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Monday, July 17, 2017

Cabbage, Cabbage, Cabbage

Yesterday's cabbage-y adventure was borscht. I've seen the recipe in my canning cookbook for years and always meant to try it. Yesterday was the day.


I grow red cabbage every year because it's just so pretty. Most years the chickens end up eating it because really, how much cabbage can two people eat? A head can last four meals, and red cabbage is even harder to use. One year I made red cabbage relish--it was delicious and so pretty, but again, how much relish can two people eat?

So, the borscht. It is a Russian cabbage soup and most of the online recipes I found had beets in it as well, and some had potatoes--these weren't canning recipes though. Others added sour cream and dill, and there were other variations. The recipe I used called for cabbage, tomatoes, onions, apples, beef boullion, salt, pepper and water. Everything was put into the pot and brought to a boil, then into jars and the pressure canner for 55 minutes.

It was pretty when it went into the jars, but after canning not so much.


The jury is out on how we'll like it. We're going to try it today--as it is, with sour cream, with sour cream and dill, and with added cooked potatoes. We shall see. If we don't like it, lesson learned and the chickens eat well, again.

I still have four red cabbages left. Does anyone have a good recipe for using them up? Maybe I should freeze it? Open to ideas!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

8 comments:

  1. I make halupki (stuffed cabbage rolls) with cabbage. One head makes a large dish. I have never tried it with red cabbage though. The dish is one from my family in the coal mining sections of Pennsylvania.

    Batsy in Moscow

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  2. My daughter in law puts chicken in their borscht but keeps mine vegetarian.
    Love it!!!! Good for you for taking the time to make it!!

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  3. Also beets and potatoes a must- yummy yummy

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  4. Cabbage rolls! great idea, Batsy! And I can freeze those. On the list for later this week. Thanks for the suggestion.

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  5. We eat a lot of baked or roasted cabbage. I usually cook it more in the winter but we actually had it for supper today with the leftovers going to work for lunch tomorrow with my husband, he loves it. It's a very flexible recipe.

    Preheat oven to 400' & a cast iron skillet on stovetop, set on med to low heat.

    4 servings of Meat: (choose one or even a mix like bacon & chicken) ground sausage, pepperoni, boneless chicken or pork, bratwurst or beef link
    1 1/2 cup of tomatoes: (choose one) homegrown fresh, frozen or canned, or a can of fire roasted tomatoes.....just whatever you have on hand. The amount isn't exact either. I often add more.
    1/2 to 1 cup chopped onion, whatever kind you have on hand
    1/2 to 1 cup chopped mushrooms, fresh or canned
    1/2 to 1 cup sliced black olives
    1 to 2 cups shredded cheese, whatever you have
    Optional: 1/2 cup sour cream

    Directions: If meat is raw cook it. I thoroughly cook ground meats but I just preheat my skillet, season & sear cut meats like chicken breast or pork chops. Precooked meats like pepperoni or beef links I just slice or chop.

    Mix all ingredients thoroughly (stir in ground or chopped meats, just add cut meats like breast or chops on top)Bake in a large cast iron skillet or dutch oven uncovered for 30 minutes.

    My husband is a type 1 diabetic so we try to eat no carbs at all. If you can eat carbs then adding some cooked rice would be really good as well. If you're using all raw, garden fresh veggies be sure to season well with salt & pepper before you stir it all up together. If you use Asian seasonings & add rice it's basically an inside out egg roll. Our favorite mix is with some kind of pork.

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  6. That sounds delicious, Jenny! I will give it a try with venison, I think.

    Larry is a Type 2 diabetic so I know what you mean. We limit carbs as much as we can but it's hard to do, isn't it?

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  7. I tried a red cabbage hash/stirfry today, and it was great. Potatoes, cabbage, some kielbasa, onions, green pepper, mushrooms, red pepper flakes, garlic, salt and pepper. Definitely will make again.

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  8. I haven't made it in a long time, but I think adding the beets when you make the soup would help keep the pretty red color even after canning. I love cabbage, but I'm in the same boat about needing to figure out ways to use it. The cabbage rolls (and freezing them) is a great idea! And pierogis likewise, though I don't do anything with dough because I have no place to roll it out. I cheat and buy frozen pierogis when I see "homemade" ones for sale locally. Yum.
    Did Jenny's recipe include cabbage and I missed it? Sounds like my kind of cooking - everything in a big skillet!

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