Vegan Cabbage Rolls

We had a mini family reunion where my cousin, Katie, lovingly prepared this dish with my veganism in mind. It was SO good. I was going back for seconds and thirds...and so was everyone else. Everyone thought she made a vegan one for me and an animal-based one for everyone else.  Later she confirmed she only made the one plant-based dish. Family members were surprised and said they couldn't tell the difference. 🌱 💚   I brought left-overs home for my husband and kids to try, and they really liked it, too. 

Katie is a talented "some-of-this and some-of-that" cook. So I had to pick her brain for her "recipe." This is as close to it as I can get with the exception of using brown rice, jarred sauce and slightly different seasonings.

This turned out REALLY good (although not as good as Katie's!). This is a keeper. I wonder if a mashed chickpea filling or lentils would be a good substitute for the Beyond Meat. 

10" X 12" baking dish

Ingredients:

1 head green cabbage

3 cups cooked brown rice* ...I cooked rice in veggie stock

1 16 oz package Beyond Meat

1 jar marinara sauce** (about 20 oz...I bought a 32 oz jar but only used 2.5 c)

4 oz sun-dried tomato in oil***, diced (rough cut)

1/4 cup red cooking wine (eg Holland House)

1 cup onion diced

2 cloves garlic pressed (2 rounded T)

2-3 T fresh parsely

1/4 tsp chili flakes

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp rosemary broken

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 T oregano

1/2 T basil

ground pepper

*Katie used parboiled rice (and she cooked the garlic cloves with rice then removed the cloves and chopped them fine)

**Katie made own sauce using 3 pounds of tomatoes: 2# San Mariano, 1# Margherita...Roma ok, too. She added 8oz jar sun-dried tomatoes, 1/2 c red wine, 1/2 sautéed onion, 4 cloves of garlic, rosemary, oregano, basil, s/p, red pepper flakes (seasonings I transferred to the filling instead). She cooked down the tomatoes (slow cook) and puréed them

***Could try dry sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil) and softening them in warm vegetable stock if wanting to lower oil content. (Make own sauce, too, w/o oil instead of jarred).

(Plus cabbage and rice)

Directions:

Cook rice

Core cabbage and cook:

    Instant Pot  Method

    2 C water in pot

    Place cabbage core-side down

        on trivet in pot

    High pressure 7 min

    Quick release

    Remove leaves

    Return tougher leaves to IP and heat for another 4 min

    (Total IP time is 15-25 min if cooking twice).

    Stove-Top Method

    Fill large stock pot halfway with water. Bring to boil. Add cabbage. After a few minutes start peeling     off leaves as they soften and drain them.

Slice off edge of center stem ribs to help roll leaves

(Need 16-18 leaves)

Filling:

In large bowl, add the rice, Beyond Meat, parsley, and seasonings.

Sauté onion and garlic

    -can sauté with oil from jar of sun-dried tomatoes OR

    -sauté using just water or veggie stock

Add the onion mixture to the rice mixture bowl

Sauce:

Pour jarred marinara into bowl and add the sun-dried tomatoes and red cooking wine

Pre-heat 325 degrees.

Assemble:

Lay cabbage leaf on surface in front of you with stem pointing towards you.

Put about 3-5-ish tablespoons of filling in the lower third of leaf.

Roll the stem-side of leaf over the filling and away from you.

As you roll at least one complete turn, fold over the sides of leave towards the center.

Finish rolling. Set aside on temporary plate seam side down.

Roll about 16-18 leaves. Slice remaining cabbage leaves. If there is filling left over, it can be used in next step.

Spoon a thin layer of sauce in baking dish.

Sprinkle the sliced cabbage leaves on top of sauce layer.

Sprinkle the remaining filling on top of the left-over leaves slices.

Place cabbage rolls in dish.

Pour sauce over rolls.

Optional: drizzle vegetable broth or just water along edges of dish

Cover snuggly with foil.

Pour sauce over rolls.

Optional: drizzle vegetable broth or just water along edges of dish

Cove snuggly with foil.

Bake at 325 for 2 hours 45 minutes.

(For the record, Katie baked at 350 for 3 hours)

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Instant Pot Cooking Method Option

Insert trivet. Add 2 cups water for 8QT IP. Layer rolls on trivet with sauce in between. End with sauce on top. Close lid and seal it. Press Pressure Cook/Manual button. 20 minutes High pressure. Natural release for 15 minutes. (Turn on sound to help time things if needed). Then turn the steam release knob to Venting. {Tips from simplyhappyfoodie dot com}

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Something Else I Didn't Know:  The US government subsidizes the meat, dairy, and egg industries with our taxes while not subsidizing fruits and vegetables...except for the plants produced for animal agriculture like corn and soy. This is why it seems like the produce section the grocery stores is so much more expensive than animal products. Lobbyists, advertisers and those at the top of industrialized animal agriculture are making the $$$ at our expense. It's difficult for smaller farmers to switch over to producing healthy foods for us when their income is better by supplying Big Ag.

Good news: We could solve world hunger with less acreage by phasing out animal agriculture and instead supporting farmers in growing fruits, vegetables, grains-for-people, nuts and seeds. We could then replant trees which were cleared to make way for the increased demand for animal agriculture...like the Rainforest which is being destroyed mainly for beef and other livestock. Wild horses would no longer be rounded up and killed for the sake of "grass fed beef." Water would no longer be contaminated from animal agriculture. Air would be cleaner. Diseases like heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, hypertension, hypothyroidism, dementia, some kidney diseases, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, many autoimmune diseases, ++ could be nearly eliminated.

Amy's "Aye Caramba!" Cabbage Salad Veganized

Kid Rating: 2 out of 3 will tolerate a little bit
Do Again? Yes! Because Danny and I loved it, and the kids will just have to get used to it


This recipe is from Amy's Super Healthy Kids blog. Thanks, Amy, for sharing!


1/2 cabbage, shredded (she uses bagged pre-cut cabbage for time-savings)
1 carrot shredded (it's about 1 cup)
1/4-1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4-1/2 cup pecan pieces


And this fabulous homemade dressing (I used about half of the dressing and saved the rest):
1/2 cup vegan mayo (Such as Vegenaise by Follow Your Heart - Yum!)
1/4 cup almond milk (or other plant-based milk)
1/4 cup sugar (less to-taste if desired)
1/8 cup white vinegar
1 T poppy seeds

Dressing in the measuring cup, shredded cabbage, pecans,
dried cranberries, shredded carrots. See the remaining carrot
stick? My 5 yo pretends it's his light saber then eats it.

Question for you: How much of the center am I supposed
to remove?

Put how ever much you want of each ingredient in the bowl and stir.

Viola!

Family Review:
5 y.o. - "It's sort of good and sort of bad."
9 y.o. - At first bite, it's sour, but it leaves a good after-taste. She's willing to eat "a little bit."
10 y.o. - "Not sure. Maybe no." -- But he's willing to eat a little bit, too.
Hubby - "It's really good. I love it."
Me - I like it, too. I'm pleasantly surprised how easy it is to make my own dressing.

Cabbage Stroganoff

Kid Rating: 2 out of 3 were fine with it
Do again: Yes, most definitely


I gleaned this recipe from Liz's Shedding the Fat-Suit. She adapted her recipe from here on cdkitchen.com. Liz omitted the onions and added mushrooms and garlic. I brought back the onions and kept her idea of mushrooms and garlic.


I found this pretty easy to do and fairly quick. I spent extra time dicing for the kids. As they become used to it, I may make the pieces larger.


Here is my version:


1/2 head of cabbage, shredded fine
1 medium sweet onion, diced
3 portabella mushrooms, diced
1-2 cloves of garlic pressed
1 cube of beef bouillon crushed because I didn't have 1 tsp beef bouillon powder
3 T butter (I'm sure it could be substituted, but then maybe reconsider the sour cream)
1/3 cup sour cream (I set aside 1/2 the batch w/o sour cream and it was very good, too)
Dash of salt (I used my new-found-appreciation-for kosher salt)
Pepper to taste (I used freshly ground I had left over from the roasted Brussels sprout recipe

The ingredients (I forgot to include the garlic)

Diced (there's the garlic)

After crushing bouillon cube, I dissolved it with a small
amount of warm water.

Melt butter in pan - medium-high heat
Add onions and garlic
Cook about 1-2 minutes

Butter, garlic, and onions, med-hi, 1-2 min

Add mushrooms and bouillon (I know, it doesn't look appetizing)
Reduce heat to medium
Cover and cook 1-2 minutes

mushrooms and bullion added, med, covered, 1-2 min

Add cabbage
Cover and cook 1-2 min
Stir often
Remove cover, cook a few more minutes (until desired crunch/limp ratio is met)
Add salt and pepper (taste before adding salt because bouillon is salty)

added cabbage, stirred often, covered initially 1-2 min,
removed cover, cont. stirring often, cook until desired
consistency, add salt and pepper

Remove from heat.
I divided the batch and kept some without sour cream.
Add 1/3 cup-ish of sour cream and stir

Removed half of the batch before adding sour cream (L)
1/3 cup of sour cream added to batch on right

Family Review:
5 y.o. - tried both, spit out both
9 y.o. - tried both, prefers the version without sour cream
10 y.o. - tried both, preferred the version with sour cream
Hubby - Really liked it, preferred it with sour cream, looks forward to more
Me - Oh, yum, both versions

The 9 and 10 y.o. didn't want a lot of it, but they did eat it. I will continue to serve it to them. I think the 5 y.o. will get used to seeing it and eventually eat it.

Irrelevant side note: I had an unopened container of sour cream with a "Aug 2 10" date on it (it's September 18). Do I use it? I typically don't like sour cream; Danny is the sour cream lover in the family. I try it to see if it's good. How do you tell? It's sour to begin with. It seemed okay (for being sour cream). I asked Danny to do a taste test. He thought it was good. So, I used it. Therefore, if you want your cabbage stroganoff to be as good as mine, use unopened expired sour cream. (Just kidding).

Thanks, Liz!

Creamy Cabbage Soup

Rating: 3 out of 3 kids (Who knew?!)
Do again? Yes! We've made it twice this month already.


Homemade soup is so much better than canned, imo. It's fresher, the ingredients are simpler, and I can control the amount of salt added.


My friend gave me a cabbage from her garden a couple of weeks ago. I've never cooked with cabbage before. I took out my Betty Crocker cookbook and searched what I could do with a cabbage. This recipe is adapted from BC's.


It says to use 1 medium head of cabbage (about 1 1/2 pounds). How big is a medium? I don't know what a small or large looks like. Who weighs a cabbage? I used 9 cups shredded this time. That was way too much. I used less the first time and liked the thinner consistency (and the kids agreed).


2 cups of water
1 medium head of cabbage, shredded (remove core)
1 large stalk of celery, chopped (I used two medium)
1 medium onion, chopped


2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour


2 1/2 cups (more) water
1 Tablespoon instant chicken bouillon (I used a seasoning packet from dried ramen soup)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Dash of ground nutmeg


1/2 cup whipping cream (I used 1% milk + 1 T extra butter the first time and liked it better)

Heat 2 cups of water in a 3 quart saucepan. Use a larger pan if you cut up too much cabbage like I did.

Way too much cabbage. Will it fit into the 3qt saucepan?

Add the cabbage, celery, and onion. Cover and heat to boiling. Stir occasionally. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. DO NOT DRAIN.

Barely.

I will transfer over to a larger pot later.

Place in blender and blend until it's a uniform consistency. (I had to do it in batches because I used too much cabbage).

Heat butter in 3 quart large-enough saucepan over low heat until melted.

Stir in flour (I used heat-safe plastic whisk).

Cook, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and bubbly.

Remove from heat.

Stir in 2 1/2 cups of water.

Heat until boiling, stirring constantly.

Boil and stir one minute.

Stir in cabbage mixture and seasonings. Heat just to boiling.

Flour, salt/pepper/nutmeg, chicken "bouillon" packet.

Stir in whipping cream (I also like 1% milk). Heat just until hot (do not boil).

Family review: we all liked it, although we liked the first batch better which had less cabbage (maybe 7 cups instead of 9) and used 1% milk instead of cream. It had a thinner consistency and enhanced flavor because it wasn't diluted with too much cabbage. I served it with saltine crackers.


I bet this would be just as good without milk or flour. (Something to try).

Betty Crocker's Cookbook: New and Revised. Golden Press, New York. Western Publishing Company, Inc., 1986, p. 311.

Veggie and Brown Rice Meal in a Pan

Rating: 2.5 out of 3 kids
Do again?: Yes


This is great for whatever veggies you have on hand. It's also good for using left-over meat. I made brown rice earlier (it takes 50 min to cook) and made enough for other meals.


For this meal, I used:


Summer squash (golden yellow crookneck), peeled and chopped
Green onions, sliced/chopped (green separated from white)
Garlic clove, pressed
Carrot, peeled and sliced
Green cabbage (1/4), chopped
Butter (or oil or nada -- I like the flavor of butter)
Chicken (left over grilled, cut into bite-size pcs)
Brown rice
Teriyaki sauce

See the thing in the bag? It's a partial zucchini -- I don't like zucchini (yet),

so it stayed in the bag. The summer squash ended up being chopped into bite-size pieces at my 9 yo daughter's request.

(We prefer veggies firmer. Cooking times are shorter.)

1. Heat up large pan and begin cooking carrots*, white portions of onions, and garlic. I used about a tsp of butter and Tsp of water. You can omit the butter or use a different oil or broth. *Out of all the veggies I was using, the carrots were the hardest and take longer to become tender. 5 minutes.
2. Add cabbage, more water, and lid. 2 minutes.
3. Add squash and green part of onion and more water (enough to keep from scorching). 1 minute.
4. Add meat and rice. Heat through.
5. Teriyaki sauce - give a few shakes.
6. Stir it up and serve.

Veggies with chicken and rice added.

Family Review: We all liked it except for the 5 year old, "I don't wanna eat squash!" He ate around it. I'll serve it, again. He'll get used to it.

Quote from 10 yo son when I asked him how he liked it, "I dunno. I'm just eating it." (I'll take that as a thumbs up).

I got two thumbs up from 9 yo daughter.