Cabbage-stuffed Cabbage

Cabbage-stuffed cabbage probably doesn't sound that exciting. Well, I'll just say that this is one of my favorite things that I have made in a long time. Something possessed me to buy TWO CABBAGES at the farmer's market last week. I'm not even really a cabbage person. But for some reason I came home with a red cabbage and a green cabbage. The orbs just kept sitting in my refridgerator, obstinately taking up space and reminding me that I had no idea what I was going to do with them. I've had cabbage soup and various vegan slaws, and while I like both of them I didn't feel in the mood. And I definitely didn't feel in the mood for that much cabbage soup or cole slaw. So, I started thinking about what else to do with TWO CABBAGES. Meanwhile, I'd been pondering over what to do with the bag of bulgur that has been sitting in my pantry for a while. Cabbage stuffed with bulgur? Too heavy. Cabbage stuffed with bulgur-and-cabbage? Maybe, just maybe.

Then the question was: what should be the filling, and what should be the wrap? Red or green? Green or Red? Then it hit me:

Purple and yellow. Yes. Turmeric flavors and colors the green cabbage-and-bulgur mixture. The result is, well, too much fun.

Okay, here it goes:

Get one green cabbage and one red cabbage. The red cabbage will be the wrappers, and the green cabbage will be the filling. Shred the green cabbage in the food processor. Cut the end off of the red cabbage.

1 1/2 to 2 heads of garlic, peeled, coarsely chopped.
Two big handfuls of fresh herbs leaves, leaves of the bigger ones chopped coarseley (I had sage, greek oregano, rosemary, basil, and thyme.)
2 tsp salt
2 tsp coarsely ground pepper
1 1/2 tsp turmeric
2 cups bulgur

Bring a large stock pot with water to a boil. Carefully plop in the red cabbage, removing leaves as they get soft and look like they want to fall off.

In the meantime, saute garlic, herbs, and turmeric in a large saucepan for a few minutes on medium heat. Add bulgur to toast, about another 2 minutes. Add cabbage and increase heat to medium-high. Stir often, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon so that it doesn't burn. Add salt and pepper. After 15-20 minutes, when most of the moisture has cooked off of the cabbage so you have to work somewhat hard to keep it from burning, remove from heat. By now you should have your cabbage leaves ready.

You may want to take the head out of the pot and chop more off of the bottom to help you remove leaves. Once leaves are cool enough to handle, spoon about 2 tbsp of the cabbage mixture into each leaf, and roll it like a burrito. Coat a shallow tray with olive oil and fill with the cabbage rolls. Brush the tops of the wraps with olive oil and sprinkle salt on top. Cook for about 20 minutes on 275. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Yum!

Cannellini and Black Bean Soup with Mustard Greens

This soup is a nice twist on a kale and black bean soup. I had about a cup or so of dried black beans, a cup and a half of dried cannellini beans, and a bunch of mustard greens from the farmer's market. Here's the result:

I soaked the beans overnight.

I took a head of garlic, peeled, and sliced, and sauteed that in some oil in the bottom of my soup pot along with some spices: about two teaspoons of each of turmeric and paprika, and a tablespoon of chili powder (but the chili powder I currently have is really weak). Aside from flavor and nutrition, the spices give a nice color to the soup, which would otherwise be kind of grey. Add water (about a quart and a half), and beans. Bring to a soft boil for 45 minutes to an hour, until the beans give but aren't quite cooked yet. Then add mustard greens that have been chopped into big bite-sized pieces, and turn down the heat to a big simmer for 15 minutes, or as desired. Add salt to taste.

Chickpeas with Tomato and Basil

I don't have any photos of this dish, but I do have a few pictures of my garden:

Here's O doing exactly what he's not supposed to do while I'm watering the plants!

Here's my first rose!

And here's a strawberry from one of my strawberry plants.

Last night we had K&S over, and cooked dinner and played dominoes. For dinner I made bread, kale with artichokes, chickpeas with tomato and basil, and blackberry-lemon ice cream. In my opinion the winner of the night was the chickpeas. They have a hearty, almost stew-like character, but the basil balances out the heaviness, making it a good summer dish. Here it goes:

2 large cans of chickpeas.
2 or so pounds of small-ish tomatoes, either cherry or plum.
A bunch of cumin--I must have used at least 1/4 cup
1 tbsp or so of red pepper flakes
2 tbsp diced garlic
1 large diced onion
2 cups very coarsely chopped fresh basil.

Saute the onions and spices in olive oil on medium heat until the onions start to dissolve. Add garlic for one minute until fragrant, but before it starts to brown. Add tomatoes and chickpeas. Cook on medium to medium high until all the flavors mix together, about 15-20 minutes, or longer, depending on your preferences. Remove from head. Add fresh basil and mix.

Cardamom Ice Cream

It's been a while. It's been a very busy academic year for me, leaving little time for food-related experiments or for reflections on them. But this summer I hope to do more of both. To start us off, here's a recipe for cardamom ice cream. R got me an ice cream maker recently. I love being vegan, but I also miss having good ice cream in my freezer, and being able to have different flavors of ice cream.

I have already made mint ice cream (with fresh mint from L's garden) and caramel pecan ice cream. I'll post recipes for those once I re-make them, because I don't quite remember what I did. L gave me some of her mint plants because they were getting out of control in hers, and they have proceeded to take over my little roof garden as well. So expect more recipes with mint.

But yesterday I made cardamom ice cream. We had friends over for dinner who know how to cook Indian food. They taught me how to make a couple of dishes and R & I taught them how to play dominoes. I LOVE cardamom. It's one of my favorite flavors ever, and cardamom ice cream is somehow delicate and spunky at the same time. The vanilla also gives it just a little twist, without taking away from its simplicity.

Here it goes.

3 c. soy milk
3 tsp margarine
1 c. sugar
1 tbsp. corn starch
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 cardamom pods, crushed lightly so that the seeds are exposed
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
pinch of salt

Take two tbsp or so of the soy milk and blend the corn starch into them in a separate little bowl. This prevents the cornstarch from clumping. Heat all ingredients except the vanilla over medium until it the sugar dissolves and it starts simmering. Continue to simmer for about 10 minutes. Add vanilla, and then continue to simmer for another 5 min. or so. Then remove from heat, cover, and let sit for about an hour.

Transfer liquid to a container you can put in the freezer. The liquid needs to be really cold before you put it in the ice cream maker, but it shouldn't be solidifying. Once the liquid is cool enough, set up your ice cream maker, and let it do its magic! It will be about the consistency of soft-serve yogurt when it's done, but it will harden more in the freezer.

Whole wheat cranberry oatmeal almond muffins

It's been a while since I've posted. Part of that has been that school has started up, and life with Owen has been wonderful but very busy. That's no excuse though, as Lee has reminded me, for not cooking and baking. So this morning I made these super wholesome, yummy muffins with cranberries from the farmers' market. The have very little sweetening in them. If I make them again I might make them a little sweeter. But they feel so good just as they are, that I'm not sure I would recommend it.





Here it goes:

Preheat the oven to 375. Prepare your muffin tins. (I try not to use disposable products as much as possible, but I have recently been converted to muffin papers. It just makes everything way easier.)

Combine the dry ingredients
2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 c. oats
1/4 c. bran
2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. chopped almonds

Combine the wet ingredients
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp flaxseeds, ground, beaten with 6 tbsp water
1 c. soy milk

Add the cranberries to the dry ingredients and evenly distribute.
2 c. fresh cranberries

Add wet to dry, make homogeneousbut do not overmix.  Dollop into muffin tins. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Makes about 16 little muffins, probably 12 regular sized ones.

Fried Zucchini Flowers with Basil

My little rooftop garden is doing splendidly, and I've been enjoying zucchini flowers. They have a beautiful, subtle flavor. This time, I stuffed each flower with a basil leaf before battering and frying it--the basil is the perfect complement to these flowers.

As many zucchini flowers as you can get your hand on.
As many basil leaves as you have zucchini flowers.
Equal parts water and chickpea flour.
olive oil for frying
salt and pepper to taste

Mix the water and chickpea flower into a paste. It should be a little, but not too, runny. Gently stuff each flower with a basil leaf. Heat a skillet on med-high, with some olive oil in the pan. Completely cover each flower with the chickpea batter. Make sure you get all the little nooks and crannies.

Fry on each side until golden brown. Remove and place on a cloth or paper towel. Gently pat to remove excess oil. Place on a serving plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

(You can make a little pancake with the extra chickpea flour. That's yummy too!).