A Homemade Life: Cream Braised Green Cabbage

So the issue with having a summer baby is that babies really aren't supposed to be in the sun.  Their skin is really sensitive, and you're not supposed to put sunscreen on them for 6 months.  Which means to avoid sunburn, you have to use physical sun blockers like long sleeves and pants.  Which can get really hot!

We completely avoided this with Thatkid, since he was born in the fall.  By the time beach season rolled around, he was already 6 months old!  Thatbaby was not so lucky, so we had to take other precautions to keep him out of the sun when we hit the sand.

Thatbaby has his own little castle (tent) to hang out in and stay cool and out of the sun.  And he has lots to entertain himself with, since his older brother never stops once we get to the beach.

"I love the beach!"  he shouted as he spun around outside the tent.  While Thatboy surfed, and Thatbaby hung out, Thatkid and I played catch in front of the tent. 

And since Southern California kids don't have snow to make snow angels, we make sand angels in the summer.

When Thatboy got back from surfing he asked Thatkid if he wanted to take the board for a spin, and the answer is usually a resounding "No."  Thatkid doesn't like going in the water with Thatboy who encourages him to dive under the waves. As opposed to me who lifts him up and out of the water when the waves come.

But this time, Thatkid said yes.  And Thatboy took advantage of the occasion.

Even though he was a little scared, he let Thatboy lay him down on the board and drag him out into the water, then push him when the wave came in so he could ride the wave in to the shore.

Then he brought Thatkid out into the water, with Thatkid clinging for dear life and screaming.  But after the first dunk under (still holding Thatboy tightly) he came up smiling and happy.

I admit to not loving beach days as much as the rest of the family.  They're long, hot, and the sand - THE SAND!  But I'm a good sport about it.  I pack the cornstarch and suck it up.  Because sometimes we do things for the good of others.  Or for ourselves.  Like braising cabbage.  Cabbage gets a bad rap.  Does anyone really LOVE cabbage?  Like "oh yay!  cabbage is on the menu!" love cabbage?  Probably not.  Tell someone you're serving cabbage and they'll probably just nod their head politely.  It's not an exciting green.  Except most people really do like cabbage, they just don't think about it in that sense.  Like who doesn't like coleslaw?  Which is really just cabbage.  Or this braised cabbage.  Which doesn't sound exciting, and takes some work (like a day at the beach) but in the end, makes everyone happy.

Cream Braised Green Cabbage (From A Homemade Life)

1 small green cabbage

3 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1. Pull any bruised leaves frim cabbage and cut into quarters.  Cut each quarter in half lengthwise.
2. Melt butter in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the cabbage wedges, in a single crowded layer with cut sides down.  Cook for 5-8 minutes until browned.
3. Using a pair of tongs, gently turn the wedges onto the other cut side and let brown.
4. Sprinkle salt over the wedges and add the cream.  Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid, and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.  Cook 20 minutes.
5. Remove the lid and use the tongs to gently flip the wedges.   Cook for another 20 minutes.
6. Add the lemon juice and shake the pan to distribute evenly.  Simmer, uncovered for a few minutes more.  Serve immediately. 

jj

Leftover cabbage?

After St. Patrick's Day was over I had a half a head of cabbage staring at me every time I opened the fridge.  Does this happen to you too?  It's my constant cabbage complaint.  There's always too much.  I always need to plan for 2 cabbage dishes everytime I pick up a head.

For some reason, St. Patrick's Day always starts slaw season for me.  Probably because Passover follows closely on it's heels.  And slaws are fantastic snacks for during Passover.  Last year I slawed up almost every fruit and vegetable I could get my hands on - mixing them together, tossing them with vinegar.

While last year led to the discovery that I love slaw in all forms, it's the traditional cabbage slaw I'm writing about today.  According to Wikipedia, the term "Coleslaw" is an Anglicisation of the Dutch term "koolsla" referring to cabbage salad.  Wikipedia also notes that coleslaw is originally an Irish dish.

An Irish dish to use up leftover cabbage from colcannon?  Sounds like a winner to me!  I don't like mayonnaise, so this coleslaw doesn't use it.  Instead, it relies on a boiled salad dressing - fairly light and unassuming, which is just perfect to let the tangy vinegar shine through. 

Coleslaw

1/2 head of cabbage

 3/4 Tbsp flour

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/2 Tbsp sugar

1 egg yolk, slightly beaten

cayenne pepper

3/4Tbsp butter, melted

1/4 cup milk

2 Tbsp vinegar

salt

1/2 tsp celery seed

1.  Place the cabbage in a bowl of cold water and refrigerate 1 hour.
2. Make the dressing: Combine flour, mustard, and sugar in a pan.  
3. Slowly add the egg yolks, a sprinkle of cayenne, melted butter, milk, and vinegar.  
4. Heat, stirring constantly until thickened and smooth. Remove from heat and add salt to taste.
5. Drain the cabbage, shred, and toss with the dressing and celery seed.

Belated St. Patrick's Day

As usual, because of Thatmom's birthday we celebrated St. Patrick's Day a day late.  I was a busy girl on Sunday cooking and baking.  The plan was to our traditional corned beef and cabbage.  As we headed to the store on Sunday morning, I asked Thatboy what else he wanted with his corned beef and cabbage and he felt that maybe boiled red potatoes would be a nice addition.

We talked about the fact that this is Thatbaby's first St. Patrick's Day, but next year he'd really be joining in on our feast.  Thatboy posited that Thatbaby would probably like corned beef, but not cabbage, since no one likes cabbage.  I never really thought about it since Thatboy has always requested corned beef and cabbage, but it turns out he's not the biggest fan of the cabbage part.  "We don't have to have cabbage" I told him.  I suggested maybe making colcannon.  He'd never heard of it.  To be fair, I didn't have a firm grasp of what it was other than that it encompassed potatoes and cabbage.  I quickly googled and found a recipe - "It's potatoes, cabbage, and bacon."  Bacon was the magic word.  Thatboy was in.

I made my standby Corned Beef recipe under the "if it ain't broke" philosophy. Besides I was messing around enough with this colcannon stuff.  Using the basic idea of potatoes, cabbage, and bacon I decided to wing it.  I've made enough braised cabbage with bacon to realize that's the way to go.  Because bacon makes cabbage better.  And cabbage cooked in bacon fat is far more flavorful than boring boiled cabbage.  It was a hit, and will definitely become a constant part of our St. Patrick's day menu. 

We rounded out the meal with Pioneer Woman's Pear Crisp which was ridiculously sweet.  A nice change from the salty St. Patrick's Day feast.

 

Colcannon

2 slices of bacon

1 small head of cabbage, cored and finely chopped

3 large yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced

4 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup milk

salt and pepper

1. In a large saucepan, cook bacon slices.  Remove bacon from pan, but leave drippings.
2. Cook the cabbage in the bacon fat for about 5 minutes.  Add 1/4 cup of water to the pan, cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove cabbage from pan.
3.  Place potatoes in the pan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and boil potatoes for 20 minutes.
4. Drain potatoes and return them to the pan.  Roughly mash with a fork.
5. Chop bacon and add to the potatoes with the cabbage, butter, and milk. 
6. Mash the potatoes until the desired consistency is reached.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.