Cabbage is one of my favorite vegetables. My other half enjoys it, too, and we eat it often. My 22 year old will only eat it if it's raw or very lightly stir-fried and none of DH's kids like it at all. Regardless, it's a truly under-appreciated vegetable and when bought on sale, a very frugal food choice.
Not only that, cabbage is good for you! This lowly member of the brassica family has been found through research to help prevent cancer of the stomach, breast, and colon. Drinking cabbage juice is a help for peptic ulcers. Years ago I had horrible ulcers and drinking cabbage juice and taking red pepper capsules controlled the pain of them.
Our favorite way to eat it is baked. There are many ways to bake it but here's how we do it:
In a good sized baking pan, heat a tablespoon or so of butter or margarine (we use Smart Balance) and some olive oil (about 1/8 of a cup). Quarter the cabbage and when the pan contents are hot, add the cabbage. Flip it around some so that all sides get well coated. Season as you like, cover, and bake at about 350 until the cabbage is tender. We season with garlic pepper seasoning salt and a bit of basil and chopped garlic and cook it about 30 minutes or so. Sometimes I use the same concept but cook it in a skillet. Either way it's a great way to round out a skimpy meal.
Cabbage is also wonderful as a filler in soups, stews, and other budget dishes. There's a local taco shop that uses shredded cabbage rather than lettuce. The first time I had one of their tacos I wasn't sure I liked it. There was a soft tortilla rather than a hard shell, cabbage rather than lettuce, diced steak rather than ground beef, not a lot of chili type seasoning and a lot of cilantro! The taste grew on me, though, and it's now one of my favorite places for a quick and cheap (3/$1) taco. If you're pretty adventurous in the kitchen try making tacos with shredded cabbage. You might like 'em!
I love cole slaw, too, but rather than the kind with the creamy dressing, I make a dressing with vinegar, olive oil, and spices. I just slice the cabbage very thinly, put it in a large bowl and add some shredded carrot, a little green bell pepper, green onion, and chopped garlic. In a small bowl I mix some olive oil, a little apple cider vinegar, a dash of sweetener and some salt and pepper. I blend that well and pour it over the vegetables. Then I just toss it well, cover and let it sit in the refrigerator awhile. It's tasty, refreshing, and very inexpensive.
If you haven't taken advantage of cabbage, put it to use in your meals. And if you have a garden and haven't grown it, plant a few! They're not hard to grow and they're so tasty!
The under-appreciated cabbage
January 11th, 2007 at 01:14 pm
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I have some polish/russian in me too so guess after growing up with grandma's cabbage-filled pierogis, i'm a goner.
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Frugalmomof1, I'll have to try that way too. I'm sure I'll love it!
Threebeansalad, how do you make your egg rolls?
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The cabbage and lentil soup sounds good but no one here would eat it but me! I might make some, though, just a small amount for me.
Baselle, I'll look into that. I love cole slaw, too, and would probably enjoy that!