Tag Archives: Napa cabbage

More Fried Rice

Fried RiceThe head of Napa cabbage in our box this week was huge. I used half of it for a salad yesterday, but still had half of it left. I saw several suggestions on line to use it for fried rice, so I used this recipe from About.com as a template and added my own meat and veggies. I had chopped the cabbage in advance, and had leftover rice and pork, so it went together pretty quickly. (Very fortunate on a work night!)

More Fried Rice
Recipe type: Main
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
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Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 8 tablespoons canola oil
  • ½ a large head of Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 cup frozen carrots
  • 4 cups rice, cool
  • 2 cups cooked pork, shredded
  • ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
Instructions
  1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or large skillet. Saute cabbage for 3 minutes, until it starts to soften. Remove from pan. In the mean time, thaw peas and carrots. (I put mine in the microwave for 3 minutes.)
  2. In the same skillet, scramble eggs in 2 tablespoons oil until they are firm but not dry. Remove from pan and wipe out the pan.
  3. Heat the remaining oil in the pan. Add rice and begin to fry, breaking up chunks. When the rice is starting to soften up, add vegetables and pork. Continue to stir fry. Add soy sauce and stir to combine. Finally, add in scrambled egg and continue to cook until heated through.

Happy eating!

Ruth

What to do with Pickling Cucumbers

Cucumber and Napa Cabbage with Dill DressingWe got 5 little pickling cucumber in our box this week. They weren’t enough to turn into pickles. (That is too much work, plus I had no time.) I started looking for a recipe for some kind of quick pickle, and came upon this recipe from The Shiksa in the Kitchen for Crunchy Pickled Salad. I had never heard of the cucumbers she used, but decided my pickling cucumbers would work fine. I also used about half of the Napa cabbage from our box. I decided to try a different dressing, and found one on allrecipes.com for a Lemon Dill Salad Dressing. As I was dressing the salad, I realized that I had gotten pretty far away from pickles, but the salad was good, anyway. (Since I didn’t make any adjustments to the originals, I am not going to post my actual recipes. Feel free to follow the links to the original authors!)

Happy eating!

Ruth

Pre Trick or Treat Vegetarian Fajitas

trick or treat fajitasWhen our children were growing up, Halloween night always involved either a Halloween carnival or trick or treating. They always came home with TONS of candy. I would always try to feed them something healthy before they went out.

These fajitas would definitely fill the bill! They are full of vegetables and low in fat. They cook up pretty quickly, too. You could chop all the veggies in advance, and have the dinner ready in 10 minutes. The original recipe comes from the Full Plate Diet website, I have adjusted the spicing to make them a little hotter. I also used some of the red mini jalapeno peppers I got from our niece.

Pre Trick or Treat Vegetarian Fajitas
Recipe type: Main
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Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 each red, yellow, and green bell peppers, thinly sliced
  • 1 small head Napa cabbage, chiffonade
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 large jalapeno pepper (or about 5 mini jalapenos), chopped
  • 1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon Mexican (or regular) oregano
  • Dash of paprika
  • 8 whole wheat tortillas
  • salsa, cheese, guacamole, or other Mexican toppings as desired
Instructions
  1. Prepare all of the vegetables.
  2. Heat oil in a very large frying pan. Add onion, bell peppers, cabbage, garlic, jalapenos, beans, and seasonings. Saute until vegetables are beginning to soften, about 10-15 minutes.
  3. Serve on warmed tortillas with toppings as desired.

Happy Halloween!

Ruth

 

Warm Napa and Carrot Salad

warm Napa and carrot saladThe Napa cabbage in this box didn’t tolerate sitting on the shelf in our refrigerator over the weekend, so it needed to be cooked. This Rachel Ray recipe for Warm Ginger Carrot Slaw is one of our family favorites. I didn’t want a recipe that complex for a work night dinner, so I came up with this quick alternative.

Warm Napa and Carrot Salad
Recipe type: Side Dish
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Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 1 large head Napa cabbage, shredded
  • 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Heat oil in large skillet or wok over medium heat.
  2. Add carrots, stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
  3. Add cabbage, stir fry until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat.
  4. Add vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

What do you do with Napa cabbage?

Happy eating!

Ruth

Oriental Cabbage Salad

Oriental Cabbage SaladMy husband and I recently started sponsoring engaged couples at our church. When we meet with a couple for the first time, we always invite them to share a meal with us. Last weekend, we served sandwiches and this cabbage salad for lunch with our new couple.

One of my “go to” recipe sites is allrecipes.com. I found this recipe for Chinese Napa Cabbage Salad when I searched for Napa cabbage. I decided to make it a bit healthier, lower in salt and fat.

Oriental Cabbage Salad
Recipe type: Salad
Prep time: 
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Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
  • ¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted
  • 1 head Napa cabbage, shredded
  • 6 green onions, sliced
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1½ tablespoon sugar
  • ⅓ cup chow mein noodles
Instructions
  1. Toast sesame seeds and almonds separately.
  2. Place shredded cabbage and onions in a bowl to combine.
  3. Whisk together canola and sesame oils, vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar. Pour over salad.
  4. Add sesame seeds, almonds, and chow mein noodles. Toss to combine.
  5. Serve immediately.

I promised you and update on those murcott tangerines. They were indeed very juicy, but not a seed in sight! I would definitely buy those again.

Happy eating!

Ruth