I’m in love with all the cruciferous vegetables, but nobody ever talks about cabbage. I once went shopping at the local health-food store, and bought a regular old head of green cabbage. I took it to the check-out counter, and the kid behind the register picked it up, turned it all around, and asked what it was. “Cabbage,” I replied. He took out the little produce code sheet, looked up and down, found the cabbages, and asked me, “What kind?”
How many kinds of round cabbage are there? There are two: Red, and Green. What color was my cabbage? Even a colorblind person can tell the subtle differences between a pale green cabbage and a deep purple cabbage. I know this because I’m married to a colorblind person. Although he cannot tell between a green car and a gray car.
I didn’t laugh at the check-out boy. Nearly every time I go there, someone asks me what I’m purchasing, or at the very least, “What on earth you DO with that block of tofu, that bunch of watercress, or that pristine acorn squash?” (Did you know that watercress grows in the wild in all 50 states? And it’s another cruciferous, delicious, and vitamin-ey vegetable? It’s one of the main ones in V-8)
I buy a lot of cabbage, both red and green. I love it. I love it cooked, I love it raw. I love it in curry, with peanut sauce, braised with onions and raisins, stir-fried with chiles and mustard seeds, sauteed with butter (and bacon, if I have any), mixed into mashed potatoes, added to soups, and maybe most of all, in cole slaw.
Cole, or Kohl is the Germanic word for cabbage, and Slaw comes from Sla, which is the Dutch word for Salad, which is an alteration of Salata, the Italian for “salted.” So to be a salad, it has to be salted. When I went to Rome, we were served piles of lettuce with salt and pepper on them when we ordered salad.
I like to make a big bowl of cole slaw, and have it for lunch every day. Today, I asked Calvin if he would like some. Miraculously, he has decided that he loves cole slaw. His friend, T, was here for lunch, and Cal asked T if he would like some too. T asked what it was. Calvin said, “It’s cabbage with mayonnaise and sugar.” Then he looked at me and asked what else was in it.
“Mustard, salt, and vinegar.” Calvin repeated everything I said, and then informed T that vinegar is “like what you sometimes put on salad.” He’s really fond of balsamic vinaigrette.
I’m glad that I decided to make cole slaw just for me. I never used to make it, because no-one else would eat it. Derek hates it. But after about 2 weeks of having it nearly every day, now one of my sons loves it. I feel successful.
Standard Cole Slaw
1 head cabbage, red or green, shredded
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2-3 T white vinegar
2 T agave syrup or sugar, more or less to taste (I almost always add more)
1 t Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
Put the shredded cabbage in a big bowl. Mix all other ingredients in a small bowl, then combine. Refrigerate for a couple of hours, if you have time.
Variations:
1. add 1 T curry powder.
2. Add 1/2 cup raisins to green cabbage slaw, or 1/2 cup golden raisins to red slaw. Add these just before serving, because they plump over time.
3. Add 1 Cup shredded carrots to green slaw.
4. Add all of the above.
5. Use 2 T plain yogurt and 2 T mayonnaise.
6. Use other shredded cruciferous veggies in place of some or all of the cabbage. Broccoli, Cauliflower, Broccoflower, Daikon Radish, Turnips, Kale, Collards, etc.
May 17, 2007 at 3:32 pm
One of these days I have to get off my butt and try some of your recipes. They sound so good, and my cooking is so blah.
Do you have any suggestions for getting a 2-year-old to eat veggies. He even rejects ones that his dad is eating and numming over in front of him. Basically if it’s green he puts up a “talk to the hand” gesture and turns his head away violently. I’d love some suggestions!
May 17, 2007 at 9:29 pm
I adore cabbage in all forms. Rot kohl, sauerkraut, boiled, in fish tacos, you name it. I think coleslaw is the perfect summer food. Your story encouraged me since my husband hates coleslaw too. Maybe one day I won’t be alone in this house!
May 18, 2007 at 6:03 am
Cabbage is definitely one of the more underrated vegetables out there. I think cole slaw gets a bad rap too because so many restaurants serve really yucky cole slaw which makes no one want to eat it.
If you love cabbage, you should try Chinese cabbage which is so delicious if you cook it right, especially the leaves on the inside which are extra tender. My mom makes a dish using Chinese cabbage, cremini and shitake mushrooms and a little bit of heavy cream. If you eat it with hot rice it’s super tasty.
May 18, 2007 at 7:29 am
You inspired me to cook cabbage last night and it was really good! I made a stir fry with cabbage, carrots, and vidalia onions–and some “chik’n” strips (some kind of soy something)–they actually look and taste a little too much like chicken for my taste, but I needed to use them up. The whole thing was pretty tasty!
May 18, 2007 at 7:41 pm
I love cabbage, but you’ve inspired me to use it more often and in recipes I wouldn’t have thought of using it in. The other day I made rotkohl to go with dinner and because it was such a big head of cabbage I set some aside to use for your purple pad thai. It was delicious and then a couple of days later I used the rest of it in a tofu and vegetable stir fry. It wasn’t only delicious, but I loved how pretty it looked.
In the south a lot of restaurants serve their burgers and sandwiches with slaw on top rather than lettuce, tomato, and pickles. Yet another way to use an often looked over vegetable.
May 19, 2007 at 7:10 am
Yum. Thanks for the recipe. I love a good cabbage–both kinds. And I love a good slaw, too.
May 20, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Awww MAN! My mouth is watering and all I have available is what they offer at the cafeteria downstairs!
I am a big fan of rice vinegar, it’s already sweet though… so you’d add less sugar!
May 26, 2007 at 7:21 pm
I must admit to not caring too much for cooked cabbage, but it’s one of my favourites for eating raw.
Thanks for the slaw recipe. Hubby loves it, so I’ll make the effort to knock up a big bowl. I’m usually too lazy, and tend to eat the cabbage as it is without adding anything else. 🙂