The Cabbage is a Thrifty Vegetable

On the Stats Page I notice one frequently read post is The Cupboards Were Bare. Maybe, out of curiosity, you're hoping to hear a tale of desperation and woe: me and my starving children. Which certainly isn't the case. Or, I think it possible that, like me, though you scrimp and save on every side, you feel your budget pinched tighter and tighter. The cost of living raise hasn't come through for a couple of years now, but the cost of milk rises steadily higher.

This winter we've been eating a lot of cabbage. I'm adamant that a veggie or fruit be on the table at every meal. With six of us, and a chronically under-performing garden, the cost adds up. So I have fixed my sights on the cabbage. It is high in vitamin C, with a bit of vitamin A, calcium, iron and fiber. Beyond that, there's not much to recommend it. Flavor wise, I know, it leaves much to be desired. But at the price of $1.50 a head, I can have a veggie on the table for two meals. So here's a brief cabbage recipe round-up, and if you have a favorite way to eat this thrifty vegetable we'd love to try it!

• Traditional Cole Slaw. Try Top Secret Recipes: KFC Cole Slaw.
• Asian Cole Slaw. I have the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home. Here's someone who has adapted the recipe, though it's nearly the same. I sweeten mine with brown sugar.
• Red cabbage and apples with an apple cider vinegar dressing. I don't really have a recipe, but I like it quite sweet and use honey for that.
• Warm Cabbage Salad. Yummy.
• We were surprised by loving this Stir fried cabbage with cumin seeds. Naturally, I had to adapt it. Cumin powder seems to work fine. We eat this with Cuban Black Beans and rice. See, we're thrifty and eat our legumes too.
• And my mom's old Cabbage Soup recipe. Come back next week. I'll post it for you.

But in the end, no matter how you fix it, it still tastes like cabbage. You can do, but don't over-do or you'll look around the table and see nothing but disgruntled faces.