Cooked Red Cabbage

Cooked red cabbage. I don't think I would have gotten near the stuff before living in Germany for a year and forcing myself to try it so that I wouldn't offend my host family. Surprisingly, considering what a picky eater I was, I actually liked it. And then, somehow, in the midst of four years of eating at college dining halls, I forgot about it entirely.

I don't know why I suddenly started thinking about cooked red cabbage again, but this month I decided to try to recreate what I remembered liking 15 years ago. Although I made a couple of red cabbage recipes in January, tonight was the first time that I offered the cabbage to the girls. Sabrina liked it, but that isn't too surprising. What shocked me a bit was that Naomi liked it, too. She was quite hesitant before the first bite -- I'll admit that it's kind of weird-looking and purple -- but after that first bite, she kept eating! And Michael liked it enough to go back for seconds. I was so elated that I felt like the four of us should suddenly have started singing something from "The Sound of Music." So the moral of the story is, even if you don't think you like cooked red cabbage, you should try it. Perhaps you'll like it. Perhaps you'll like it so much that you'll burst into song, or at least want to go back for more.

Cooked Red Cabbage
most recipes say that this serves 4 as a side dish, but Michael and I could probably eat all of this just between the two of us

Ingredients:

• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
  
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
  
• 4 cups of shredded red cabbage (which is about 1/2 small red cabbage)
• 1/2 tsp. caraway seeds
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. granulated white sugar
• 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup water

Instructions:

Heat the canola oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Chop the onion and saute in the frying pan until the onion is soft. While the onion is sauteing, cut half of a red cabbage into thin strips. I recommend going to this webpage for instructions on how first to cut the cabbage in half and then in half again, and to thinly slice one quarter of the cabbage at a time. When the onion has softened, add the caraway seeds, sea salt, pepper, and sugar to the pan, and stir for a minute to combine thoroughly. Add the shredded cabbage and vinegar to the onion mixture and stir for a minute or two until the onion mixture and vinegar have thoroughly coated the cabbage. Then add 1/4 cup of water to the pan and stir briefly. Cover the pan with a lid and let the cabbage cook for five minutes. Then stir and cover again. Cook the cabbage over medium-low heat (or medium heat if you are in a hurry) for 10 to 20 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage softens to the degree that you prefer.