Cabbage

Cabbage is certainly in season right now. I try to eat seasonally to take advantage of the produce at their peak season. This is when the nutrients are the most dense and the food is the most flavorful. For most people, including myself, I only associate cabbage with St. Patrick's Day. While my family never really celebrated this holiday with a specific cuisine, I have on occasion tried cooked cabbage in March and was never really a big fan. But this was years ago and now that I'm eating a cleaner diet I felt that my taste buds should be re-introduced to this nutritious food.

Cabbage is a member of the cruciferous family (broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, kale and Brussels sprouts are some of its relatives) which is an all-star sub-category of vegetables. They are most famous for their cancer fighting abilities, due to their huge amounts of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. There are numerous studies published that link these power veggies to reducing cancer risks in patients.  Cabbage in particular has an enormous amount of Vitamin C, as well as a good amount of fiber, B complex, potassium, magnesium and calcium.

The cruciferous family should be a regular sight on your dinner table, but if you have thyroid issues you may want to take caution. I dealt with a small thyroid issue during my second pregnancy and my research taught me that these vegetables also have goitrogens in them. What they heck are those? Basically, it's a substance that blocks the formation of the thyroid hormone. It really shouldn't be an issue for anyone with a normally functioning thyroid, but if you have any of those issues, maybe don't pile them on your plate alllll the time. I also think I read that if you cook them this will break down the goitrogens but I am not positive on that one.

As always, I sure as heck am no doctor! Do your own research. There are rare cases when food does not act as medicine, but for the most part you can't go wrong eating directly from Mother Nature's supermarket.

Now when I made cabbage a few weeks ago, I tried a recipe from Nourishing Traditions. I used red cabbage (which isn't as sweet as green cabbage) and I really liked it. It's key to really dress up red cabbage to help with its sometimes bitter flavor. Also, the red color may dwindle when cooked (to almost a blue tone!) so be sure to cook with some sort of acid (either vinegar or lemon juice) to help retain its more appetizing color.

Red Cabbage with Orange

1 medium red cabbage
1 small onion, chopped
grated rind of 2 oranges
juice of 2 oranges
1 t salt
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
1 T raw honey
3 T whey (or raw wine vinegar) *I used white wine vinegar. 
4 T butter

Marinate all of these ingredients over night (except for the butter). Melt butter in a large frying pan and then add the cabbage mixture. Bring it to a simmer, reduce heat, cover and let it cook for about an hour. I actually think mine was done in about 40 minutes. You want to wait until the cabbage is tender and the liquid has pretty much evaporated. I left mine a bit crunchy but cook to whatever consistency you find appetizing.

This recipe falls under the "has potential" category. I really liked it a lot, and so did my Mom. The Peanut ate some of it, but the Music Man wasn't feeling it, and The Hubs said it tasted "interesting." He will never admit it, but I know "interesting" is not a good reaction from him. It has a pretty strong citrus flavor, which is not his thing. It's one of those dishes that tastes great if you combine it with other things on your plate. I served it with chicken and I believe asparagus. I mixed it with the chicken and I could see using it as a topping on other meats, like a turkey burger. I also used it cold the next day on a salad and I felt it gave my sometimes boring green salad a really nice punch of flavor.

I think I will try making it again, but I have to give some thought as to what I pair it with.