Farm fresh

On Sunday, Don Juan and I tried to go apple picking.  However, this particular orchard has one road in and one road out and everyone else seemed to have the same idea.  It was a zoo!  After sitting in traffic for a while, we resorted to back roads, made it there, saw how packed it was and said "nope!".

On the way back to the highway we hit up a farm stand I used to visit regularly.  It was on my commute home a few years ago and I loved being able to stop there weekly.

We loaded up...
fingerling potatoes
tomatoes
basil
white eggplant
butternut squash
turnip
kale
cabbage
fresh eggs

It was great!  In to the produce drawer it went and I told DJ that we needed to use something in that drawer every night.

So far we've been pretty successful.
fingerling potatoes  baked a bunch on the grill, still have a few leftover
tomatoes  gone the first night, tomato and basil salad
basil  see above
white eggplant
butternut squash
turnip
kale  used on sandwiches and made in to kale chips
cabbage  made stuffed cabbage last night (recipe to follow)
fresh eggs most of these were boiled

Butternut squash has a long shelf life, so that's good.  Just need to get to using the eggplant, turnip, and the remaining potatoes.

Normally DJ does the cooking.  He's really really good at it and enjoys it.  Yesterday he commented that he wanted stuffed cabbage but didn't know how to make it (the shock!).  Then he let me know that he had two softball games at night, so dinner responsibility would fall to me.  Bring it!

In addition to helping you track your foods, Weight Watchers has a really solid recipe collection.  So instead of searching online, I just searched WW and found a recipe for turkey stuffed cabbage.

Considering that this is a "healthy" recipe, it came out pretty well so I figured I'd share it.
1 head(s) green cabbage (medium)

12 oz uncooked ground turkey breast
1/2 cup(s) onion(s), diced (chopped)
1/2 cup(s) cooked brown rice, regular or instant
1 large egg(s)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
28 oz canned diced tomatoes
1 cup(s) reduced-sodium chicken broth

Remove 8 outer leaves from cabbage; place leaves in a large stockpot. Add enough water to cover leaves; set pot over high heat. Bring water to a boil; boil until leaves are pliable and soft, about 10 minutes. Drain; when leaves are cool enough to handle, cut off thickest part of vein from bottom of leaves, leaving leaves intact.


Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine turkey, onion, rice, egg, garlic powder, salt and black pepper; mix well.

Place a small amount of turkey mixture (enough to fit in the palm of your hand) onto center of each leaf. Fold in sides of leaves and then roll up tightly from one end to other, making sure filling is fully covered by leaf.

Pour a small amount of tomatoes into stockpot so a thin layer covers bottom of pot. Place cabbage rolls in pot, packing them tightly to prevent opening during cooking; pour in remaining tomatoes and broth. Set pot over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer; reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer 45 minutes more. Remove from heat and serve hot. Yields 2 stuffed leaves and about 1/4 cup of sauce per serving.

Note:  I found the sauce to be too thin so I mixed together a rue (flour and water) and then whisked it in to the sauce, thickened it right up.  I also seasoned it a bit with Adobo because as the recipe is written, some might find it too bland.  If you have extra meat or cabbage that rips, just make meatballs and throw the torn cabbage leaves in the pot.

Do you like cabbage?