Braised Purple Cabbage with Apples

September 27, 2010

Well!

That was fascinating.  I want to thank you all for indulging me and sharing something so personal.  I was amazed that most of the dreams feel into a few general categories.  My informal tally shows that the most common anxiety dreams were roughly in this order:

Something to do with school
Teeth falling out or crumbling
Being chased
Driving
Waiting tables
Being along in a house
Being late
Can’t move
Something involving a bathroom

There were others – dressing up like Attila the Hun and being chased by Kiss, the band, were my favorites.  I was amazed by how many people dream about losing their teeth.  I sometimes dream that I am chewing an enormous piece of gum and am trying to talk to someone and the gum keeps getting stuck in my teeth.  When I go to take it out, it just pulls into long strands and keeps sticking.

Anyway.  Thank you again for sharing.  I was so touched that many of you who usually lurk came forward and commented.  As usual, I wish I could send each and every one of you this prize package.

Because  I like to give and because I have two children who were fighting over the task of picking a number out of a hat, and because I need an excuse to go back to Theo Chocolates (again, for the children!), I had assistant #2 pick out another winner.  I will send that person some chocolate goodies.  Drum roll please.

Winner #1 is Erica (comment #84) who has this dream:  “My main anxiety dream is that I’m running away from someone or something and no matter how hard I try to run, I’m going in slow motion. Every muscle is burning and I’m pushing as hard as I can go but I’m barely moving.  The second one is that my teeth are loose or are going to fall out. No lie. When I wake up I check to make sure they’re all there and not wiggling!”

Winner #2 is Holly E (comment #18) who has this dream:  “My anxiety dreams are always about high school. Often I am just roaming the halls or hiding out because I don’t remember what class I am supposed to be in. Sometimes I show up for the final after skipping the class all semester. Every now and then I can’t remember my gym locker combination. I keep hoping that one of these days I will “graduate” to college dreams! My FAVORITE dreams, however, are about the ocean: surfing, swimming, sometimes stuck under water but I can still breathe. I wake up feeling so ivigorated!

So let’s talk about cabbage.  My darling husband thinks he doesn’t like cabbage.  I mention it and he makes a face.  This from the man who loves sauerkraut and coleslaw.  When I tell him that both those things are in fact cabbage, he just smiles and nods.  So I didn’t talk about the exquisitely purple cabbage I picked up at the farmer’s market and I didn’t tell him that I was going to use it in a side dish for a weeknight Dana Meal.  I knew he would question a cabbage dish but I also knew he would love it once he tasted it.

Which of course, he did.  A beautiful cabbage thinly sliced.  Peeled farm fresh apples too.  A bit of sugar, salt, caraway seeds, and cider vinegar and then a good long simmer on the stove – this is a lovely dish indeed.  The equinox has passed and fall is officially here.  I have found this dish works well alongside so many different things during this season.  This time I served it with a hearty pasta dish featuring buckwheat groats and a savory gravy (don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it), but I have also served it with savory grain cakes sitting atop a carrot ginger sauce.  I would imagine it would be magnificent alongside some kind of savory stuffed squash as well.  Randy’s family serves sauerkraut at Thanksgiving (I know!) so he always requests that I make it for him.  I’m kind of hoping I can talk him into this dish instead.  He wouldn’t be the only one eating it, unlike the sauerkraut.

One Year Ago:  Holly B’s Almond Butterhorns
Two Years Ago:  Frittata with Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Braised Purple Cabbage with Apples
Adapted from The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen
Serves 4-6

I like this dish with a hint of sweetness so the seasoning here is perfect for me.  I would imagine that you could replace half the water with apple juice or cider if you want it sweeter.

2 tbsp. butter
1 large red onion, sliced into thin crescents
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. caraway seeds
1 tsp. kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
¾ cup water
3 tbsp. cider vinegar
1 head purple cabbage (about 2 pounsd), sliced into ½-inch strips
1 large firm apple, peeled and sliced ¼-inch thick

In a wide heavy sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter.  Add the onions, brown sugar, caraway seeds, salt, and a few grinds of pepper.  Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, until softened.

Add the water, vinegar, cabbage, and apple.  Raise the heat and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce the heat to low, and braise for 25 to 30 minutes.  Uncover and cook over high heat for a few minutes until the juices have reduced.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.



16 Comments »

  1. I always make a braised cabbage dish in the winter. And I guess it’s getting to be that time but I’m resisting ;)

    Comment by kickpleat — September 27, 2010 @ 4:41 pm

  2. Thanks for this recipe! I am a huge fan of cabbage (I blame the Slavic genes), and this looks very much like the cabbage part of a warm winter dish my mother makes with red cabbage and kielbasa and apples which warms the whole house during the fall and winter months.

    Comment by Saisquoi — September 27, 2010 @ 5:10 pm

  3. Sometimes I think half of getting people to eat something is not telling them what it is. Psychology plays so much more of a role in how we taste than we can ever know. Personally, I think this sounds delicious. I’m all about pickled-esque things recently. Something about the sour tanginess. You can serve this at my house at Thanksgiving if you want!

    Comment by Joanne — September 27, 2010 @ 5:25 pm

  4. Reading this at 30,000 feet enroute to NYC makes me smile.
    The back story about why I don’t like cabbage (if people care) is b/c I spent several years in the Navy. As we crossed the pacific, we would run out of lettuce after about 2-3 weeks and then we only had cabbage for the next couple of weeks and it was HORRIBLE. But if you wanted grean leafy veggies, cabbage was about it (other than canned everything). Now I can gaurandarntee you that what my lovely wife cooks up is NOTHING like what I ate in the Navy, but I am still recovering from many a bad meal in the Navy

    Comment by Randy — September 27, 2010 @ 6:16 pm

  5. This sounds delicious! My husband also thinks he doesn’t like cabbage, but will happily eat slaw or cooked cabbage. Purple cabbage is so pretty and this will make a perfect fall side dish!

    Comment by Emily — September 27, 2010 @ 7:01 pm

  6. I love braised red cabbage. Thanks for the reminder and this lovely recipe. I love the pics of your two boys picking the numbers!

    Comment by Charlotte — September 27, 2010 @ 7:03 pm

  7. YEA! Thank you!! I’m so excited!!! I can’t tell you how much I enjoy your blog. Several Dana Treat recipes have become regulars in my kitchen, including the lighter fettucine alfredo and the crustless vegetable pie. I have not yet tried any Theo chocolates, but I am SOOOO looking forward to it!

    The braised cabbage looks wonderful. I especially like the addition of caraway – one of my favorites. I always add caraway to Irish soda bread, and I make a potato/cabbage/leek/gruyere casserole with caraway, so this recipe should be right up my alley.

    Comment by Holly E — September 27, 2010 @ 7:21 pm

  8. Dana, I also enjoyed a lot reading about everyone else’s dreams, it was great you brought it all up

    I wonder, though – are our husbands related? :-)
    Mine views cabbage exactly the same way! I don’t think he wuold go for this recipe, but I find it wonderful cooked this way

    Congratulations to the two winners, and also to the “helpers” who picked the numbers, they did a very professional job!

    Comment by SallyBR — September 27, 2010 @ 8:29 pm

  9. I just happen to have a head of purple cabbage in my fridge that I had no idea what I was going to do with! I’m going to try this.

    And your boys are so cute!

    Comment by Jacqui — September 27, 2010 @ 11:41 pm

  10. Simple but oh so good! Purple cabbage is my favorite!

    Comment by Maria — September 28, 2010 @ 2:41 am

  11. One of my biggest bug-bears about blogging is that many of my favourite bloggers live on the other side of the world, so their summer/winter/autumn is my winter/summer/spring… But I am in luck, as there are red cabbages ins tore at the moment. I’m a little squeemish about adding apple though – doesn’t the whole thing turn out really sweet?

    Robyn x

    PS: I resent that comment about lurking :-p

    Comment by Koek! — September 28, 2010 @ 10:19 am

  12. The recipe from Modern Vegetarian Kitchen is one of my favorites. And your photos are gorgeous!

    I eat this with some Field Roast smoked apple sausages, and mashed potatoes. YUM.

    Comment by Cathy — September 30, 2010 @ 3:52 pm

  13. Wow, great job here. Awesome picture too! You should really consider submitting this to http://www.recipe4living.com/articles/the_tasty_thanksgiving_recipe_contest.htm – Recipe4Living’s Tasty Thanksgiving Recipe Contest – It looks delicious!

    Comment by Sophia — October 1, 2010 @ 5:43 pm

  14. What a gorgeous looking dish. I’m intrigued by the addition of apples. Though one time I made this sauerkraut and apple casserole thing from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest and it was not good…

    Comment by Ashley — October 19, 2010 @ 10:28 pm

  15. Perfect! I was just wondering what to do with a half head of cabbage. Will be making this tomorrow with a pork roast!

    Thanks!

    Comment by Loanne — September 27, 2011 @ 8:30 pm

  16. […] this recipe, and it’s looking good in my oven. Finally, I use my pressure cooker to prepare braised purple cabbage, and I tossed in a leftover quince that I had sitting around, in addition to the green apples […]

    Pingback by No chickens to be had | ISRAELITY — October 21, 2011 @ 1:47 pm



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