ISO quick luncheon ideas for guests...

[lindag]

Cabbage adds so much flavor to so many soups...I always add it to my vegetable soup recipes.

[Auspicious]

28 minutes ago, Darienne said:

I would love to have your favorite recipe for cabbage soup and carrot soup.  They would be new additions to my soup repertoire. Thanks.  

 

Thank you for asking @Darienne. I'm very happy to share.

 

I'll start with cabbage soup. My approach to cabbage soup is much like the apocryphal story of stone soup.

 

The biggest issue I have with such recipes is that if you use conventional measures you end up with extra cabbage or a shortfall. I start with a head of cabbage. Big, small, moderate, whatever. I'm also a mise en place guy so everything gets prepped before starting to cook.

 

Dice the head of cabbage into bite-sized chunks. One inch on a side works pretty well. Dice an onion (moderate size cabbage, moderate sized onion - there is a trend here). Rummage through your refrigerator and counters for anything you don't have a plan for. The things that work best for me are carrots, celery, and peppers. Some people like green beans (fresh are fine but I'm not fond of frozen) and/or okra (I hate the stuff but there is no accounting for taste). Frozen peas are great.  Scrub, peel, dice the other veg.

 

A little oil in the bottom of a stock pot and saute the onions and some diced or minced garlic. When you can smell that the onions are caramelizing (just after they become translucent) add all the cabbage and stir it about until it wilts. This is usually where Netflix distracts me and I have to scurry back to the pot. *sigh* Add stock (I use chicken broth but vegetable broth would be fine) until the cabbage is just covered. Stir and add the rest of the veg. Add more stock or water if there is veg poking up.

 

I'll digress here for a moment - I am a low salt person. I use either home made stock or Kitchen Basics no-salt-added. YMMV. This is a taste issue for me, not health. I just want to taste my food, not extra salt. There is plenty of salt in most foods for me.

 

Pepper, oregano, thyme, cumin, curry powder. I eyeball all this so I don't have numbers.

 

If you are going to can this just simmer for a while, say 20 minutes before processing.

 

If you are going to eat it or freeze it simmer for 10ish minutes and then add pasta - I like bowtie - and simmer another 15ish minutes.

[Darienne]

Many thanks, good sir.  I am learning to love cabbage so I'll give it a try-ish. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

A friend at work this afternoon asked my advice for a dish to take to a pot luck.  I suggested quiche and a couple other things but she decided to go with stuffed grape leaves.  I've never made stuffed grape leaves but they should be easy to serve.

 

[ElsieD]

15 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

A friend at work this afternoon asked my advice for a dish to take to a pot luck.  I suggested quiche and a couple other things but she decided to go with stuffed grape leaves.  I've never made stuffed grape leaves but they should be easy to serve.

 

 

I used to make stuffed grape leaves for husband # 1.  And, @Darienne has lots of fresh grape leaves.  They make for a nice finger food.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

31 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

 

I used to make stuffed grape leaves for husband # 1.  And, @Darienne has lots of fresh grape leaves.  They make for a nice finger food.

 

Ah, yes!  I forgot about her grape vine pictures!  I have three grape vines on my balcony.  And almost limitless grape vines a few hundred feet away.

 

[Auspicious]

6 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

A friend at work this afternoon asked my advice for a dish to take to a pot luck.  I suggested quiche and a couple other things but she decided to go with stuffed grape leaves.  I've never made stuffed grape leaves but they should be easy to serve.

 

 

The problem with grape leaves is that people who like them REALLY like them. Put them out, turn around, and *bam* they're gone.

 

Making stuffed grape leaves takes a little practice so you don't tear them. For me making stuffed grape leaves is like a drywall project: by the time you're getting good at it you're finished. *sigh*