Rolled Cabbage

After being sick for a couple of days, DFJ and I were finally able to go to the gym and work out yesterday. We lasted a little over half an hour doing the bare minimum and were spent. I was seriously contemplating skipping this week’s Food Matter’s Project, Rolled Cabbage, chosen by Keely Marie. However, after seeing all the delicious creations that other FMP members cooked up, I was determined to give it a go. So, I spent a good hour in the kitchen making my own version of the cabbage rolls. DFJ cooked something alongside me and we snacked on what he made while I was working away on the rolls. You guys, this is a great recipe! Perhaps a bit time-consuming, but totally worth it.  

I have only had stuffed cabbage twice in my life. The first time was at Sally’s and I remember going crazy about it with all the meat and rice goodness in the cabbage rolls. The second time was at my friend, Lori’s, when she invited me over for dinner at her house on my birthday. That was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. I was new in town then and had just moved here for my job, friendless and awkward. It would have been a very lonely birthday for me if not for that dinner invitation. She served delicious cabbage rolls for dinner and they were amazing! Her version also had meat and rice in it. After those two good experiences with cabbage rolls, why have I not thought of making them at home? Maybe I was afraid that it would be too much work or maybe I just haven’t come across a recipe for one… That’s all in the past now, thanks to Keely for introducing me to this Mark Bittman recipe that I never even noticed as I was leafing through my book!

 

My bok choy rolls are filled with mashed sweet potatoes with an onion-mushroom-garlic sauté mixed in. They were delicious over a bed of spiced tomatoes! I will have to revisit my adapted version of this recipe again in the near future and tweak it some more. Although they were good, without any meat, grains, beans, or legumes, they just did not seem very satisfying. That’s definitely something I will keep in mind for later.

 

Please head over to Keely Marie’s website for the original Mark Bittman recipe and check out the Rolled Cabbage page on the FMP website to see what the other members came up with!