Slow Cooker Red Cabbage, Apple and Onions

One of the only vegetables I get kind of stuck in a rut with, is cabbage. I really enjoy it - but sort of always cook it one or two ways and that's it. Usually I grate it into a coleslaw type of salad or roast it in the oven with veggies.

But we also like it as part of a stir fry too and often throw it in there. However, we don't eat near enough of this lovely vegetable and I have been mulling over how to use up the two I had in the vegetable box for the last week.

So, today I decided to pull out my handy slow cooker (what a godsend that thing is!) and see what it does with my red cabbage. Right now I am enjoying the smell of it - mostly because I am not eating right now, but also because it does smell very nice.

To make this most simple dish I chopped up the cabbage (not too finely) and started layering it with chopped apples and sliced onions and garlic. This time I used both red and white onions because I wanted to use them up.

Once the vegetables were in the crock pot I added about 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Then with the pot on high - I started adding some spices. The ones I usually use with cabbage are coriander, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. 

Next I sprinkled on some sea salt and ground black pepper then added in 1/2 cup of water because it seemed like it needed something to keep the cooking process going. Lastly, 2 tablespoons of honey and 2 tablespoons of butter to sweeten the dish and that is it.

It's a very simple but lovely tasting side dish to have with nearly any meal and goes really well with meats, especially goose and any wild game such as pheasant or venison. 

April

Red Cabbage dish

Banana Chutney

I know, this sounds different and it is something I would probably not have put together myself - however I came across a mention of banana chutney as being really nice with left overs from a big meal. Such as often happens when we have a feast!

Usually during any feast I am cooking up a storm and have found myself standing in the kitchen in my pajamas late in the afternoon having virtually not left the kitchen since my eyes opened in the morning - spending my day cooking.

The is serious stuff here for us and I wanted to try out some new tastes, textures and combinations of foods over this next little while. So, when I got to reading up on what to do with extra dates, I found a mention of this banana chutney which of course includes dates and a few other things.

Tonight, I decided to dive into making some and perhaps late next week we'll see how it tastes (it should be left to sit for about 10 days or so). It certainly smells lovely and even looks nice in a chutney sort of way.

Fruit and vegetables for Banana Chutney

For the chutney I mashed bananas, chopped apples, dried dates and apricots, sliced onions and diced garlic - this all went into apple cider vinegar to bubble away over half an hour or so. In the meantime part way through the cooking I added in some date syrup, water whenever it looked too thick, and spices (allspice, turmeric, ginger, salt, pepper, cumin).

Banana Chutney steaming away as it slowly cooks 

Once this was placed into jars and processed in the boiling water bath it turned out well and the jars sealed up. I am finding the larger jars take longer to seal and I really do prefer the screw top Kilner jars as opposed to the flip top lids. However, I will use anything that comes into the house at this point!

Apparently banana chutney is very nice served with cheese and crackers, leftover meat such as duck or lamb, salad and stirred into yogurt. When we have a feast day there is always lots of food left for the next meal, a nice chutney (or a couple of them) will add some interesting flavours to these meals and I can't wait to try them.

Well that's my story today - day 9 of my August cleanse, I was itching to cook something interesting and found it. Perhaps I will do some further searches to see what else I can find...

Have a healthy day!

April

Big jar of Banana Chutney