Stuffed Cabbage, Pickles, and a New Bounty!

The last couple bounties have brought about some interesting creations that have turned out surprisingly well. My box from a couple weeks back included a head of cabbage which I'm not very fond of. I scoured Pinterest for recipes, scrolling through endless photos of slaws and soups (boring), and stumbled upon a hearty meaty looking dish with the name 'Deconstructed Stuffed Cabbage'. Sounded promising! It's essentially a loaded sauté of onion, garlic, tomato, meat, rice, and cabbage. The recipe I used, which originated from a lovely blog named A Family Feast, acted more as a guide than a strict recipe. It called for 3 types of meat, canned tomatoes, sauerkraut, and a smidge of red wine. In my version I only used 1 type of meat (pork), fresh tomatoes, no sauerkraut, and a generous splash of red wine. It turned out delicious!

I ended up with a bunch of leftover blanched cabbage and cooked rice, so I decided to make the recipe again for my friend Geo a few days later, but this time with tofu instead of pork. Turned out great!

deconstructed stuffed cabbage w/ pork

The bounty I received last week is the most colorful yet. Another heap of bright red tomatoes, a couple oddly shaped onions, melons, way too many cucumbers, and more. Check it out:

tomatoes, red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, basil, eggplant, melons, zucchini, cucumbers, sweet peppers, onions

Onions, tomatoes and peppers are easy. Even zucchini. They're staples. Throw 'em in a pan with olive oil and a couple eggs, and you've got a delicious, satisfying meal! The biggest challenge in this bounty so far has been the eggplant and melons, two items I don't particularly care for. Oh, and the thousand cucumbers. 

I first tackled the cucumbers. They're "pickling cucumbers" which means they're the perfect cucumber to make pickles with. I hate pickles. But apparently all of my coworkers love them, so I decided to try my hand at making some. I used a recipe from My Frugal Adventures, which calls for dill, garlic, peppercorns, and vinegar. And a jar. Good thing I save my jars, as I needed 3 to fit in all those cukes! I haven't tried them yet, but will probably bring them into work tomorrow for a taste test. They look pretty cool chillin' in those jars though, maybe I should just keep them like that forever...

pickles

Next test: Eggplant. I've never liked eggplant. I don't like the color, the flavor, the look. It's all bad. The key is to cook the eggplant amid a sea of other delicious things so that it merely adds volume and nutritional value. Best way to do that? Eggplant Parm, of course! I chose what looked to be a cheesy, meaty looking version from Skinnytaste. Result? Total success! I couldn't taste the eggplant at all. :)

The key to making any vegetable delicious is loading it with sauteed garlic, onions, tomatoes, pork, and probably cheese if you're feeling fun. Cabbage and eggplant: defeated!

eggplant parm before going in the oven

As for the melons, I've been cutting them up and eating them with greek yogurt and granola, which kind of play the same role as the onion/garlic/tomato/pork mixture in your least favorite veggies. They make melons somewhat tolerable!

I'll leave you with a tasty tomato sauce I made tossed in a whole wheat linguine.