Tuesday, February 17, 2009

food choices.....cont. (Warm Cabbage Apple Slaw and Brussel Sprout Soup)

So, Saturday night I followed through with my original plan to make a warm slaw of red cabbage and apples. I was inspired by this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, since I always have cabbage and apples it was easy for me to throw together. (Her picture is much more appetizing than mine, lol!)



Leftover pork roast with roasted veg and cabbage and apple slaw....and wine! The only change I'd make would be to cut the red cabbage into thinner strips. Recipes are only guides anyway, what's important is to recognize that this recipe has a base veg, sweetness (apple and raisins), fat (oil), acid, (cider vinegar), and the all important S & P! What else do you need? Nothing fancy, even the spices this recipe suggests are basics, and not even neccessary.


As I mentioned earlier I can't eat, nor can any of us eat, all the different kinds of foods that are available. In fact last year at this time I was roasting brussels on a regular basis , and this year I hadn't bought or prepared one freakin' brussel spout, lol! So I decided to change that and bought a couple pounds of them at the market the other day.


I used about 2/3 of them to make Brussel Sprout Soup.....


oil / butter
onion
brussels
chicken stock

Saute first 3 ingredients, add stock, cook until soft enough to puree in blender, season with S&P, puree in blender. Can it get easier? I didn't even put garlic OR jalapeno in this one, LOL! Yes, you can roast the brussels first, or you can make this soup with leftover roasted brussels, in fact I could have thrown some of the leftover roasted potatoes and rutabagas in from my previous meal and made a different version of soup. You can add milk or cream at the end, although I can't imagine why because it's plenty "creamy", or you can top it with some melty cheese, etc......make it your own.


I'll use the rest of the brussels sliced thin, for another version of a warm salad, or I'll simply add them to my salad mix....I'm thinking bacon for the warm salad idea! (PS, this soup was so yummy, I'll be making more soon!)

4 comments:

Kori Bliffert, NASM-CPT said...

Tracy, BJ and I have been on the same cabbage (green) and brussel sprout kick you have. Only we grill our cabbage, it gets this sweet taste. I have been buying 7-10 pounds of cabbage a week. And roasted brussel sprouts...nothin' better!

Tracy Reifkind said...

Kori,

Is this the same girl that asked me for ideas on how to cook greens? LOL! The more you cook and prep your own foods the easier it gets, and pretty soon you're doing your own thing! So I'll keep preaching and encouraging!

Fawn and I did a grilled cabbage salad this last summer at one of her barbeques...she added black beans, I did the same for a party at my house and dressed it with a chipolte dressing.

Why grilling brings out the sweetness of foods is the carmelization it creates from the intense high heat (the brown bits on the edges). "Carmelizing" IS bringing out the natural sugars....even in meats!

The other thing grilling does is, of course, add "smokiness"....yummy!

Kori Bliffert, NASM-CPT said...

I know right!! But I really have been doing what you told me. Buy a particular ingredient and cook it 1000 different ways.

FitwithLizzie said...

I made this last night and it was great. I have a weakness for onions and apples cooked together. YOM.