Dishy Doc is still away, so it’s all about food!  I love comfort food.  Don’t we all!  Home cooked meals cooked with love, family around the table.    I love getting good veggies into my family and that isn’t always easy.  Fussy pants regularly leaves out mushrooms, rolls her eyes at egg plant or courgette and scowls at spinach or other greens with the death stare extraordinaire!     So I am always trying to find dishes that make both of us happy – me with the nutrition she is receiving and her with the taste…  not always easy, but sometimes we get a real winner!

I also adore savoy cabbage… I love the bright green colour and the wrinkles.  I don’t see them a lot here in Kuala Lumpur, so when I see one I just HAVE to buy it….  I’m crazy like that 🙂

When my niece who was visiting said “I gotta say this is really good” and my girls agreed, I knew I was onto one of those winners I look for. !   “Thanks mum” is one of those things which makes my heart burst and the time taken in the kitchen suddenly becomes all worth while.  So here is the long waited for recipe I have promised!

PORK CABBAGE ROLLS WITH SWEET AND SOUR TOMATO SAUCE

Ingredients:

For the cabbage rolls:

• 1 green cabbage, about 2 lb., bruised or discolored outer leaves discarded
• 500 g pork mince
• 1 large carrot
• 1 red or yellow onion
• 1 egg
• 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 5 sage leaves
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 12 juniper berries
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1 tsp olive oil.

For the sweet and sour sauce

• 1 red or yellow yellow onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalk, chopped, leaves included.
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 tsp. caraway seeds
• 1 kg tomatoes
• 1 sweet bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup bone broth
• 1 to 2 tbs tomato paste (See my post on how to make your own)
• 1 apple.
• 1 tbs balsamic vinegar.

1. Wash cabbage well.   Bring a large pot of water to a boil. . Remove the cabbage core by cutting with a knife and twisting it out and place the cabbage into the boiling water and cook until the leaves are done.   (5 to 10 minutes)  Set aside and cool. Once cool, remove about 12 of the nice large outside leaves (these will be stuffed).   Retain a few of the small inner leaves (about 50 to 100g worth)  to mix with the pork.  (and use any other left over leaves for a soup the next day!)
2. Peel and quarter the onion. Chop in Thermomix … 3 seconds, speed 6. Add one tsp olive oil. Saute. 3 minutes, 100, speed 1. Chop carrot into large chunks and place in Thermomix. Add sage. Chop. 3 seconds, speed 6. Add, pork, egg, nutmeg, salt and pepper and the retained small inner leaves.   Mix ingredients at Speed 3, 15 seconds, using the thermomix spatula through the lid to stir. (do not use any other than the Thermomix spatula) .   Repeat if needed. Divide the pork filling among the cabbage leaves. Fold the white stem end of each leaf over the filling, add a juniper berry then fold in each of the sides and roll up the rest of the leaf. Repeat for each leaf. ( If you do not have a thermomix,  chop onion and grate the carrot.  Saute until translucent and add sage, nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Remove from pan and add pork and egg to the mix.  Mix well.)

To make the sauce, sauté the chopped onion and diced carrot over medium heat until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add chopped celery. Stir and heat through. Add caraway seeds, tomatoes, broth, tomato paste, apple and balsamic vinegar. Stir for a minute or two until well mixed. .  Place the cabbage rolls, seam down, in a single layer in the pan, and then spoon sauce and vegetables over the rolls. Cover and transfer to the oven and bake in a 180 celcius / 350 F oven until the cabbage rolls are tender and the filling is cooked through. This should take about an hour.

Enjoy!

Vivienne

(Reblogged from my blog at https://nograinlife.wordpress.com/2015/10/10/stuff-that-cabbage/)

We all know that those flavoured drinks are soooooo bad for you, because of the high sugar content and preservatives.  Yet on warm days, they are sooooo irresistible!

Here’s how to make a simple, healthier version:

Boil filtered water and steep two tea bags in it (use caffeine-free tea if you prefer).

Mash up some strawberries and pour it into the tea. Squeeze and orange in the mixture and add crushed mint leaves. Add honey to taste.

Chill and serve. You may wish to adjust the strength of your tea by diluting with cold water or adding ice. It actually reminds me of Pimms, and being unashamedly British, I adore Pimms 🙂

In an ideal world, we eat fresh organic vegetables straight from the garden. But the real world is not ideal.

So here’s a time-saving tip:

Allocate a day where you have two hours to spare. Source fresh organic vegetables. Clean and chop. Then put in freezer boxes and freeze immediately. These are great for midweek dinners.

I use mine to make soups, and it takes 2 minutes – i.e. open the freezer, reach for a box and put in a soup pot.

Suggestions:

Onion, tomatoes, carrots, squash, marrow, brussel sprouts, sugar snap peas, herbs (lots of herbs like parsley, basil, rosemary, thyme).

Note: I vary the content of my freezer bags and use funky items. Dill and orange make delicious, unusual chicken soup, so delicate!

Note: You can do the same for frozen fruits too. Frozen fruit boxes are a great idea! You can:

1. Add green to make green smoothies
2. Add yoghurt to make lassi
3. Or just blend it as it is!

I love my mum’s beef stew and I don’t think mine ever tastes as good as hers.  But over the years, I have perfected it.  Here are my following tricks:

(1) Use two different types of meat: the nice stewing beef chunks coated in seasoned flour and lightly browned, and beef bones.

(2) Use herbs generously.  Tarragon, thyme, bay leaf. Bay is a must.  I use fresh basil too.

(3) Now, this is my magic touch. Collect ends of most unlikely vegetables, such as aubergine, capsicum, parsley stalks, celery heads, etc, freeze them, and just add them to the pot at the beginning of the cooking period.  Over the hours, it will disintegrate to leave behind the most unique taste!

(4) Use different types of root vegetables: carrots, marrow, squash, potatoes.

(5) I always add an onion, a few garlic cloves and a couple of tomatoes.

How to cook it:

Brown the seasoned meat. Add the onions. Add the magic touch (3), bones and half a cupful of apple cider vinegar.  Boil for a few hours then turn down to simmer. Two hours before you serve, add the root vegetables. Simmer for a further two hours until the root veggies are almost melting.  Serve piping hot.