Green Cabbage

Scouting around in my neighbourhood Amish Book Store, I found this little handy cookbook, The Practical Produce Cookbook – How to Plant, Pick, Prepare and Preserve Produce, by Ray and Elsie Hoover and family. In this very informative cookbook, I found three recipes for Cabbage that I will share with you, as many of us are stuck at this time of the year as to what else we can do with cabbage, other than boiling it, making cabbage rolls or coleslaw which either stinks up the house or become a big time-consuming production.  There are plenty of recipes, but I have picked three of them that I think are easy and take no time at all to prepare.  The first one is a hearty soup, Turkey Minestrone with Cabbage that I am certainly going to be making after our next delivery day, the second a Cabbage and Ground Beef Casserole which sounds so easy, and finally a Sweet Sour Vegetable Salad with Cabbage which I think would be great at a pot-luck.  Have fun with these recipes, and let me know if they turn out, as I have not actually tested them in my kitchen

TURKEY MINESTRONE WITH CABBAGE

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 cup cut green beans
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 tsp basil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove crushed garlic
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 6 cups chicken or beef broth
• 2 cups peeled and chunked tomatoes
• chopped fresh parsley

Brown turkey in a large kettle.  Add everything and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender.  Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley if desired.

CABBAGE AND GROUND BEEF CASSEROLE

• 1 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 cups seeded chopped tomatoes
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 8 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 1/2 cup cooked rice
• grated cheese

Brown meat then add green pepper, onion, celery, tomatoes, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Cook until almost done.  Add cabbage and rice.  Mix well.  Put into a casserole and top with grated cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Old Fashioned Creamy Coleslaw

SWEET SOUR VEGETABLES WITH CABBAGE

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, optional or 1 tsp celery seeds if you don’t want spicy
• 1 1/2 lb green cabbage
• 2 medium carrots
• 2 broccoli stalks

Place sugar, vinegar, water, salt and red pepper flakes in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and cool.  While syrup cools, tear cabbage into bite-sized pieces.  Peel carrots and broccoli stems (save florets for another use) and slice them thin on the diagonal.  Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan.  Add all vegetables at once.  Blanch for 2 minutes.  Drain.  Pack vegetables in a large bowl with a tight fitting lid, pour syrup over top and store in refrigerator for a few days to incorporate flavours.

Alternatively: Pack vegetables into quart jars and fill to the top with syrup.  Cover and refrigerate at least one week before using.  Will keep 2-3 months in the refrigerator.