cabbage soup
Oct. 29th, 2005 09:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
adrian_turtleIt's only October, but there was already enough snow to stick. That called for serious cold-weather food. I pulled out the crockpot and the head of red cabbage, intending to make braised cabbage. (I didn't grow up with any kind of cooked cabbage dishes. My parents disagreed about the One True Way to make such things, and compromised by not having them in the house at all.) I like red cabbage with fruit, but on the tart side of sweet-and-sour.
The head of cabbage was about the size of my own head, so I only used half of it. I did not "finely shred the cabbage." I chopped it to bite-sized pieces, not wispy threads. Same with 2 onions and a large granny smith apple. The crockpot was getting dangerously full by this point. I had wanted to add chopped celery and smoked turkey, but there just wasn't room. (I know people who avoid meat because they don't have money. Fewer avoid it because they don't have room.) I added a spoonful of dried thyme and some whole peppercorns and celery seeds. Then I poured on a cup of chicken broth and half a cup of cider vinegar. It looked like there wasn't nearly enough liquid to cook all that, so I added a cup of water before setting the crockpot on high, covering it, and going away.
When I came back an hour later, with repaired shoes and a new appreciation for the local ability to snow despite air temperature being above freezing, the vegetables had wilted substantially. Clearly, there was no risk of dryness. In fact, it was going to be soup. I added the smoked turkey and celery, turned the heat to low, and went out for a few more hours. (Barbershop, gym, bookstore. I had planned to spend one weekend day doing the errands that needed to be done on foot, and the other doing stuff that needed the car. As I refused to drive in this mess, that meant getting snowed on.) The cabbage soup is excellent. It's soupier than I intended -- I shouldn't have added that cup of water, and might cook it uncovered for a bit to reduce it. All it needed was ground black pepper, which is trivial to add at table, and rye bread. I don't have any bread in the apartment, but I do have good soup.
As far as I know, most people like their cabbage soup sweeter than this. There were a couple of times when I considered adding a spoonful of brown sugar, or some crystallized ginger. I even contemplated stirring in a spoonful of ginger marmelade. But I decided to wait and add it to the finished soup if it needed sweetness or bite, which it doesn't.
The head of cabbage was about the size of my own head, so I only used half of it. I did not "finely shred the cabbage." I chopped it to bite-sized pieces, not wispy threads. Same with 2 onions and a large granny smith apple. The crockpot was getting dangerously full by this point. I had wanted to add chopped celery and smoked turkey, but there just wasn't room. (I know people who avoid meat because they don't have money. Fewer avoid it because they don't have room.) I added a spoonful of dried thyme and some whole peppercorns and celery seeds. Then I poured on a cup of chicken broth and half a cup of cider vinegar. It looked like there wasn't nearly enough liquid to cook all that, so I added a cup of water before setting the crockpot on high, covering it, and going away.
When I came back an hour later, with repaired shoes and a new appreciation for the local ability to snow despite air temperature being above freezing, the vegetables had wilted substantially. Clearly, there was no risk of dryness. In fact, it was going to be soup. I added the smoked turkey and celery, turned the heat to low, and went out for a few more hours. (Barbershop, gym, bookstore. I had planned to spend one weekend day doing the errands that needed to be done on foot, and the other doing stuff that needed the car. As I refused to drive in this mess, that meant getting snowed on.) The cabbage soup is excellent. It's soupier than I intended -- I shouldn't have added that cup of water, and might cook it uncovered for a bit to reduce it. All it needed was ground black pepper, which is trivial to add at table, and rye bread. I don't have any bread in the apartment, but I do have good soup.
As far as I know, most people like their cabbage soup sweeter than this. There were a couple of times when I considered adding a spoonful of brown sugar, or some crystallized ginger. I even contemplated stirring in a spoonful of ginger marmelade. But I decided to wait and add it to the finished soup if it needed sweetness or bite, which it doesn't.
