bell & basket

cooking. baking. home.

Grilled Cabbage Salad

“Cabbage is my favorite summer vegetable!” is a sentence I’ve never heard anyone say. But we’ve received a full head of the Cruciferous veg two weeks in a row from our CSA, and since then I’ve been fixated on making it a star.

I don’t just mean a “side” star in the form of coleslaw or kraut. I’ve been wanting to make a cabbage recipe that is hearty and feels like the center of a meal, without somehow reverting to the cabbage recipes that many of us remember unfondly. Yes, I’m talking about the cabbage rolls, over boiled and soggy, or dare I say the “cabbage diet” soup that friends in high school would eat to shed a few pounds before prom or senior week.

And if I dig deeper into my negative cabbage memories, I can pinpoint the moment they started. I remember watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the Gene Wilder version of course) and thinking, poor Charlie and his family. All they have to eat is cabbage soup. Then Charlie says to his grandpa Joe (my grandfather’s name was also Grandpa Joe, so maybe this has a deeper meaning for me), “I’m fed up with cabbage water–it’s not enough!” I even found the perfect YouTube clip to jog your memory.

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Cross Country Road Trip

When I told a stranger we were driving a 20 year old Jeep across the country, he responded, “Why the hell would you want to do that?” When we told family, they said, “My friend’s uncle’s cousin had a Jeep and has bad things to say about them…” Colin even turned to me at one point and said,  “Just because you’ve told everyone you’re going to jump off a cliff doesn’t mean you have to.”

And here we are a month later, back in Brooklyn, with a brand spankin’ old Jeep, awesome pictures and some of the most amazing memories we’ve ever made.

It was the best trip of my life. Yes, Paris, I’m sorry. I’ll take a cabin in Montana and a hike in Yellowstone over shopping in the Marais any day. There is SO MUCH beauty in this country! If you haven’t seen it–go, go, go! Or just read this entire post! But be warned, it’s very long. Here we go…

We started our two week trip by flying into Seattle and testing out old Jeeps we found on Craigslist. The first one we drove had 14 previous owners and while test driving it, Colin couldn’t stop saying, “Oh no, no no. This is not happening.” The Jeep shook uncontrollably and made gurgling noises at 50 mph. We returned it to its rightful owner and went on our way (in our very modern Zipcar SUV).

Our second stop was in a sweet suburb outside of Olympia. The street was quaint and we pulled up to a shiny red 1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport. After meeting the single owners in person, I knew she was the one. We got her inspected and with a little work, she was as good as new. A few days later, after lots of family time and Washington adventures (Bellingham, West Seattle, Anacortes, La Conner and Orcas Island), we were on our way across the country!

Day One:
Seattle, Washington > Spokane, Washington
via North Cascade Highway aka State Route 20

There are lots of ways to get through the state of Washington. There are fast freeways, with lots of lanes and restaurant chains, but this was not how we wanted to go. We decided to take the scenic route, through some of the most beautiful snow capped mountains I’ve ever seen.

The first stop we made through the Cascades was at Cascadian Farm, where you can pick organic raspberries, strawberries or make a quick pit stop for insanely delicious ice cream at their road side stand. We picked up a few pints of raspberries for the road, which we ate with chocolate covered almonds along the way.

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Strawberry Buttermilk Pound Cake

 

The farmers market is bursting at the seams with berries. Last weekend I was obsessing over every single berry basket, thinking, what can I do with these blueberries and these cherries and these lingonberries.

And then I had to stop myself because I had a pound of cherries, a giant watermelon, nectarines and plums all at home. And there’s only SO much fruit one can eat. Now I understand why people can fruits and veggies, make jam and preserves all summer long.

But because the abundance is finally here, I’ve gotten over eating all the berries in their natural state. “Who wants to ruin a berry so perfect?” I said, a few weeks ago. Now I am ready to wrap them up in pie crust, layer them in cakes, add them to salads, smoothies and anywhere else.

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