Sweet 'n' Sour Cabbage ♥ Recipe

Today's vegetable recipe: Cooked cabbage in a sweet and sour sauce with ground caraway. Inexpensive to make and filling. Traditional fare from Eastern Europe.

VEGETABLES ARE NOW COOL American readers, check the produce section in your local supermarket -- there will be new labels, 'COOL labels' they're called, where COOL stands for Country of Origin Labeling. The 2002 Farm Bill requires that food retailers (groceries, not restaurants) begin labeling the source of many foods, including produce and many meats, beginning September 30th of this year. So now we'll know -- if we want to -- that October's asparagus comes from somewhere in South America and August's oranges from southern Africa. (More about COOL on BlogHer, September 30: The Day Your Grocery Store Gets Cool.)

My own observation is that the stores are labeling vegetables, but in different ways. If a bunch of beets, say, has a twist tie, the label's on the twist, so very hard to get to. If the corn is wrapped in plastic, the label's there. If the produce is loose, loose onions say, then there's a label near the price. I fear, however, that diligence will be lax, unless we consumers choose to pay attention and prod our grocers to get it right. When I asked a produce stocker this week about the labels, his answer was, "Labels? I've been on vacation. Organic vegetables are fresher." (Hmm, alot like politicians, answering another question, not the one that was asked.)

What are you seeing for labels? Do you care? Will labels affect your buying decisions?

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CABBAGE IS COOL, TOO Whole generations refuse to eat cabbage, after eating nothing but cabbage during hard times. Well, hard times are here and at $.69 or less a pound, cabbage is a great choice for frugal grocery shoppers.

The recipe for Sweet 'n' Sour Cabbage was inspired by a recent meal at the Westchester Inn in Chicago, which serves up Bohemian / Czech food, delicious stuff, including rabbit in a sour cream gravy. Talk about a feast: for $10 - $13, an entree comes with a soup or tomato juice; dumplings or potatoes; sauerkraut; a vegetable or sweet 'n' sour cabbage; bread and butter; coffee and strudel for dessert -- and on the weekends, a complimentary glass of wine! I'm stuffed, again, just seeing the list! I loved the sweet 'n' sour cabbage and couldn't wait to get home to re-create it.

SWEET 'N' SOUR CABBAGE

Hands-on time: 15 minutes plus occasional stirring
Time to table: about 30 minutes
Serves 6 for OPTION ONE, serves 4 for OPTION TWO

OPTION ONE
Salted water to cover
1 pound cabbage, cut in wedges
1/2 pound carrots, peeled and cut in chunks on the diagonal

Bring the water to a boil. Add cabbage and carrots and cook until done. Drain. If you like, chop the cabbage into bite-size pieces. Set vegetables aside while making the sauce.

OPTION TWO
1 tablespoon bacon grease (or olive oil or another fat)
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 pound cabbage, chopped in 1-inch pieces

In a large skillet, heat fat til shimmery on MEDIUM HIGH. Add onion and cabbage as they're prepped, stirring well to coat with fat. Cook until soft, stirring often.

SWEET 'N' SOUR SAUCE
1 tablespoon bacon grease or butter (if using OPTION TWO, omit this)
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground caraway
1 cup skim milk
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste

For OPTION ONE: In a saucepan or the drained cabbage cooking pot, heat the bacon grease or butter until shimmery on MEDIUM. Stir in the flour, sugar and caraway and let cook for a minute or two (this cooks out the flouriness). A tablespoon at a time, add the milk, stirring in each tablespoon before adding another. Stir in the vinegar. Stir in the cooked cabbage and carrots, warm through. Stir in salt and pepper. Let cook for another 5 - 10 minutes. Serve.

For OPTION TWO: Sprinkle the cabbage with flour, sugar and caraway, stir to coat and let cook for a minute or two (this cooks out the flouriness). A tablespoon at a time, add the milk, stirring in each tablespoon before adding another. Stir in the vinegar. Stir in salt and pepper. Let cook for another 5 - 10 minutes. Serve.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
OPTION ONE, Per Serving: 89Cal; 2g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 4mg Cholesterol; 62mg Sodium; 17g Carb; 3g Fiber; NetCarb 14; 7g Sugar; 3g Protein; Weight Watchers 1 point

OPTION TWO, Per Serving: 110Cal; 3g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 4mg Cholesterol; 62mg Sodium; 17g Carb; 3g Fiber; NetCarb14; 8g Sugar; 4g Protein; Weight Watchers 2 point

KITCHEN NOTES
I made this twice, cooking the cabbage with two different techniques. The first time, I cooked cabbage wedges and carrot pieces together in well-salted water. The second time, I sautéed chopped cabbage in bacon grease in a skillet. I like the relative cooked-ness (is that a word?!) of the first technique, also the color from the carrots. But I'm biased toward one-pot vegetable recipes, easier on the clean-up. So. Either one will work, cook's choice.
Don't skip the caraway, it really adds.
The cabbage reheats beautifully so could easily be made ahead for serving later or another day.

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MORE CABBAGE RECIPES
~ Cape Breton Cabbage ~
~ Swedish Red Cabbage ~
~ Peasant Cabbage Tomato Soup ~
(Just this week, a reader wrote this about the soup, "I know this is an old thread, but I just stumbled upon it, and made my first ever pot of cabbage soup tonight. I will admit I was skeptical at the sparse list of ingredients, but I was proved wrong. Mmmmm, tasty! My husband, who is soup-picky, really enjoyed it too. Lovely blog. Thanks for sharing." Thank YOU, Rachel!)

~ more cabbage recipes ~
~ more Weight Watchers recipes ~
~ more low-carb recipes ~

RECIPES from KITCHEN PARADE
~ At Last! Black Bean Soup ~
~ Cheese Puffs tiny make-ahead appetizers ~
~ Green Chili Sauce & Green Chili Burgers ~
~ Estonian Apple Cake ~
~ Molasses Cookies with Molasses Ice Cream ~

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