I've been finding myself increasingly disorganised lately.  It's an odd thing.  I compartmentalize my organisation quite successfully... I'm organised at work and in the kitchen and not terribly organised in anything else.  Lately though it just hasn't been working out for me.  I'm distracted, unmotivated and throwing things together at the last minute.
I think that I need more vitamin D in my life... via a trip somewhere warm and sunny for about 21 days... that should do it.
That's not gonna happen right now (our credit card is going to get paid off instead... I'm happy with that) so I think that I'll just have to wait another 4 or 5 weeks for this fuzzy winter brain to disappear in favour of distracted, excited, over-energized brain...
It was just such a winter fuzzy brain situation that I found myself in the other night.  Starring into the fridge and going to my happy place.   I think that I just put my hand to the largest thing in there and as a result hauled out a partially used cabbage.


Now cabbage gets a bad wrap I think.  It's really good for you but everybody thinks that it makes you fart too much... like farting is the worst thing ever!  It's kinda easy to cook with but it looks pretty boring (not as 'I'm-falling-asleep-while-taking-these-pictures' boring soup that I made last week though) so it tends to get over-looked.  So pretty much the only thing that it really has going for it is it's size - unless we're talking about red cabbage... and I'm not, 'cause that's not what I grabbed.  It's a big mother and when kept in your fridge it'll last for a LONG time.  I remember having cabbage rolls occasionally when I was a kid AND I remember my Mom going on the 'Cabbage Soup Diet'.  That was cool.  When the soup was cooking it smelled great, so for the first day or so I wanted to eat the soup too.  By day 5 of the same soup churning out over and over, it smelled disgusting and kinda turned me off cabbage for a while.   Hopefully the cabbage soup diet is long gone because cabbage soup is kinda good and very good for you... but I'm not making that stuff.


This braised cabbage gets to cook nice and long, over low heat with carmelized onions and sausages.  Adding in the soy sauce just brings everything up a notch or two.  Beautiful on it's own or with rice or potato... it's a beautiful thing... who knows, maybe you'll lose some weight if you eat it for a week straight!



Soy Sauce braised Cabbage and Sausage
serves 6

2 cups onion, sliced
1 rib celery, diced
5 - 6 cups cabbage, sliced about 1 inch thick
3 cups sausages, cut into chunks
1 bouillion cube (I used organic low salt chicken), crumbled
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 - 1/3 cup Soy Sauce (I used Tamari)
dash of red wine vinegar (no more than a tsp)
dash of pepper sauce (optional)
a little water (if needed during the cooking)
salt to taste

Heat a large pot over medium heat.  Turn the heat down a bit and add in some oil for the vegetables (enough to cover the bottom of the pot with a little extra - think about 3 tbsp or so).  Add in the onions and the celery.  Let that carmelise for about 10 min. over the med/low heat, stir as needed.
Add in the cabbage.  Continue to cook with the onion/celery mixture.  Stir as needed and let the cabbage begin to soften, about another 10 minutes.
Add the bouillion cube, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce.  Mix in well to the vegetables.
Add in the cubed sausage.
Add in the Soy Sauce, red wine vinegar , pepper sauce and water (if needed to make a little more liquid).
Let everything cook, uncovered for another 45 minutes over low heat.  Stir when needed and if it gets too dry add in a little water.
Serve once most of the liquid has been absorbed or cooked off and the cabbage is soft and nicely browned.
Serve over rice or mash.