Cabbage is one of the great kitchen workhorses of the vegetable kingdom. I like to pair early varieties with summer berries in coleslaw. Using fruit vinegars, I make raspberry or blueberry mayonnaise and combine the sliced cabbage with traditional ingredients, such as onions and grated carrots, as well as with raspberries or blueberries.

When peppers come into season in late summer and early fall, I enjoy spicy coleslaw spiked with serranos, cilantro, and ginger.

Like other cold-weather vegetables, cabbage varieties harvested at the end of the season are built to last. Stored properly, a cabbage picked in November will make a hearty soup in the dead of winter. Braised cabbage makes an excellent accompaniment to winter stews and roasts, too. And don’t forget sauerkraut—homemade, it is sensational, and provides an excellent way to use an abundance of garden cabbage

by Michele Anna Jordan
October 1997
from issue #11