Mixed bag, mostly cabbage ~ Ham Pie Sandwiches

29 March 2009

Mixed bag, mostly cabbage

What is going on??

Mac and cheese; cabbage salad.

The mac and cheese is pretty standard: I made cream sauce (i.e. "sauce mornay") with extra sharp cheddar and 2% milk, then mixed in a pan of cooked, drained gemelli. Mac and cheese needs lots and lots of fresh black pepper. It was comfort food night.

The cabbage salad is also a standard treatment: finely chopped green cabbage mixed with an oil and apple cider vinegar dressing, then scattered with toasted walnuts. You could instead take out the dressing and use straight up fresh lemon juice and salt, or add a bunch of finely slivered crisp apples or pears.

O cabbage, I love you so. You are so cheap, so delicious, and yet so full of delicious nutrient. Why don't more people eat you? Do they not know that Captain Cook fed his crews big barrels of sauerkraut to keep them free from scurvy? Do racial and class stereotypes of cabbage still persist; when people hear "cabbage", do they picture the smell of boiled cabbage wafting through the halls of slum tenements? Or do they picture bowls of mayo-dense coleslaw slowly congealing on the blistering picnic table? When's the last time they ate a cabbage roll, a piroshki, a bite of kimchi or a plate of steamed bok choy? What do they think those huge, thick leaves in their Thai curry are? THEY ARE CABBAGE, AND CABBAGE IS GOOD.

Yes. Anyway.

Then later I softened some fresh ginger and garlic in oil, added finely chopped cabbage and carrot, and stirfried it with sriracha, green onion, and lots of sesame seeds. We ate it for dinner.

In the morning, I made the leftovers into what was practically fried rice without the rice. Warm cabbage in a little flavorless oil until sizzling a little. Pour a beaten egg over it and stir until the egg is fully cooked. This ended up making a bowl of highly-textured vegetables, with practically no distinguishable egg bits. It was totally perfect for breakfast.

CABBAGE!

2 comments:

kickpleat said...

I love cabbage too. Like a lot.

Eileen said...

oh yeah! cabbage club!