This February we celebrate our love of cabbage, a versatile vegetable that stores well through the coldest months of winter.
Growing cabbage is a practice in patience. It is often sown between early spring and June, and it can take up to 100 days to grow into its characteristic head. This year we are growing a cabbage variety from the Gusto Italiano project through Uprising Seeds called Moretta that has its own harvest festival in the village where it is traditionally grown. That is just about how triumphant we feel when we harvest a beautiful head of cabbage!
Though we enjoy eating cabbage, it is also fun and interesting to create dye with it and practice some basic chemistry. Chopped red cabbage, boiled with water for about 15 minutes, contains anthocyanin that changes color when an acid or base is added to it. Add in vinegar to turn the cabbage juice red or baking soda to turn the cabbage juice blue.
Some of our favorite ways to eat cabbage are sauerkraut, braised with butter and apples, shaved raw into salads, and roasted. This vegetable pancake recipe from Robin Forte is fun to make, give it a try!
Okonomiyaki (Japanese vegetable pancakes)
½ small head cabbage, shredded
2 medium sized carrots, grated
4 kale leaves, cut into thin strips
1 cup Brussels sprouts, shredded
½ cup apple, peeled and diced
4 scallions, minced
1 tsp. salt
½ cup flour or gluten-free flour blend
6 large eggs
Oil for sautéing
Combine all the ingredients and drop small spoonfuls onto a medium hot skillet. Cook for 2-3 minutes, flip and then cook on the other side for another 2-3 minutes. Serve with tangy dip.
Tangy dip
¼ cup ketchup
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. honey
¼ tsp. ground ginger
Combine ingredients and serve with pancakes!
