Cabbage

Collards, along with kale, cabbage, kohlrabi, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts are all varieties of the same species, Brassica oleracea. The only difference between these plants are the differences that humans introduced over thousands of years of selective cultivation. Collards are part of the family known botanically by the name Brassica oleracea acephala which translates to "headless cabbage vegetable."

Collards are the favorite green of the American South, especially in the winter, after the first frost. If grown during hot summers, collards develop a strong bitter flavor. They are often prepared with other similar green leaf vegetables, such as kale, turnip greens, spinach, and mustard greens in "mixed greens" or "mess o'greens." Many Southerners believe that they can look forward to a year of good fortune if they eat collards and black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. Others might hang a fresh collard leaf over their door to keep bad spirits away, and a fresh leaf on the forehead is said to cure a headache.

Ingredients

• 1 each cabbage
• 1 pound beef, ground, cooked
• 1/4 cup rice, uncooked
• 1 each egg, beaten
• 1 each onion, minced
• 1 each carrot, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 8 oz tomato sauce, can

Mix ground beef, rice, egg, onion, carrot, salt and pepper. Mix together vinegar, brown sugar and tomato sauce. Drop cabbage in boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove 10 large leaves. Chop remaining cabbage. Place in bottom of crockpot. Place 2 to 4 tb of meat mixture in center of each leaf. Roll up and use toothpick to hold. Place stem side down in crockpot. Pour on tomato mixture. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours.

Ingredients

• 1 Large head of cabbage
• 1 Large onion, chopped
• 6 Small carrots
• 3 Stalks celery
• 1/4 ts Salt
• 1 1/2 c Tomato juice
• 1 lb Hamburger
• 2 Slices bread
• 1 Egg
• 1/4 c Water
• 2 cn Tomatoes
• 1 c Sugar
• 2 Lemons
• Dash pepper Core cabbage and place in large saucepan. Cover cabbage with water and boil until cabbage is softened. Drain off water. Set aside copped onion, pared carrots, and cut celery stalks in halves. In a small bowl, dampen bread with water. Add hamburger, egg, salt and pepper. Mix together well. Slice thick stem base off cabbage leaves. Place some meat misture on leaf. Fold and roll, place seam side down in saucepan. On top of cabbage rolls, place onions, carrots, and celery. Pour tomatoes and tomato juice over all. Carmelize 1 cup sugar in heavy skillet. Add to cabbage roll mixture. Juice 2 lemons and add as final ingredient. Simmer 2 hours uncovered.

This recipe says sauce pan but I used a 13 cake pan. It doesn't specify degrees, so I picked 350. The cake pan holds the rolls and then the carrots and celery can be decorative by laying them horizontally, alternating. It makes a pretty dish. And it is good. Well worth the effort.

Ingredients

• 1 lb Cabbage; Head, Small
• 1 T Vegetable Oil
• 2 Onions; Medium, Chopped
• 1/2 lb Pork; Lean, Cubed
• 1 lb Ground Beef; Lean
• 1 t Caraway Seeds
• 1/2 t Salt
• 1/2 t Pepper
• 1/2 c White Wine; Dry
• 1 t Vegetable Oil
• 3 Bacon; Strips, Thick Sliced

Remove outer, wilted cabbage leaves and core. Place cabbage in a large pot of boiling water and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove and drain. gently pull off 12 leaves and set aside. Finely chop the rest of the cabbage. Heat 1 T vegetable oil; add onions, pork, and ground beef. Cook until lightly browned. Drain off excess fat. Add the chopped cabbage, caraway seeds, salt, and pepper. Pour in the white wine. Cover and simmer the mixture for 10 minutes, stirring often. Grease an ovenproof dish with 1 t of vegetable oil; line the dish with half the cabbage leaves. Spoon in the meat mixture, cover with the rest of the cabbage leaves. Cut bacon strips in half and arrange on top. Place in preheated 350 degree F. oven; bake for approximately 45 minutes.