Cabbage Head
I think I can feel it happening, readers. I'm slowly transforming, cell by cell, bit by bit, from a keyboard wielding digital girl gastronomer into a head of cabbage.
I thought it best that I quickly write this week's blog entry before the full transformation occurs. After all, one can hardly type with hands made of overlapping leaves.
It all began on Monday. I stopped at the green market in Union Square on the way home from work. It was the end of another unseasonably warm day. The greens were mostly done for, but I picked up a head of red cabbage and a beautiful and fresh bunch of cauliflower, one of fall's green-market delights.
And, I committed myself to eating the entire head of cabbage plus the cauliflower before either went bad in the refrigerator.
I've started this new policy, you see. No more Saturdays will roll around only to find me cleaning out those damn crisper drawers once again because I've let all kinds of lovely vegetables wither and decay, or grow positively slimy or hairy with mold. No more hoary beets, flaccid carrots or wrinkled greens. The guilt that goes with throwing out what would otherwise have been perfectly edible food... well for an ex-Catholic, it's fierce, even if cliche.
So, I've decided. If I buy it, I have to consume it. I went home on Monday and made a rough slaw with cabbage, tomatoes and a green pepper. It wasn't so great, but it worked all right with the whole wheat bread topped with mushrooms and a bit of cheese (also from the market).
Okay, I thought. That's a start. But a small one, indeed. Three-quarters plus of that head of cabbage remained. By Wednesday I was still eating it. I walked through the farmer's market again but forbid myself to buy any of the new and tempting greens. I must finish the cabbage!
By Friday I had finished several more helpings of slaw in different variations, one with black beans, salsa and feta, which wasn't so bad. By Saturday night, though, I still had a little less than half a cabbage. I couldn't stand to eat another bite raw.
I chopped it up and sauteed it with onion, garlic, leftover black beans and vegetarian chorizo. With corn tortillas, chips and salsa, it was quite tasty. I had leftovers for lunch today, and tomorrow I will finish it off.
And it will be a very long time before I buy another head of cabbage. Particularly since I had pork chops and sauerkraut for dinner. Whatever possessed me to buy fresh sauerkraut at the Easter European market in my neighborhood after eating all that cabbage, I will never know.
But I did, and so tonight I had more cabbage!
And after dinner, I ate roasted cauliflower, which was meant for tomorrow. (It smelled so good!)
And do you know what family cauliflower is in?
The cabbage family!
So, if I suddenly disappear and you come to my apartment to find me, it's quite possible you will only discover a head of cabbage, sitting by my laptop on my futon sofa.
Okay, yes I admit, it's a little far-fetched. But I remain committed (or commitable). Tomorrow, new greens and root veggies and a fantastic variety of things await me at the green market. I will buy small and avoid those hearty never-ending heads of cabbage.
Stay tuned. If I don't turn into a head of cabbage, a whole new entry is coming your way!
I think I can feel it happening, readers. I'm slowly transforming, cell by cell, bit by bit, from a keyboard wielding digital girl gastronomer into a head of cabbage.
I thought it best that I quickly write this week's blog entry before the full transformation occurs. After all, one can hardly type with hands made of overlapping leaves.
It all began on Monday. I stopped at the green market in Union Square on the way home from work. It was the end of another unseasonably warm day. The greens were mostly done for, but I picked up a head of red cabbage and a beautiful and fresh bunch of cauliflower, one of fall's green-market delights.
And, I committed myself to eating the entire head of cabbage plus the cauliflower before either went bad in the refrigerator.
I've started this new policy, you see. No more Saturdays will roll around only to find me cleaning out those damn crisper drawers once again because I've let all kinds of lovely vegetables wither and decay, or grow positively slimy or hairy with mold. No more hoary beets, flaccid carrots or wrinkled greens. The guilt that goes with throwing out what would otherwise have been perfectly edible food... well for an ex-Catholic, it's fierce, even if cliche.
So, I've decided. If I buy it, I have to consume it. I went home on Monday and made a rough slaw with cabbage, tomatoes and a green pepper. It wasn't so great, but it worked all right with the whole wheat bread topped with mushrooms and a bit of cheese (also from the market).
Okay, I thought. That's a start. But a small one, indeed. Three-quarters plus of that head of cabbage remained. By Wednesday I was still eating it. I walked through the farmer's market again but forbid myself to buy any of the new and tempting greens. I must finish the cabbage!
By Friday I had finished several more helpings of slaw in different variations, one with black beans, salsa and feta, which wasn't so bad. By Saturday night, though, I still had a little less than half a cabbage. I couldn't stand to eat another bite raw.
I chopped it up and sauteed it with onion, garlic, leftover black beans and vegetarian chorizo. With corn tortillas, chips and salsa, it was quite tasty. I had leftovers for lunch today, and tomorrow I will finish it off.
And it will be a very long time before I buy another head of cabbage. Particularly since I had pork chops and sauerkraut for dinner. Whatever possessed me to buy fresh sauerkraut at the Easter European market in my neighborhood after eating all that cabbage, I will never know.
But I did, and so tonight I had more cabbage!
And after dinner, I ate roasted cauliflower, which was meant for tomorrow. (It smelled so good!)
And do you know what family cauliflower is in?
The cabbage family!
So, if I suddenly disappear and you come to my apartment to find me, it's quite possible you will only discover a head of cabbage, sitting by my laptop on my futon sofa.
Okay, yes I admit, it's a little far-fetched. But I remain committed (or commitable). Tomorrow, new greens and root veggies and a fantastic variety of things await me at the green market. I will buy small and avoid those hearty never-ending heads of cabbage.
Stay tuned. If I don't turn into a head of cabbage, a whole new entry is coming your way!
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