Cabbage Season

February is cabbage season. There are still leafy greens in the fields, but they are large leaves, not delicate salad mixes, soft and sweet. There are storage squashes, although they are beginning to rot and need to be checked every week. There are parsnips and beets in the garden bed, but, as the days grow longer, they will re-sprout the leafy tops and develop hard cores for seeding. Onions and potatoes are hanging in there. Canned tomatoes and green beans are a solid fall-back option, as are frozen peas and corn. But, really, late February and early March is cabbage time.

                We ate the last cabbage from the garden in early February. There would have been more—January Kings hold well in the ground—but Mr. Beezhold, our rabbit, discovered that he really likes cabbage and could jump up into the bed. He nibbled down two before I caught him and fenced them off.  So, we have been buying them at the Winter Farmer’s Market. Last week, I found the most beautiful cabbage I have even seen and took it home for dinner.  We ate the solid head in Rumpledethump by the fire; the rabbit got several deep purple leaves to munch on overnight.

                We like cabbage. I have at least four variations of cole slaw, with apples, with adobe chili, with lemon juice, as well as adding slivers to a mixed greens salad. It is good in soup. It adds bulk to a mound of sautéed veggies. It is good with peanut sauce and rice. It makes a nice gratin. Mashed with potatoes, butter, and milk, it’s a solid White Dinner. Last night, I mixed the cabbage, onions, and potatoes with cheddar cheese. We were pleased. Anything but an hours long, slow boil in a big pot – New England Boiled Dinner—is excellent.

                The garden season has begun again. I planted some kale and mustard starts in the greenhouse bed last week. There are quick start cabbages growing under lights in my classroom. Soon, we will be in salad season once more, all delicate leaves and greens. And I may miss the significant heft of a cabbage.

Rumpledethump

1.       Chop about two pounds of potatoes fairly small and boil them.

2.       Slice an onion and sautee in butter. Add a small head of cabbage, nicely sliced, salt and pepper,  and cook down.

3.       Grate about a cup and a half of cheddar cheese.

4.       Mix in a casserole dish and bake for about twenty minutes in the oven so that all of the cheese is melty.

5.       Eat by the fire in winter.