30 Days of Real Meals- #3 Cabbage Roll Casserole

I grew up eating my mother's amazing cabbage rolls.  These days, I get my fix (without all the work) by making this quick and easy casserole.  I love recipes you can make with 1 pound of ground beef.

I know I already warned you about the potential for bad lighting in my photographs for this 30 Day journey, but I am sorry for all the artificial lighting......by the time dinner is ready, the sun has set and we are in a hurry to eat so I just snap and go!  I love the natural light of summertime when the days last 

F O R E V E R.......

CABBAGE ROLL CASSEROLE

1 pound organic grass fed beef

3 cloves organic garlic, smashed and minced

2 organic onions, chopped

1 cup organic basmati or white rice

26 oz organic tomato sauce, or chopped tomatoes (preferably from a glass jar)

2 Tbsp organic tomato paste (from a glass jar)

1/2 cup organic chicken stock or water

6 cups shredded organic cabbage

1tsp organic ground cinnamon

1 tsp organic mint

sea salt and pepper

organic feta or romano cheese

Method:  In a large frying pan, cook the beef, onions, and garlic until there is no pink left in the beef.  Add salt and pepper.

     Add the uncooked rice to the beef mixture and set aside.

     Mix together the tomatoes, paste, stock, cinnamon, and mint. 

     In a large casserole dish (1.5 L), layer half the cabbage.  Cover with half of the beef mixture.  Cover that with half of the sauce.  Repeat. Cover and bake at 350* for one hour.  Serve with feta cheese or grated romano.

CABBAGE: The New Lettuce

It's January.  It's cold out, and we are in the midst of a huge snowstorm.  It's also Friday, the end of the week.  The fridge is starting to look very empty on the eve of market day.  But we have cabbage.  It's pretty hard not to have cabbage because it lasts - ALL winter.  Just as we eat lettuce, spinach and arugula like it is going out of style in the summer, in winter, we eat cabbage.  So much cabbage in fact, that I am now calling it the new lettuce.  New?  Well, for those of us learning how to truly eat locally, learning to eat and love cabbage is a new concept.  I am especially appreciating the versatility and freshness of Nappa Cabbage which so far is always available at the market on Saturdays, and I am crossing my fingers it keeps on coming.  This cabbage has delicate leaves (unlike the ordinary red and green cabbages) which gives it more of a lettuce character.  The fun part too is that you can treat it like a lettuce or a cabbage, depending on your mood.  Tonight it took on more of a cabbage personality when I dressed it in an Asian Peanut Dressing, served alongside Wild Salmon Fish Cakes.  Recipes like this make me feel like I can survive this winter without breaking down and buying California greens.

NAPPA CABBAGE SALAD with Asian Peanut Dressing

Feel free to substitute red or green cabbage if you don't have any Nappa around.  

4 cups shredded organic Nappa cabbage

1 organic carrot, shredded

1/8 cup organic tamari

1 1/2 Tbsp brown rice vinegar

1/8 cup organic peanut butter, chunky or smooth

1 Tbsp local maple syrup

Method:  Combine the cabbage and carrot in a salad bowl.  Whisk together the remaining ingredients and then toss with the cabbage.  (If using red or green cabbage, be sure to let it sit for about 30 minutes before serving).

SAUERKRAUT AND OTHER FERMENTED YUMMINESS

I decided to go nuts at the Farmer's Market this week and buy loads of veggies to turn into lacto-fermented yumminess.  It is amazing the amount of veggies you can pack into a jar once they've been salted a bit.  So I spent the afternoon grated, chopping, peeling and smashing all that produce and they are now happily resting on the kitchen counter, busily fermenting their little hearts out......

LACTO-FERMENTED CARROTS

(adapted from "The Maker's Diet" by Jordan Rubin)

 http://astore.amazon.ca/prasada02-20?node=6&page=2

These carrots taste great in salads, with eggs, and on sandwiches.

4 cups grated organic carrots, loosely packed

3 tsp sea salt

Method:  In a bowl, mix the carrots and salt together.  Place in a Mason jar and press down with a wooden pounder.  There should be about an inch of space between the top of the carrots and the top of the jar.  Cover tightly and leave at room temperature about 2-3 days before transferring to cold storage.

SAUERKRAUT

Makes a half-gallon jar

3 1/2 pounds organic cabbage

1 tablespoon sea salt

You can add optional ingredients from the following list: 1 tsp caraway seed, peeled sliced garlic; washed, cored and sliced apples; peeled onions cut into eighths; dill seed; juniper berries; or other spices.

Wash cabbage and cut into thin shreds, with a kraut cutter, mandoline, food processor, or by hand with a knife.  Mix cabbage shreds with the salt in a large bowl and let stand for 15 minutes.  Then press the cabbage with your fist or a wooden stamper until the juice is flowing well.  It is important to crush the vegetables enough to create the juice.

Pack the juicy shreds into your jar in layers, interspersing the caraway and any other ingredients you are using.  Pack tightly enough that all the air is pressed out.  You should leave about two inches of space below the lid. If you don’t have enough, you can add a little brine: 1 tsp salt to one pint water.  Put the lid on and screw down, but not really tight.  Put the jar on a plate or pie tin, and keep in a dark corner of your kitchen for one week.  Then put in a cold place for another four weeks to mellow.  Sauerkraut keeps many months under proper storage conditions (provided you keep out of it that long).

Untraditional KIMCHEE

Makes a half-gallon jar

1 ½ pounds organic Napa cabbage

1 pound organic daikon radish

3 tablespoons sea salt

1 ½ tablespoons peeled and sliced organic garlic

6 organic scallions trimmed and sliced or ½ cup trimmed sliced leek 

2 tablespoons peeled and grated organic ginger

1-3 tablespoon fine quality medium Korean hot chile powder

1 teaspoon organic sugar

     Wash Napa cabbage and cut in half lengthwise.  Cut out the core, chop the rest in approximate 1.5” squares.  Peel daikon and slice ¼” thick.  In a large nonreactive bowl, mix 6 cups water and 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons salt. Then put in the radish and Napa, dunking them in the water.  Let stand 8-12 hours, dunking occasionally.          

At the end of this period, prepare the rest of the spices along with 1 teaspoon sea salt and 1 teaspoon sugar into a mixing bowl (a second bowl).  Scoop the vegetables out of the brine into the bowl with the spices, mix well.  Reserve the brine. 

Pack the vegetables reasonably tightly into your jar. Be sure to pour in any liquid left in the bottom of your mixing bowl.  Then fill the jar up to the neck with the reserved brine.  Cover jar loosely, put on a plate or pie tin, and keep in a dark place.  Kimchee takes from five to nine days to ferment, depending on the ambient temperature.  At five days, start tasting the brine with a clean spoon.  When it is sour enough to your taste, your kimchee is done.  Cap tightly and keep in a cold place.  It is ready to use at once, and will keep many months under refrigeration (or buried out in your yard if you live in Korea). 

NORBERT'S NOODLES

My favorite farmer in the whole world is making pasta and it is good.  Norbert from Selwood Green has awakened a latent talent for noodle making and I am glad.  Although this means he isn't spending as much time growing phenomenal organic vegetables.  But at least he is doing good things no matter what he does.  And lucky for us it always involves food.

     We eat Norbert's Kamut Pasta with all kinds of sauces, but tonight we delved into our frozen green curry paste stash and whipped up this little yummy.

KAMUT NOODLES in a Peanut Coconut Sauce

1 pack of Norbert's Organic Kamut Noodles (equal to about 1/2 pound dry pasta I think)

1 pound organic local firm tofu, cut into cubes

1/2 cup arame seaweed, soaked in water for 5 minutes

1 organic onion, chopped

2 cups organic cabbage, cut into small pieces

3 organic carrots, chopped

1/2 cup organic peanut butter

1/2 can organic coconut milk

6 Tbsp organic tamari

4 Tbsp spicy thai chili dipping sauce

big pinch sea salt

2 Tbsp organic raw sesame oil

1 heaping Tbsp green curry paste

1/4 cup water

1/2 bunch organic cilantro, chopped

1/2 organic lemon

Method:  Bring a pot of water to boil and when ready cook noodles for about 5 minutes.  Preheat oven to 450*.  Marinate the tofu in 2 Tbsp of the tamari sauce and 1 Tbsp of the sesame oil.  Broil in the oven in a cast iron skillet for about 10-15 minutes, flipping halfway through.  Set aside.

     Heat a cast iron wok over medium high heat.  Add the rest of the oil and stir fry the onion, carrot, cabbage, arame and a pinch of sea salt for about 8 minutes.  Then stir in the tofu, coconut milk, curry paste, peanut butter, chili sauce, water and remaining tamari.  Cook stirring for about 5 minutes, then add the drained noodles and chopped cilantro.    Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and chopsticks.

Indian Dal and Mango Chutney Coleslaw

Dal is a very easy Indian dish to make, and in fact the first Indian meal I mastered.  I usually serve it with white basmati (shh don't tell the fibre police) because I love it so much, but tonight I thought I'd be all healthy and go with quinoa.  The Mango Chutney salad was an impromptu creation using up a virtually empty jar of organic mango chutney I found in the fridge.  I normally buy Patak's Mango Chutney, until one day I found an organic version at Planet Organic.  It is very different from Patak's, a much runnier chutney, but tasty nonetheless.  I added some apple cider vinegar and sesame oil to the jar, shook it up, and presto!  instant mango dressing for our salad.

INDIAN DAL

For last night's dinner I added some chopped kale to this near the end of cooking just to add some more vegetables to our life, but I usually don't.

1 1/2 cups organic yellow split peas, rinsed

1 tsp organic turmeric powder

1 large clove organic garlic, smashed and chopped

2 Tbsp organic butter

2 tsp organic coriander powder

2 tsp organic cumin seed powder

1 organic onion, chopped

1/4 tsp hing (asofetida) powder

1-3 tsp sea salt

2 tsp organic black mustard seeds

Method:  In a medium saucepan, combine the peas and enough water to amply cover them and the turmeric.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 1 hour or until the peas are soft and mushy.

     Meanwhile, in a cast iron skillet melt the butter over medium heat and then fry the onion until soft.  Then add the spices and garlic and cook another minute.  Stir into the peas when they are 3/4 of the way cooked.  When the peas are cooked, season with salt to taste.

MANGO CHUTNEY COLESLAW

2 cups, thinly sliced and chopped organic cabbage

1 large organic carrot, shredded

1/4 cup chopped organic cilantro

handful organic cashews

1/4 organic red onion, chopped

1/4 organic red pepper, chopped

1 Tbsp organic mango chutney

1 Tbsp organic apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 Tbsp organic raw sesame oil

Method:  Toss all ingredients together and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

One Idea, Two Ways

So last night I didn't bother posting our dinner because it was a repeat of a menu I had already posted.  I made Mexican Burritos and they were very fine indeed.  Actually they weren't exactly like the ones I have posted.  I substituted frozen peas, spinach and grated carrot for the veggies and added sauteed seasoned ground beef.  After a long day of going into the city for our Waldorf inspired parent-child group, and then a two hour baby and me nap, I didn't much feel like cooking. Luckily we had some of the refried beans and beef leftovers in the fridge, some salsa and cheese.  Perfect for making a Mexican style Mac and Cheese.  And once again I had room for chocolate ice cream with peanut butter.  Can you cay ADDICTED?

MEXICAN MAC AND CHEESE

1 box of whole wheat rotini, very al dente

2 cups ground beef fried and seasoned with onions and chili powder, green peas, spinach and grated carrot

1/2- 1 cup of refried beans

a whole lotta organic cheddar and mozzarella

3/4 jar organic tomato salsa, with 1/4 cup water mixed into it

6 green olives, sliced

Method:  Preheat oven to 350*.  Spread the beans on the bottom of a baking dish, followed by some of the salsa.  Add a layer of the pasta, then beef, salsa, olives and cheese.  Repeat, ending with lots of cheese.  Bake for 45 minutes or until all bubbly and starting to get golden on parts of the cheese.  Serve with some sour cream and coleslaw.

CABBAGE SALAD with Beets and Carrots in an Apple Cider Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/2 small organic cabbage, shredded finely

1 medium organic beet, shredded

1 organic carrot, shredded

3/4 Tbsp Boates apple cider balsmaic vinegar

1 Tbsp e.v olive oil

sea salt and pepper

Method:  Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss.

This is the "after" picture!

Wild Game

I was a single mom this weekend.  Scott planned a weekend getaway with his father and brother in law to their "camp" in the woods.  It was great that Scott got some time to himself.  It was not so great that I was on call 24/7 alone (ok so I had a friend and her kids over for the weekend which was great but still).  What softened the blow a tiny bit was the wild grouse he brought home.  I think he killed one of them and Brad, his brother in law, got the other.  I like the idea of wild game.  Animals raised in the wild eating forest food are definitely healthier for you.  But I had no idea what to do with it. I've never eaten grouse before and never seen it prepared.  Scott warned me that grouse is pretty much all white meat and so is very easy to overcook and dry out.  That being said I decided to cook it the following way.  It was pretty good but I'd probably try cooking it another way next time.

WILD grouse with Bacon and Cabbage

2 wild grouse

1/4 pound organic bacon

1 organic onion

1 small organic cabbage, shredded

2 organic carrots, cut in 4 chunks

1/4 of an organic celery root, grated

sea salt and pepper

2 cups organic chicken stock

Method:  Preheat the broiler in your oven.  Place the grouse in a heavy casserole and drizzle with olive oil, sea salt and pepper.  Broil in oven for 10 minutes uncovered.  Meanwhile, saute the bacon and onion in a skillet until the bacon begins to brown.  Add the cabbage and celery root and saute until the cabbage begins to wilt.  Pour this mixture on top of the grouse, along with the stock and carrots.  Season with sea salt and pepper.  Reduce the oven to 350*, cover the casserole and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.  You may want to remove the lid during the last 10-15 minutes if really watery.  Serve on mashed potatoes.

MASHED POTATOES

1 organic sweet potato

2 organic yukon gold potatoes

3 Tbsp organic salted butter

1/4 cup organic milk

sea salt and pepper

Method:  Peel and then boil the potatoes in a pot of water.  When soft, drain and mash with the milk and butter.  Season to taste with sea salt and pepper.

KALE SALAD with Arame, Carrot, Pepitas in an Apple Balsamic Vinaigrette

6 leaves of organic kale, sliced thin

1/8 cup organic pumpkin seeds

1 organic carrot shredded

1/4 cup arame sea vegetable soaked and drained

1/4 of an organic red pepper, diced

3 Tbsp olive oil

3 tsp apple balsamic vinegar

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp local honey

sea salt and pepper

Method:  Combine all the veggies in a bowl.  Top with the oil, vinegars, honey and salt.  Toss well and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.