Braised Cabbage with Ham

The braised cabbage recipe I usually make is with bacon, so in the interest of better health I made it with ham today. Well okay we didn't have any bacon but whatever, its still healthier. Trader Joe's had a spiral sliced unsmoked ham (nitate free) on sale a couple months ago and we had just eaten a ham so there were lots of leftovers and I froze them. This is a great strategy. We have been pulling out ham to make omelets, breakfast sandwiches, Hawaiian pizzas (as well as other pizzas), Sugie added some to her pork and beans the other day (very tasty) and now braised cabbage. 

 1 whole sweet onion, cut up 1 cup of ham (more or less) torn in bite size pieces 1 medium head of cabbage, chopped roughly into 1 inch pieces 4 cloves of garlic butter olive oil black pepper to taste 1 c chicken broth (optional) 3 T white wine Brown the ham in a little butter, remove. Add onion , saute in a little olive oil til tender. Put ham back in cook a few more minutes, then add cabbage. Stir and cook a few minutes. Add Chicken broth and garlic. Cook for about 15 minutes til cabbage reaches the tenderness you prefer. Add wine, stir and cook for another minute or two. Serve with a nice french or Italian bread. Notes: I like to cut the onions "chinese" style: cut in half vertically (thru the root)remove peel and cut off root. slice from one end to the other so you end up with little wedges. The original recipe called for 8 ounces of bacon. I never used that much. Usually about 4 slices, sometimes less. The original recipe used 1 clove of garlic, I like a little more :) I use much less than the original 2 T of butter and a little less than the 1 T olive oil called for. The chicken broth is my own addition since al dente vegetables are scorned here. It also gives it a little sauce which is good. As usual I omitted the salt. I didn't miss it at all, especially since the ham provides plenty on its own.

Asian Cole Slaw

Here is another of my favorite dishes from Franklins that I have been trying to replicate. Not only is it very tasty but since there is no mayonnaise it's much healthier too. I really think the sweet chili sauce is the secret ingredient I have been trying to figure out...

Asian Slaw

shredded red cabbage

shredded carrots

sweet chili sauce

grated ginger

splash soy sauce

splash rice wine vinegar

cilantro

splash lime juice

scallions

Mix and marinate if you can wait long enough.

Some ideas to try:

scallions

sesame seeds

sesame oil

maybe leave out the soy sauce to lower sodium content...

AND SUNFLOWER SEEDS!!! <---this div="" good="" idea...="" is="" s="" sounds="" vickie="">

Cabbage soup #2

I used the other half of my head of cabbage to make another version of cabbage soup. This time I used smoked sausage, added more veges and no milk or cream. Very Different and very good.

1-2 slices of bacon. chopped

1-2 sausage links sliced

1 whole onion, slivered or chopped

Black pepper

Crushed red pepper

4 cloves of garlic, minced

3 medium stalks of celery, sliced

2-3 carrots, sliced

2 large potatoes, diced

1 turnip, diced

1/2 head of cabbage, chopped bite size pieces

1 cup corn

1 15 oz can tomatoes

4 c chicken broth

6-8 cups water

Parmesan rind

1 bay leaf

Oregano

Parsley

1/4 c wine

Chop bacon and fry in soup pot, add sliced sausage and brown. After the meats begin to brown add onions and peppers and allow them to caramelize as well. Add next six ingredients (the remaining veges) and stir after each addition. Cook these for 5-10 minutes stirring frequently. Add next 8 ingredients. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until potatoes and carrots are tender. Add wine, heat 5-10 minutes more. Sprinkle with fresh herbs if desired. Good with Italian bread.

Notes:

I used smoked sausage because that is what I had on hand. Italian sausage would probably be good too. Of course a lower fat turkey or chicken sausage would be a healthy choice. Smoked sausage gave it a nice smokey flavor quite different from last weeks creamy version.

I added the turnip that I forgot to put in last week. It adds a slightly sweet flavor to the soup. I learned from making vege beef soup how much this can add to the soup. It is a very subtle flavor so no need to worry about not liking it.

Since I didn't use the milk, I added tomatoes and a bay leaf to give it more flavor. I also thought the corn would go well with the smokey flavor from the sausage. I used stewed but diced or whole (just mush them up a bit) would be fine. Whatever you have on hand.

I also did not use salt, but I am sure it is even tastier with it. Keep in mind some of the ingredients have salt so you won't need to add much.

Adding 3 carrots and the tomatoes made the soup more colorful as well as tasty.

Cabbage soup for a cool fall day

Tuscan Style Cabbage Soup

Serves 4-6

I have been wanting to make a cabbage soup for a long time. I used Olive Garden's Zuppa Tuscana as a guideline and then researched cabbage soup recipes online to make changes. I happened have the dill on hand. The soup turned out to be very tasty.

1-2 slices of bacon. chopped

1-2 sausage links sliced

1 whole onion, slivered or chopped

Black pepper

Crushed red pepper

4 cloves of garlic, minced

3 medium stalks of celery, sliced

1-2 carrots, sliced

2 large potatoes, diced

1/2 head of cabbage, chopped bite size pieces

4 c low sodium chicken broth

6 cups water

Parmesan rind

Oregano

Parsley

1 c Milk

1/4 -1/2 c half n half (or cream)

1/4 c wine

fresh dill (optional)

Chop bacon and fry in soup pot, add sliced sausage and brown. After the meats begin to brown add onions and peppersand allow them to caramelize as well. Add next five ingredients (the rest of the veges) and stir after each addition. Cook these for 5-10 minutes stirring frequently. Add next 5 ingredients (don't add milk yet). Simmer for 20-25 minutes until potatoes and carrots are tender. Add milk, cream and wine, heat 5-10 minutes more. Sprinkle with fresh dill if desired. Good with Italian bread.

Notes:

I used bratwurst because that is what I had on hand. Italian sausage would probably be best. Of course a lower fat turkey or chicken sausage would be a healthy choice. Smoked sausage might be tasty too.

The richer the milk or cream the better the soup. I compromised by using whole milk and a little half n half (I didnt have any cream on hand). Still tasty but not as high in saturated fats...

I also did not use salt, but I am sure it is even tastier with it. Keep in mind some of the ingredients have salt so you won't need to add much.

More carrots might have made it a little more colorful...I only used one.