Cabbage Wraps with Garlic Carrots

I got the idea for cabbage wraps from a coworker several years ago, and I’m a big fan because A) it doesn’t involve something bready and B) since the cabbage itself is spherical, the leaves naturally roll up nice and small on the edges, leaving the middle to bulge up with as much delicious stuff as you like!

I’ve made them raw for lunchtimes, with more fresh veggies and dressing, as well as steamed them up for dinner with something a little heartier inside.  The only tricky part is getting the leaves separated from the head without tearing them to bits.  The outermost layers tend to be the easiest, but I’ve found that severing them at the base and pulling carefully from there works pretty good.  And even if they rip you can make smaller wraps ;)

We had some leftover grits from Will’s mama, cooked with onion and bits of bacon.  I added a bit of garlic and butter, as refrigerating and reheating have a tendency to dry things out.

Easy, easy dinner!  I steamed the cabbage leaves for about 7 minutes.  There must be a sweet spot in there, where the leaves are no longer crunchy, but they still hold together and the hefty “spine” isn’t too tough.  I spooned the grits into the cabbage and rolled ‘em on up, garnishing with a few spoonfuls of pecan chipotle pesto I had saved from my breakfast bagel that morning.  (Our waitress was more than happy to bring me a tiny to go sauce container :)

The wraps were served with farm fresh carrots cooked up with olive oil, garlic and nutritional yeast.

cabbage wraps with garlic carrots

approximate price: $5

baked butternut squash stuffed with cheese and wild rice

well, i’ve never made stuffed squash before, but i really didn’t think it could be very hard.  that’s my story and i’m sticking to it :)

i admit, i don’t really know how long squash takes to bake in the oven.  i figured too long would be better than not long enough so i gave it around two hours.  butternuts can be tricky to cut because they are so solid, so just be careful!  i cut it in half once lengthwise, so as to have two nice big circles to fill.  i rubbed the fleshy sides with olive oil and put them facedown on a baking pan.  (i used an aluminum one, though i’m sure glass or otherwise would be fine too.)

we had some leftover broth from will’s mom’s delicious bacon collard greens, which we used to supplement cooking water for wild rice (1:2 rice/water ratio).  

i sauteed up a medium yellow onion with a little butter, and when the rice was tender i added in the onion, along with a few cloves of minced garlic, another couple tablespoons of butter* and a sprinkling of cracked salt.

for the sake of having some veggies, i boiled some baby carrots for about 10 minutes (depends on how soft you want them).  after draining them i added enough olive oil to flavor and a clove of minced garlic.

two hours was plenty long enough to make the squash soft and delicious (and our house smell like heaven! :)  i flipped over the halves, filling up the holes with rice and covering them neatly with cheese.  (i used slices of muenster, but i’m certain any kind will do!  it’s hard to go wrong with cheese :)

baked butternut squash stuffed with cheese and wild rice 

approximate price: $6

salsa-cooked quinoa with tofu and garlic spinach sauce

needed to use: a bowl of too-watery-to-actually-dip-chips-into homemade tomatillo salsa

well....it was slim pickin’s this night (as you can perhaps guess from the text above!).  our farm delivery was coming in the morning so i hadn’t bulked our produce back up.  no matter, i am not swayed.  i had the idea to cook some sort of grain in the salsa, so i went with quinoa (as opposed to a wild rice mix).  quinoa is a 1:2 ratio of grain to water, so i measured 2 cups of the salsa and still had a bit left, so i downsized the container and put it back in the fridge.  (downsizing is just fun, no matter what it’s pertaining to ;)

i wasn’t sure if the quinoa would cook properly in a liquid thicker than water, but i was prepared to add some extra H2O if necessary.  i brought it to a boil and then brought it down to low heat with the lid on to retain as much liquid as possible.

we had two carrots, an onion, some baby spinach, and half a block of tofu.  (we also had celery and jalapeno peppers, but i opted out of those.)  i sliced the carrots and put them in with the cooking quinoa (saved me an extra pan) and started an onion sauteing in a medium frying pan with a little butter.  i crumbled (aka smooshed and tore) the tofu in with the onion and added some bragg’s, both for a little color and flavor.  

i almost burned the quinoa, as it’s very quiet about turning sticky and black at the bottom of the pan while the top looks deliciously light and fluffy.  two good things to do in that moment of discovery: turn of the pan and douse it with a little water.  not enough to drown it, but just enough for the hot dry grains to have a drink.

i sat down and read for a few minutes while everything cooled a bit, then abruptly announced that i had an idea and walked back to the kitchen, ignoring will’s inquiry as to what it was.  (i like to keep him guessing a little....it’s part of the fun :)  

i took the remainder of the salsa back out of the fridge and put it in the blender, along with a few good handfuls of spinach (that appeared to get the unintentionally boot from this meal and still lay quiet and hopeful on the counter) and a minced clove of garlic.

perfect.  bright green things are really fun.  i put down a layer of the spicy quinoa and carrots, followed by the tofu and onions and a generous drizzling of green garlic salsa stuff.

salsa-cooked quinoa with tofu and garlic spinach sauce

despite the fact that will was not sure what he was eating at first he gave it a verbal “thumbs up” and nod of approval.  

approximate price: $5

potatocorntofublackbeanchard stir fry with mint carrot soup

i did it!  i made soup in my blender!  i probably should not be quite so excited about this, but sometimes things like “make soup in my blender” show up repeatedly on those to-do lists that accumulate and weigh down my poor soul (though not really poor at all, seeing as how i have SOUP! :)  the very act of making it was a big step.

we have carrots.  my goodness do we have carrots.  we get plenty from our farm share and they tend to last longer than the other goodies so i tend to keep them for the end, and often we get more before i’ve used them.  we ALSO have pulled up a few of our own from outside!  (which i hold onto while the chicks feed happily on the feathery green tops :)

we also had mint leftover from a vietnamese breakfast earlier this week, as well as some growing out on the porch.  i always think i should (and will) know what to do with mint, but i continue to find myself passing over it out of sheer lack of confidence.

carrots and mint go together.....i swear i’ve read that...  i couldn’t actually remember the label of all those delicious carrot soups....is it just ginger....i swear there’s something about mint in there....

regardless!  i was determined.  i sliced up about 8 carrots (not wanting to blow the whole bit if i happened to, um, mess something up :) and boiled them in water for about ten minutes.

while that was happening i chopped up half of an onion and put it in a saucepan with some water instead of butter, to get it to soften up instead of blacken.

when i decided they both were soft enough to blend, in they went to the blender (with about a half cup of the water i cooked the carrots in) and then i got to decide what else went in the blender with them.  i went with a drizzling of Bragg’s (why not?), a large (minced) clove of garlic, a handful of chopped mint, salt, and some yogurt.  the only kind of yogurt that graces our kitchen is most often the greek gods’ honey variety.  i went with it.

it was still warm when will got home, so that’s how we ate it, garnished with a bit of fresh mint from our back porch pot.  i let him guess for a while what the spice was, and i don’t actually blame him for not getting it right away.  the mint had a particularly spicy bite to it.  

we both agreed it might be better chilled, but that it was a very good soup debut!  i mused that, just like his songs, anything i make in the kitchen will never be quite the same twice.

mint carrot soup

approximate price: $2

mostly what i had to work with for this one was leftover blue rosemary potatoes.  and not very many of them i might add!  it was towards the end of our farm share cycle and pickings were a little slim for the next couple days.  i am never discouraged.

since i was making mint carrot soup at the same time, and actually stole some of the onion i was heating up for that.  i foraged in the freezer and found some corn (which excited me as i had just come in from fertilizing our soon-to-be corn plot! :)  there was also some tofu to be had....and some black beans in the pantry.  and guess what we also still have growing incredulously in the yard?  i swear we’re breaking some sort of cosmic chard rules here, but until the wrath falls, we will continue to obliviously enjoy the heck out of it! (and so will our chicks :)

really everything just went onto The Big Pan here.  i did start with the tofu, as some of the other things had already been cooked previously, and it’s best if it gets to soak up some heat and flavor on its own first (i think :)  

i gave that a few minutes, then put the potato leftovers in, followed closely by the corn and beans.  the only thing i saved ‘til the end was the chard.  i picked three good sized leaves, cutting them once lengthwise and then into half inch or so strips.  chard makes everything just a little happier (have i mentioned those chicks yet?? :)

i did put a little bit of water into the pan, maybe a quarter cup, just so the chard would have some liquid to soak up, and i covered the pan on low heat while i went outside to hang out with my chickens....assuring will it was ok for a few minutes :)  

potatocorntofublackbeanchard stir fry?

it was a good meal, teamed up with the soup :)

approximate price $5