Versatility: Cabbages, Kings, and Seven Random Things (Happy ICLW!)

Happy ICLW!  (*For those of you just joining this program, already in progress, I'm ranting about my CSA, coming to terms with pregnancy after loss and preparing for a baby in February (!), and taking pictures of food.  An ICLW-ish post follows the recipe.)

The cabbage saga continues.  Apparently it's the world's most versatile vegetable, in the garden and in the kitchen. Good source of vitamin C, vitamin A and some vitamin B, minerals, calcium, and phosphorus;ideal roughage to aid digestion; contains indoles (block cancer-causing substances before they can damage cells) phenolic acids (help resist cancer by inhibiting cell proliferation induced by carcinogens in target organs; inhibit platelet activity; decrease inflammation and act as anti-oxidants) sulforaphane (induce protective enzymes, suppress tumor growth), and choline (used by the brain to make acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that plays a role in memory function).  Oh yeah ... and not a good vegetable in mass quantities for thyroid patients watching their hormone levels.  Well, we'll just ignore that little detail.  This summer and fall I have baked it, fried it, steamed it, put it in stir fry and soup.  Not that I want more of it, mind you.  I think I've had quite enough.

This recipe is a good one to have in your back pocket, when you have to use it up (though of course, there is one more in my refrigerator for later this week):


Rustic Cabbage Soup

1 T. extra virgin olive oil
a big pinch of salt
1/2 lb. potatoes, skin on, cut 1/4-inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
5 c. stoc
1 1/2 c. white beans, precooked or canned (drained and rinsed well)
1/2 medium cabbage, cored and sliced into 1/4-inch ribbons
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Warm the olive oil in a large thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the salt and potatoes. Cover and cook until they are a bit tender and starting to brown a bit, about 5 minutes - it's o.k. to uncover to stir a couple times. Stir in the garlic and onion and cook for another minute or two. Add the stock and the beans and bring the pot to a simmer. Stir in the cabbage and cook for a couple more minutes, until the cabbage softens up a bit. Now adjust the seasoning - getting the seasoning right is important or your soup will taste flat and uninteresting. Taste and add more salt if needed, the amount of salt you will need to add will depend on how salty your stock is (varying widely between brands, homemade, etc)...

Serve drizzled with a bit of olive oil and a generous dusting of cheese.

On a less cruciferous note, I've been nominated for a Versatile Blogger Award.  Thank you, InBetween!  I don't usually do these, but for a change of pace, and since it's just about time for ICLW, here goes.   First, the instructions are to link back to the wonderful person who nominated me.  Visit InBetween!  She is a wonderfully witty, thoughtful, and honest writer.

Now I'm supposed to share 7 things about me.

1) I have lived on both U.S. coasts and set foot on most of the world's continents, having traveled to Brazil, South Africa, Italy, France, Spain, England, Thailand, Japan, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Canada, and across the country (even to Alaska, Seattle, Portland, up and down the coast of CA) and back.  I'm still missing Australia and Antarctica, and have not, spent much time in the Midwest, though I did get a speeding ticket in Kansas (sorry, Kansas ... you were just so temptingly flat that day that I couldn't help myself). I miss international traveling and am looking forward to showing children the world some day.

2)  I took 11 years of piano and dance lessons, 8 years of flute, and none of guitar. I now play the three instruments with the same level of skill -- mediocre -- but I can still dance.  It makes for good yoga practice.

3) I don't watch TV (with the exception of House, MD, which is more about occasionally  making time to sit next to the husband on the couch). We don't own a TV, because we find that there's simply nothing on. My father, who once forbade us from watching TV for a week (while, I might add, he digested five hours of it every night), would be proud.  Of course, I spent hours and hours online ...

4) I cannot be trusted with a canister of raisins, a jar of peanut butter, and a chopstick. Late at night you would find me with the chopstick in the peanut butter jar, scooping out gobs to which I can stick raisins.

5) I met my husband online. It meant that I could test his ability to write in complete grammatically correct sentences with capitalization and punctuation.  (These things are important to a former English major, despite Garrison Keillor's merciless ribbing of the lot of us.)

6) I only started running because I wanted to impress my (then future) husband; now it's the most expedient form of exercise I can manage, and I was pretty proud of my Turkey Trot time last year.  At 25 weeks pregnant, I've still been running most mornings.  This will no doubt end soon.

7) I once taught sex ed to 9-11th graders, and can now talk about just about anything without blushing.

The second part of the instructions is to forward this award to seven other bloggers.  I think rather than do that, what I'll suggest is that you visit and comment on some wonderful women's blogs just because their blogs are inspiring, thought provoking, and/or just plain good to read (and apologies if your name *isn't* on this list ... the truth is, I think that you're ALL worthy of reading and commenting!).  Whether they want to post the seven things or not is up to them.

Keiko at http://hannahweptsarahlaughed.blogspot.com/
K at http://mypottyseat.blogspot.com/
Mel at http://www.stirrup-queens.com/
Rebecca at http://roadlesstraveledblog.blogspot.com/
Jenn at http://jennsden.blogspot.com/
Adele at http://delinquenteggs.blogspot.com/
JeCaThRe at http://breadwinesalt.blogspot.com/
Suzy at http://nosuzyhomemaker.blogspot.com/
Andie at http://conceivablefuture.blogspot.com/