My plan for a St. Patrick's Day dinner was to make Spring Artichoke and Leek soup and a pasta that had cabbage in it. Since it was a very warm day, soup didn't seem like a good idea so I switched to pasta and one of my stand-by's: Caesar Salad. I make my own dressing with plenty of anchovies, and I made my own croutons last night as well. My daughter was happy because the salad is one of her favorites. Just proof that kids have interesting tastes. I mean who would think that a 21 month old would enjoy anchovies? I use a head of Romaine lettuce washed and dried (the drier the better) and 1 can of anchovies, about one half of a lemon, juiced, salt, pepper, 1 clove of garlic for some real garlic taste or garlic powder for a milder taste. Mix all the dressing ingredients in a small food processor or blender or use an immersion blender. Blend until it is smooth. Drizzle some olive oil over the lettuce and then add the dressing. Toss the salad really well. You can adjust the lemon juice, olive oil or seasoning to taste. You could add some fresh Parmesan cheese and also some croutons. Yum!
As for the second part of the meal, well it was not as successful. I tried a new recipe that consisted of egg noodles tossed with some steamed cabbage and Swiss chard. It wasn't bad, but I probably won't make it again. It was somewhat blah, and didn't end up being as colorful as I had hoped. I decided to go ahead and include a picture, just so you can see what I'm talking about. It was really too bad, because cabbage is a wonderful vegetable that is usually underrated.
The cabbage family, Brassica, includes everything from regular green cabbage to red cabbage to bok choy and Brussels sprouts. While some of the fancier cabbages can be more expensive, regular old green and red cabbage are usually pretty cheap. I love shredded red cabbage in a salad for some added crunch. Cabbage is high in dietary fiber (good for everyone, but especially good for losing weight). It's also high in Vitamins C, K, A and B6, as well as Folate, Potassium, Manganese, Thiamin, Calcium, Iron and Magnesium. So it is definitely worth adding to your diet.
One last note about trying new recipes and new foods. I try a ton of new recipes, and some of them make their way back to my dinner table over and over again, while some I try once and then never again. Sometimes I figure out how to adjust the recipe more to my liking, or it sparks an idea of how to make something else. Either way, you never know what will turn out to be a favorite and it can't hurt to try new things. You don't have to be an expert. I'm certainly not, I just try a lot of things, and the more I try and practice, the better I get. You can see from the picture above of the cabbage dish, it's not one of my best creations, but I'm glad I tried it all the same.
Besides, we had to have some cabbage for St. Patty's Day!
No comments:
Post a Comment