Simple Autumn Cabbage Soup

I was visiting my parents this weekend and they have the most lovely garden.
Sadly, most vegetables are 'over' for the season, but I still came home happily loaded down with cabbage, onions, potatoes and carrots.

Probably due to my German Grandma's cooking influence, I tend to LOVE cabbage in soup especially, and this invention of mine is VERY simple, fast, easy and perfect for fall.

Add some seitan/gluten "beef" chunks if you want it a bit more hearty, but it's good either way.

Simple Autumn Cabbage Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped coarse
2 cups sliced sliced carrots
3 - 4 cubed white potatoes, I like the "waxy' white potatoes but any kind works, even half sweet potato and half white
2 cloves garlic, minced
10 cups liquid, I use mostly vegetable broth with about a cup of wine added
1 medium head cabbage, chopped coarsely
OPTIONAL: 2 cups seitan/gluten "beef chunks (like gardein or Morning Star Farms) browned in oil in a skillet
1/2 tsp. dill
few shakes Tabasco or other hot sauce
salt & pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oil in a large stock pot, add carrots, onions and garlic and saute for about 10 minutes.
Add liquid, bring to a boil, add potatoes and cook till almost tender.
Add cabbage, dill and Tabasco. (add "beef" chunks here too, if using).
Bring the soup back to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in parsley and serve.

Also good garnished with (vegan) sour cream!

Fried Cabbage and Field-Roast Sausage

Oh man, this is the best "super-quick" supper ever!! (Steaming-hot food makes for blurry pictures, sorry!)

Now, I realize opinons about cooked cabbage may not be as enthusiastic as mine, but if you haven't had it in a while, try it again.

Just cook until tender-crisp, not soggy. And understand, I grew up eating my share of German/Polish/Russian-inspired family cooking, so anything with cabbage is gonna be a hit.

Sauteed with some Field Roast sausage (my favorite "faux sausage" in the world, but I suppose you may use whatever you like) and really, how can you go wrong?

This hardly needs a recipe but:

4 cups coarsely chopped or shredded cabbage
1/2 cup chopped onion

1 tart apple, shredded coarsely
2 Apple-Sage style Field Roast sausages, sliced
wee bit of olive oil
splash of cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Sautee sausage slices with onion over med. heat until they start to brown. Add cabbage and apple. Cook, stirring frequently, until cabbage is done. Sprinkle with vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

Thai Sweet-and-Hot Cole Slaw

Time to use up the cabbage!

(I swear, not everything I make is fried!) OK, so today I had several heads of cabbage from the winter farmer's market, as well as some cilantro I'd been meaning to use, so I made this wonderful spicy "sort-of-Thai" coleslaw! It keeps well for several days, which is great, since only one of my Sprouts is helping me get through it... usually I make it in the summer but two heads of cabbage took up too much 'fridge room so I had to do SOMETHING!

I love the bright colors as you assemble this salad, the purple cabbage and orange carrots especially, are such a pretty contrast!

Thai Style Cole-Slaw

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

1/3 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice (from 3 to 4 limes - oh please use fresh! I have issues with that bottled stuff!)

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. sesame oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, grated (less if you're not crazy about ginger)

1 or 2 jalapeno chiles, minced or to taste

1 small green cabbage, cored and very thinly sliced or coarsley shredded (or use 1/2 red and 1/2 green)

2 medium carrots, peeled and grated

1 small red onion, very thinly sliced or 4 green onions (scallions) sliced thin as far up into the green part as possible

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Dressing: Pour the soy sauce, sesame oil and lime juice into a small bowl, add the sugar and stir until it is dissolved. Add the garlic, ginger and jalapenos. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

1/2 hour or so before serving, put the cabbage, carrots and red onion into a large bowl and mix together. Pour the dressing over, toss again, cover and refrigerate.

To serve, toss the cabbage mixture in the dressing and put on serving platter. Add half the cilantro, toss with tongs and scatter the remaining cilantro on top.

I could eat this stuff for days on end but it never lasts that long! It gets a little "wilted" and juicy the second or third day but it is still really good! It's GREAT in a taco shell with crispy tempeh too!

Baby Cabbages

So I've had some of those Tofurky Sausages sitting in the fridge, and had been thinking about doing something with them; some fried cabbage and "sausage" sort-of-thing. Since I didn't have cabbage, I used some golf-ball-sized brussel sprouts that were still hanging around my garden - I figure brussel sprouts are just baby cabbages, right?

I shredded them thin on the mandoline cutter, threw 'em in a pan with the "sausage", carrot and part of an onion. It turned out SO incredibly yummy! A great winter lunch. You need to go get yourself some brussel sprouts and try this!

I don't have a recipe exactly, but here's a couple pictures and the basic idea:

12 large brussel sprouts, or so, sliced thin on a shredder/slicer

1 carrot, coarsely grated or thinly sliced

1 link (or more) Tofurky "sausage" sliced

1/4 white onion, sliced thin

Saute with a tsp. or two of olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar and salt to taste - until vegetables wilt and are tender crisp to your preference.

Some red peppers would be nice here too, they go great with the "sausage".