ingredients except cilantro, salt, and pepper. Boil until vegetables are tender.
2. Transfer 3 cups of soup into a blender and blend until creamy.
Add blended mixture back to pot, adding cilantro, salt and pepper to taste.
3. Stir for a minute and serve.
Enjoy this delicious cabbage chickpea soup on its own or with a bowl of rice and a fresh vegetable salad.
KAPUśNIAK [kapooshniak]
Ingredients:
8 cups water
1 lb pork riblets
8 cups chopped cabbage
2 cups shredded carrots
1 medium chopped onion
2 garlic cloves
6 potatoes
1 bay leave
5 all spice corns
5 black pepper corns
salt
2 cups chopped peeled tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped dill
table cream (18%)
Directions:
Boil slow riblets in water with spices in a large stock pot over medium heat for 1 hour.
Add chopped onion, garlic, cabbage, carrots, and diced potatoes.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat.
Simmer about 30 minutes until cabbage wilts.
Stir in tomatoes and return to a boil, then simmer 20 to 30 minutes, stirring often.
Serve hot with dill and cream.
Ingredients:
