Category: 2018

This is the last week of 2018 CSA-Week 23. Thank you CSA members, we say it all the time, but I’ll say it again, Red Wagon wouldn’t be in business if it wasn’t for our Wonderful CSA members. I look forward each week to seeing you all at pickups. I love hearing what you liked best from the CSA the week before and what you made with your CSA bounty. I love hearing you say, ‘I can’t decide what to take, I want it all’ and ‘I am so sad this is the last week’. We are too, but we’ll be here next year. Hopefully you will be too.

Thank you too Wyatt, Amy, Javier, Lauren and all the 2018 Farm Crew. I have never seen the farm look so beautiful and productive. Have a restful off season.

OK. On to the braised cabbage.

I love braised cabbage it is the perfect side dish for grains or roasted vegetables or meats. I like to cook it until it is really silky and tender so a crock pot is the perfect method to set it and forget it until you come home to the welcome smell of a hot meal. I made braised cabbage today, but if you prefer soup to braising just add more liquid to the ingredients.

I like to clean out the vegetable bin when I am making braised cabbage or soup. Today I had about 1/2 a head of cabbage and a few other vegetables I added. I can’t think of any vegetable you couldn’t add to a braised dish. Celery root would be great, sunchokes, onions, even apples are good . You can use stock or tomatoes or apple juice or beer for your liquid, or any combination. I don’t think you can screw this up. I had a couple Parmesan rinds I added today.

This is what I used.

Bacon or sausage is always good if you are a meat eater. Eggplant or mushrooms would be good vegetarian options to bulk up this dish.

Cut the core out of the cabbage and wash and cut up all the vegetables you are using into bite size pieces and put everything to the crock pot and add some salt and pepper.

I used about 2 cups of the vegetable broth to the crock pot because I didn’t want soup, I wanted more of a braise. If you want soup add enough liquid to cover the vegetables, maybe use some stock and some canned or fresh tomatoes?

Put the lid on and either cook it on high for 4 or 5 hours or low for 7 or 8 hours.

That’s it. That took about 3 minutes.

I am off to CSA pickup so I will add a picture of it cooked when I get back from work.

I’ll see you at pick up.

Thanks for your support of Red Wagon Farm.

Mo

Fermented food is so good and so good for you. It is easy and fast to make with just a few ingredients, common kitchen tools and supplies.

What are we waiting for? Let’s do this.

Ideally you have a kitchen scale. Having the correct ratio of vegetables to salt/brine mixture makes making fermented food 99.9% foolproof. So, weigh your ingredients please!

INGREDIENTS                                           SUPPLIES

2-3 carrots (optional)                                Kitchen scale
2-3 cloves garlic (optional)                      Cutting board, knife and large mixing bowl
1 medium head fresh cabbage              Vegetable peeler, measuring spoon
1 tablespoon Kosher salt                         1-quart jar and a 4-ounce “jelly” canning jar
Width-mouth plastic storage cap

1. Set up your clean jars and the ingredients you are using.
2. Wash the cabbage and cut out the core. Shred your cabbage (and peeled carrots and garlic if you are using them) and weigh it out into a bowl. You will want to have 1 and 3/4 lbs (28 ounces) total weight of your vegetables. That is how much will fit in a quart jar and the perfect weight for 1 tablespoon of salt to allow for the proper fermentation to take place.
3. Mix 1 tablespoon Kosher salt into the vegetables. Squeeze and massage the vegetables for a few minutes. You will see liquid starting to pool in the bottom of the bowl and the vegetables will start to look a little wilted. The liquid is actually a brine that will start the fermenting process.
4. Pack the vegetable and brine mixture into the quart jar, really cram it in there-press-press-press it in there, it will all fit. You might want to pound it into the jar with the back of a wooden spoon-keep at it until it is all in there. Once you get it all in the jar you will need to keep the vegetables under the brine, that is what the little jelly jar is for. Sometimes, if I remember, I like to cut a little piece of a cabbage leaf out the size of the jar to help hold the vegetables down under the brine and the jar. It isn’t necessary, just a jelly jar will work. It’s just a little cleaner with the cabbage leaf though.

5. Put the plastic cap on the jar, and that it is. I like to use the plastic lids because they don’t rust like the two piece lids that come with the quart jars. Also, I put the jar on a plate while it is fermenting because once the sauerkraut starts to ferment it will almost always over flow and make a mess.

6. leave that on the counter for 2 to 4 weeks. Taste it after two weeks and see if it is tangy enough for you. If you like it, put it in the refrigerator. It will be good for at least a year, though I doubt it will last that long. You’ll eat it all and start making more!

You can substitute beets or apples for the carrots and ginger or turmeric for the garlic. Honestly there are endless combinations you can make, this is just a starting point.

I love this time of year and I really love putting food up to enjoy in the winter.

See you at pick-up.

Mo