{FoodStuffs; Pouting over Winter}

What gives Seattle? I was ready for spring. I planted peas and a new herb garden last weekend, which I will now be re-planting this coming weekend. I bought strawberries, and refreshed my t-shirt collection. And them BAM!….winter returns full force. Walking out of Pilaties last night to a solid 1/2 inch of snow on my windshield was, well to say the least, very upsetting.

When it’s cold and dreary outside there is nothing I would rather eat than soup with a big piece of crusty garlic bread. But last night as I was pouting over winter I didn’t want soup. I was going to deny this winter weather to the end. Still something warm and comforting was in order. Then I remembered a post I read on Orangette, you know Molly Wizenburg’s fabulous blog? Basically you braise cabbage, onions, and carrots in the oven for almost two hours until they are so unbearably tender and scrumptious you can’t stand it, and that’s just what I did. I ate it with brown basmati rice, which is the perfect vehicle for braised cabbage just in case you were wondering. I will be eating the leftovers tonight curled up on the couch watching the snow fall, perfectly content. Winter will be over soon, and I will defiantly be enjoying this dish again before it’s done.

Braised Green Cabbage with Onions, and Carrots

Adapted from Orangette, by Molly Wizenberg

• 1 medium head green cabbage, about 2 pounds
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced into rough 1/3-inch slices
• 1 large carrot, sliced into º-inch rounds
• 1 cup good-quality chicken stock, or water
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• Maldon salt, or fleur de sel, to taste

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, and position a rack in the middle of the oven.

Peel off and discard from the cabbage any bruised or messy outer leaves. Give the cabbage a quick rinse under cool water, and dry it lightly. Cut it into 8 wedges, and trim away some of the woody core, leaving enough to hold each wedge intact. Arrange the wedges in a 9 x 13 baking dish. They may overlap a little, but you want them to lie in a single - if crowded - layer. If they don’t fit nicely into the dish, remove one wedge and set it aside for later use in a quick sautÈ, salad, or soup.

Scatter the onion and carrot over the cabbage, and pour the stock and oil over the whole mess. Season with a couple pinches of coarse salt, a couple grinds of the pepper mill, and the red pepper flakes. Cover the dish tightly with foil, and slide it into the oven. Cook the vegetables for 1 hour; then remove the dish from the oven and gently turn the cabbage wedges. If the dish seems at all dry, add a couple tablespoons of water. Cover the dish, and return it to the oven to cook until the vegetables are very tender, about an hour more.

When the cabbage is completely tender, remove the foil over the baking dish, turn the oven up to 400 degrees, and continue cooking until the vegetables begin to brown lightly on their edges, another 15 or so minutes.

Serve warm, topped with a poached egg and sprinkled with plenty of good, flaky Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper over rice.