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Friday, March 15, 2019

Will You Be Buying Cabbage this Week?


In my area, gone are the days of cabbage priced at 19 cents per pound during the week of St. Patrick's Day. However, today's price is still a fair deal. This week in my area, green cabbage is advertised at 49-50 cents per pound (checking those online flyers for all the stores near me). That's a good enough price for me to stock up for use as an everyday vegetable.

In my new budget, there's a distinction between everyday vegetables and special occasion/holiday vegetables. For this month and next, I've set a price limit on everyday vegetables at 50 cents per pound. Keeping to that limit, I found fresh carrots, onions, potatoes, and cabbage, as well as canned green beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, white beans, and tomatoes. I will buy what my budget allows from that list this month. We have some frozen peas, canned and fresh pumpkin, and kale, watercress, and chives in the garden to round out the veggie selection.

As for the cabbage, I bought 8 heads of green cabbage this week. If stored properly, cabbage can keep up to 2 months in the fridge. Given this will be a primary vegetable for us in the next month, I expect we will consume it all before the 2-month mark.

What are your favorite ways to prepare green cabbage? Our three primary uses for cabbage include: sliced and sauteed with garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil, with or without meat; some sort of slaw as a salad or to top sandwiches; and added to tomato or chicken-based soups. With 8 heads of cabbage, I am looking for new ways to prepare this vegetable.

28 comments:

  1. Another way we like cabbage is to make a cream sauce....you may add cheese to this or not...por over shredded/sliced cabbage then top with cracker crumbs or similar. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. I call it scalloped cabbage.
    I saute cabbage in a little oil or bacon grease along with onions and peppers if I have them then add fresh tomato or a tbsp or two of canned tomato a bit before serving. I season with a little garlic powder and salt and pepper...but season according to your families taste.
    I like to take a ham bone, potato chunks and cabbage chunks and cook until done. Makes a heart meal.
    You can also make small batches of kraut easily.

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    1. Thank you, Linda! Your ideas sound delicious and doable. I'll try the scalloped cabbage, with cheese in the sauce, right away. I make a dish with kale topped with cheese sauce, so flavor-wise, I think this should be very similar. This might make a good side dish for Easter, too, in place of pricier veggies. Again, thanks!

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  2. Cabbage is so good and ALL my kids will eat cabbage any time. My dad grows cabbage so we get a lot of it. I slice mine in long thin strands, parboil and freeze it. Our favorite way is just plain boiled cabbage. When drained, I add a pat or two of butter. Just served as a side dish. We also love cooked cabbage mixed in with mashed potatoes. Sometimes we add slices of smoked sausage to make a meal served in one pot. We had this meal this week but we did not have corned beef. The prices for that is 2.99 per lb.

    We also love mashed potatoes with cooked carrots all mixed up together, again we might add smoked sausage.

    These are filling meals and stretches a budget quite well. I have a lot of mashed butternut squash in my freezer from dad's garden. I think I will serve that this Sunday as our potato substitute.

    Alice

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    1. Hi Alice,
      Thank you for your delicious-sounding cabbage recipes. Mashed potatoes and cabbage, with sausage sounds yummy and comforting. Definitely going to do that! I didn't buy corned beef, either. Just way out of my budget right now. St Patrick's Day is my daughters' birthday anyway. So, I think we're doing homemade burgers and fries with a special cake (top secret--they know i have something special planned, so I can't say what is special about the cake just yet). Your idea for mashed butternut squash sounds tasty and sensible. I'm sure it will be appreciated by your family. Again, thanks for the cabbage ideas.

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  3. My hubby buys the cabbage. We will get some from his parent's garden this year, as well. I mostly prefer it in soups or slaws; of course, there's always the good old "boiled dinner" (either ham or corned beef with cabbage, onions, and carrots .... ) and I like it that way, too.

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    1. Hi Kris,
      Soups and slaws are a common way for us to use cabbage, too. I have to admit, I've never had boiled cabbage. I may give that a go, with some smoked sausage or ham, plus the carrots and onions. Thank you for the idea! I'm guessing your hubby will find a stellar deal on the cabbage. Have a good weekend!

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  4. I'm on my way out the door now to get some of the cabbage that's on sale. Not sure how much I'll get, but it probably won't be 8 heads. However, I will get an extra head or two to freeze. We won't be having corned beef either mostly for the cost of the calories. We use cabbage much like everyone else--boiled, fresh as a snack, slaws, soups... We add it to most things.

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    1. Hi live and learn,
      I'd never thought about freezing cabbage. Do you cook or blanch it first, or just freeze it chopped or shredded? Freezing cabbage might be a really good idea for me in the fall months, just before the prices on veggies takes its annual winter uphill hike.

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  5. Cabbage isn't super cheap out here in CT either. 33/lb is the cheapest advertised price. I normally grab about 3 this time of year.
    -sauted in bacon fat with onions, multi colored peppers
    -lazy golumbki casserole
    -creole cabbage
    -steamed shreds under a pasta sauce w/ or w/o meat
    -fried cabbage simmered in stewed tomatoes
    -added to salads, tacos, soups, stirfry


    Creole cabbage
    by Joanne Lamb Hayes
    Grandma’s Wartime kitchen
    2 Tbsp bacon fat
    1/4 cup thinly sliced onion
    1/2 cup thinly sliced green pepper
    1 15 oz can stewed tomatoes
    1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
    salt to taste
    2 whole cloves studded into 1 clove garlic
    1 bay leaf
    1 medium sized cabbage, coarsely chopped
    In a heavy skillet, melt fat. Saute onions and pepper until the onion is golden
    Add in tomatoes, studded garlic clove, bay leaf, salt, brown sugar and bring to a boil over medium Simmer, uncovered 15 minutes, stirring occassionally
    Meanwhile, cook cabbage in boiling water just until tender. Drain well and add to tomato mixture. Discard garlic and bayleaf. Toss well to combine. Serve hot.

    Lazy golumbki casserole
    Family favorite and a working person's friend: lazy golumbki casserole, which takes just like the Polish stuffed cabbage rolls I make once a year, just minus ALOT of the work! : )

    Pam spray a large, deep casserole dish
    Coarsely chop 1 small cabbage, place the cabbage into the casserole and spread evenly
    Pan fry 1 lb ground beef, 1 medium onion, chopped; 1/3 cup dry rice together until the meat is browned.Season with salt and pepper, add this layer on top of the cabbage
    Mix 2 cans of tomato soup (can substitute tomato sauce if preferred) and 1 can water with 1 tsp dried basil. Pour this sauce over the top.
    Cover, bake @ 350 for one hour.

    Easy to assemble ahead and refrigerate. Tastes even BETTER the next day!

    HTH

    **If interested, you can find me on a now closed blogsite on Facebook: just search for "Ct on a budget" you will be prompted to reply to 3 questions to be let in. My former blog was moved to FB and set as a closed site due to trolls. Much better, drama free.

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    1. correction 27/lb for cabbage. Headed to the store soon, it's on my list!

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    2. Thank you for your ideas/recipes, Carol. I will definitely give them a try. Oooh, 27 cents/lb that's pretty good.
      I've still got setting up a facebook page for accessing your FB. I can't get there through my creativesavv FB, or at least I haven't figured out how to do that yet. Something about mine not being a personal page. I'll get that set up soon.
      Thanks again, Carol.

      Delete
  6. and coleslaws! Besides the traditional cabbage/carrot/onion in a mayo dressing, I also make a cabbage/apple/raisin one with a mayo dressing (my great-grandmother's recipe), as well as this one: https://lifeasmom.com/sunshine-cole-slaw-urs-cabbage/

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    1. I've been out of mayo, so we've been making cole slaw with a vinaigrette and it's pretty delicious. Your great-grandmother's recipe with apples and raisins sounds yummy!

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    2. Have you ever tried making mayo?

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    3. No, I haven't tried making mayo -- yet. I have an aversion to uncooked egg yolks. I know there must be a cooked egg yolk version, though. What we've been using, so far, seems to be working for us. It's strained, homemade plain yogurt, with a little oil and alt stirred in. It doesn't taste like mayo, but it has a similar consistency and the flavor works well in egg salad when I also add mustard and curry powder.

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  7. And here's an article from a local paper, about cabbage, followed by recipes: http://www.newstimes.com/food/article/Got-crunch-Recipes-using-different-varieties-of-956822.php
    Posted by CTMOM at 7:42 PM

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the link, Carol. I'll check this out.

      Delete
  8. I found cabbage for .17/lb. We love finely shredded cabbage on tacos/ burritos and roasted cabbage "steaks" (cabbage cut into thick slices, rubbed with a bit of olive oil, s+p and broiled.

    Saryn

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    1. Hi Saryn,
      I'm so envious of your prices! Oh, yum, those roasted cabbage steaks sound delicious. I will try that out. Thank you!

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  9. Here at one store in my area of NC (Outer Banks) cabbage is .19/# with a limit of 5 pounds. I will get the limit. Some of our other stores have it for .29 to .39/lb- still not a bad deal so will buy some additional cabbages at the .29 price as well. Like others, we eat it in slaw, sauteed and in soups. My husband isn't a big fan of it sauteed, so I mainly eat it that way. I like it with corned beef and potatoes, but like others, not buying corned beef since the going price for that is 3.99/#. Would like a Reuben, but will probably do a turkey Reuben instead. Happy St. Patrick's day to all!

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    1. Hi Lynn,
      19 cents is a pretty great price. 5 lbs won't buy a whole lot, but it is something, right? the other stores' pricing is pretty good, too, especially when compared with other fresh vegetable prices so early in the season. A turkey Reuben, now that sounds tasty. I have some turkey breast meat in the freezer. I'm going to give that a try. Do you simply sub the turkey for corned beef? I have rye flour in the pantry with which I've been meaning to bake some bread. I think I know what we'll be having later this week! Thanks for the suggestion, Lynn.

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  10. Best price for cabbage here is at Fred Meyer at .49 cents/lb. I will get a few heads to put in the fridge. We really like egg roll in a bowl. I made it just this past week with a side of fried rice made with eggs & peas for my boys. It's a frugal, quick & filling meal for us. Melissa

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    1. Hi Melissa,
      I am going to use your idea for egg roll in a bowl very soon. I think that would be a hit with my family. Thank you for the suggestion!

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  11. I thought off you this morning as this popped up in my on line feed: https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/cabbage-recipes-from-grandma/?_cmp=recipeoftheday&_ebid=recipeoftheday3172019&_mid=271554&ehid=f610a37220a45b05f77bd84eb5f49a43df775ff1

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for this link, Carol. I checked it out and found lots of great ideas for using all of this cabbage. Thank you!

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  12. I like to make a cabbage rice stew! Finely shredded cabbage gets cooked low and slow, like you're caramelizing onions. When it's nice and brown, add a handful of rice and some broth/water, and cook until the rice is done and thickens your stew. Simple and warm, and even better if you start the cabbage sautee with a bit of chopped bacon instead of oil, but entirely not necessary.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Allie,
      oh now that sounds delicious. I have never cooked cabbage to an almost browned state. I'll give this a try. It sounds like an easy thing to make for my lunches. Thank you!

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    2. I hope you like it as much as we do! I love coaxing so much flavor out of simple ingredients with long, slow cooking. Cabbage is so sweet and delicious, it deserves every bit of the French onion soup treatment!

      Delete

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