Sauteed Purple Cabbage with Apples and Red Wine

Have you ever wondered why a cabbage is so heavy? Its because that homely crucifer has far more layers tightly wound inside than you could ever imagine. Seriously, I cut up a medium-sized purple cabbage on sunday, sauteed it, served it to several guests and ate it every day for 3 to follow. I STILL have leftovers. The good news is it goes with everything. 


The first two days we ate it with pan seared poultry sausages, the next day I ate it as a cold salad with hard-boiled eggs and finally we mixed it into our butternut squash soup for dinner one night - that was Chris' idea and I'm not sure I ever want to eat that soup without it now.

I'll get to the soup recipe later but for now go buy a purple cabbage and break out the dutch oven.

Sauteed Purple Cabbage with Apples and Red Wine

I served this with pan-seared chicken sausage from Brooklyn Cured
Serves a small army

olive oil

I medium size head of purple cabbage, sliced into ribbons

1 small or medium yellow onion sliced into thin ribbons

about 1 cup red wine

balsamic vinegar

hot pepper flakes

salt

pepper

ground sage

2 bay leaves

2 golden delicious apples sliced into thin sticks

Heat a large dutch oven over medium high heat and add a glug of olive oil.

When the oil is hot add a pinch of hot pepper flakes and the onion. 

Sautee until softened, about 1 minute.

Add the cabbage, and red wine and stir to coat. There should be extra liquid at the bottom of the pot.

Add a splash of balsamic, 2 bay leaves a teaspoon or 2 of ground sage and a hefty pinch of kosher salt. 

Stir and cover.

Let the cabbage cook down and soften stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes or so. Add more wine and/or balsamic as needed to keep just a little liquid at the bottom.

Once cabbage is just about cooked add the apple slices and a few grinds of black pepper

Cook uncovered until the apple is softened and most of the liquid is absorbed.

The cabbage should be tender and not to tough but not totally mushy either.

Remove bay leaves and serve with pan seared sausage or pretty much anything else.

Happy Fall!

Market Pictures - September 19th

Long overdue pictures from last Sunday's Market

More over here.

I can't taste a thing...

...so why bother to cook?

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

I'd like to start by saying who get's sick in the summer?? Apparently me. It never fails, right around this time of year when the temperature starts flip flopping, I get sick. The achy, feverish kind of sick that makes you go stir-crazy because you know you should stay home but you're just so bored out of your mind from sitting around. Yea, it's the worst kind. The only upside is that I eat whatever I want. If that means no green vegetables for the entire duration then fine. Probably not the best way to get better quickly but hey, if I want 4 slices of sourdough toast with butter, that's what I'm having.

Even if it's not the queasy-stomach kind of sick I usually want super bland little-kid kind of foods. When I had pneumonia last November, I ate nothing but Frosted Flakes with milk and sliced bananas for at least 3 days. Other popular sick choices are plain pasta with butter and parmesan, pastina with the same, grilled cheese, saltine crackers, challah bread, and ginger ale (the kind with real ginger in it). Basically all carbs. What can I say? They're comforting and delicious. Of course there is also the trusty chicken soup - also known as "Jewish Penicillin". Usually not what I want but also the one thing I force myself to eat anyway because I know it will actually help. I wanted to kick myself when I remembered I never made it last weekend as I had originally planned. Lucky for me, there is a Ben's Kosher Deli (any of you downstate-New-Yorkers know what I'm talking about?) literally 30 seconds 2 minutes walking distance from my couch. I drank a mug full of Ben's "Penicillin" last night and now my obligation is done - at least until tonight.


Today, I wanted pancakes. With blueberries. They made being sick worth it.

Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes

Makes about 6 medium (not the gargantuan diner size) pancakes or enough for 2-3 people.

If you use frozen blueberries (as I did) do not thaw them first. I will say, fresh blueberries are better. 

I like to use salted butter to cook pancakes because the touch of salt rounds out the flavor and plays nicely off the sweetness of the maple syrup. If you prefer, you could use olive oil or unsalted butter instead. Of course, in my opinion, the only way to cook pancakes is on cast iron.

1 cup homemade buckwheat pancake mix (see below for recipe)

1 cup low-fat buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with 1 teaspoon white vinegar)

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 egg 

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

salted butter or oil for greasing the skillet or pan

Combine well. 

Ladle on to a hot cast iron skillet and sprinkle some of the blueberries into the top of the pancake.

Flip pancakes when bubbles start to appear.

Homemade Buckwheat Pancake Mix

Makes 12 cups.

Since I'm only one person and I make pancakes something like a whopping 4 times a year, I quartered this mix to make only 3 cups. I also store it in the freezer because whole grain flours, especially buckwheat, go rancid very quickly due to the higher fat content. If you are a normal American family, you probably have the ability to go through a few more pancakes than me and will have no problem finishing up this 12 cup mix. On the other hand, If pancakes 4 times a year sounds more like you don't worry; I took the liberty of quartering the measurements for you as well. 

4 cups buckwheat flour

4 cups whole-wheat flour

4 cups all-purpose flour

½ cup Turbinado sugar

2 Tablespoons kosher salt

2 Tablespoons Aluminum-free Baking Powder

1 Tablespoon Baking Soda

To make only 3 cups of mix

1 cups buckwheat flour

1 cups whole-wheat flour

1 cups all-purpose flour

 2 Tablespoons Turbinado sugar

1/2 Tablespoon kosher salt

1/2 Tablespoon Aluminum-free Baking Powder

1/2 Tablespoon Baking Soda

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Using a sturdy wire whisk, mix ingredients together thoroughly. Using a funnel, scoop mix into jars and top with a lid. Label and store in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use.