E Rated Red Cabbage

When I started this little blog, I had no idea how much fun it would get to be and how many wonderful people I would get to know. And really, if anything, the outpouring of support I recieved in my last post for this whole silliness that's going on with my knee just means so much to me. I love that this community has helped me to stretch what I thought I could do and has introduced me to so many different cultures. And I'm so happy to say thank you to the lovely Deborah of Taste and Tell who gave me the Excellent blog award. Thank you! Deborah is a really super woman who presents healthy and delicious dishes and always leaves such kind comments.

So now I'd like to pass this award on to Cynthia at Tastes Like Home who is from Guyana and lives in Barbados and consistently blogs about Island food. Her pictures are mouthwatering and she's always helpful if you email her.

Secondly I'd like to pass this award on to Courtney at Coco Cooks. She blogs from Chicago and her blog features fantastic recipes that I would love to duplicate. Her cakes are beautiful and sometimes she pushes the envelope and comes up with exciting new dishes. Other times she makes me just want to lick the computer screen!

Thirdly I'd like to pass this award to Laurie at Quirky Cupcake. You might also know her as the host of the monthly Cupcake Hero. I love her sense of humor and I know I can tune into her blog for either some heavy duty drooling or a little bit of hilarity.

Last, I'd like to recognize a non-food blogger. I'd like to pass this award on to Marti at Standing Still. Marti has had so many challenges and situations over the last several months and yet she handles it all with grace and sensitivity and a wicked sense of humor. She also has some seriously great pottery.

SO those are my excellent blogs I'd like to recognize. Just a sampling of the many many excellent blogs out there.

And now for the recipe, which was really just a way for me to use up the second half of the red cabbage I used here. I wasn't planning on blogging about it, but then I tasted it and I knew that I had to share this red cabbage recipe. This is Red Cabbage with Bacon and Caraway from Bon Appetit.

Now I grew up eating ethnically German food. I am no stranger to red cabbage or caraway seeds or bacon. But most of the times I've had red cabbage before, either at home or at German Restaurants it's been cooked until it's dead. Soft, squishy, sweet and tart. Don't get me wrong, the dead kind is delicious and is total comfort food. BUT, and I really believe this, when vegetables are cooked 'till they are falling apart dead, you tend to lose the actual flavor of the original vegetable. For example, my Grandma U's green beans never actually tasted like green beans. That's not to say that the red cabbage I grew up with was tasteless and salty like Grandma U's green beans. It tasted of cloves and apples and vinegar and brown sugar and all sorts of yummy stuff.

But this red cabbage was still a little on the crispy side. We actually had to chew it. It was GREAT! And call me silly, I just love the beautiful purple color of red cabbage. I think it's so pretty You can still taste the wonderful saltiness of bacon and the brown sugar and cider vinegar, but the red cabbage taste comes through too. The Brain and I both really liked it.

Red Cabbage with Bacon and Caraway

from Bon Appetit

4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 head red cabbage, thinly sliced

3 Tbsp cider vinegar

1 Tbsp dark brown sugar

1 tsp caraway seeds

chopped fresh parsley

Cook the bacon in a heavy skillet until crispy. Remove from the pan and let drain on paper towels. Drain out about half the bacon grease. Saute the cabbage in the same skillet for about 3 minutes. Stir together the vinegar, sugar and caraway seeds and add to the cabbage. Saute until the cabbage is wilted, but still crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan, season with salt and pepper and mix in the bacon. Add more vinegar as needed. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and enjoy!