Gingered Baby Cabbage

My mother brought me three of the cutest little cabbages from her garden. This dish features two ingredients that pair well with cabbage: ginger and mustard. I added a touch of agave nectar too for a hint of sweetness as a counterpoint to the subtle spice of the cabbage.


Gingered Baby Cabbage

3 heads of baby cabbage, leaves stripped, washed and cut into ribbons
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1" piece fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 cup water
1 1/2 tsp agave nectar
salt and pepper to taste

Heat butter and oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. Add garlic, ginger and dijon mustard and stir quickly.

Stir in cabbage (still damp) and saute until it begins to wilt and turn bright green.

As the bottom of the pan starts to brown add the water 1/4 a cup at a time, allowing it to evaporate between additions.

Season with salt and pepper, add agave nectar, and the last 1/4 cup of water. Cook until cabbage is tender.

Seaweed Soup with Dried Shiitakes and Silken Tofu

A soup made of sea vegetables is as good as a cure in my book! Sea vegetables contain virtually all the minerals found in human blood. Ocean water and human blood are close in mineral composition. Maybe that's why the sea speaks to so many of us, but I digress...

In the last Life Chef's "What's Cooking? Class" at Sevananda Natural Foods Market, we focused on meal planning, and using just three main meals as the focus of our shopping to keep us on the path to eating healthy and saving time and money. That short sentence really doesn't do the two+ hour class any justice, but suffice to say there's a chart, a grocery list and some shopping, cooking and eating involved!

One of the dishes we made was a shortcut version of my famous Curried Chick Peas with Kale, and the other was a take off of a favorite Tofu, Mushroom and Sea Vegetable Soup.

This version used:
1 block silken tofu
8 dried shiitake mushrooms, broken into pieces
1/2 package of Instant Pacific Sea Salad by Emerald Cove
3-4 Tbsp organic soy sauce and
6 cups of water.

Very simple. I finished with a splash of dark sesame oil, well, just cuz I like the flavor. Talk about fast. I dare say folks who initially wrinkle their nose up at the idea of a seaweed soup enjoyed this one.

I admit I'll poach an egg in this soup and call it breakfast. A super-powered breakfast!

Read about some of the ancient health benefits of eating sea vegetables (anti-inflammatory properties, promoting healthy thyroid function, preventing cardiovascular disease and more) at this like to World's Healthiest Foods website.