Olivia's Caribbean-Style Roast Cabbage with Carrot

This is great over brown rice, or black beans and rice. You can make a LOT of it at once, or chop only half of the cabbage up. Leave the other half of the cabbage head intact and chop it up next week. It will keep.

INGREDIENTS

2 1/4 pounds green cabbage, core removed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup vertically sliced yellow onion
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups carrots, cut into ribbons
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons habanero hot sauce
1 tablespoon butter

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Combine cabbage, onion, oil, sugar, black pepper, and salt in a large bowl; toss to coat. (It's OK if the cubes start to separate.)

3. Divide cabbage mixture between 2 foil-lined jelly-roll pans. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes, stirring and rotating pans after 10 minutes.

4. In the same bowl that you used for the cabbage, combine carrots, vinegar, and hot sauce; toss to coat.

5. Remove cabbage from oven, and carefully transfer to the bowl with the carrots. Add butter; toss gently to combine.

6. Heat broiler to high. Return cabbage mixture to pans, spreading evenly. Place each pan under the broiler for 3 minutes (this will be a two-phase operation) or until edges begin to brown and evenly crisp.

Beans Two Ways

Lately, I have been taking beans and rice to work for lunch. They're filling and I don't really care what I eat for lunch, as long as it's something, so that works out great for me. I use the cheap, bagged dried beans from the grocery store, usually the Goya Pinto or Black beans. I don't pre-soak them. I make them in the slow cooker every week, and they just get more delicious the longer they last. I put half in a tupperware to eat over the week, and divide the other half between 2 plastic freezer bags. I freeze these laying flat, so they can be stacked vertically or horizontally to save room.


Here are my two favorite ways to cook beans.

Meaty Beans

2 Ham hocks or 1 ham hock and smoked turkey necks or wings
One yellow onion, halved
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
Dried beans to cover about the bottom third of the slow cooker

Put all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover all ingredients with water until slow cooker is 3/4 full. Cook 8 hours. Season with salt, and your preferred combo of:

cayenne
paprika
garlic powder
onion powder
bacon grease
cumin
turmeric

Vegetarian Mexican Beans

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups dried pinto beans, picked over, rinsed
6 cups water
1 tsp dried oregano, preferably Mexican
2 tsp salt

In medium skillet, heat oil over medium. Add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring continuously, 5 minutes to soften.

Transfer onion mixture to slow cooker. Add beans, water and oregano. Cover and cook until skins are soft, insides are creamy and a few are beginning to crack open, about 4 to 6 hours on high heat, or 6 to 9 hours on low heat. When beans are almost done, stir in salt and cook at least 20 minutes.

Serve straight from the pot (de olla) as a main or side dish. Alternately, gently mash beans in slow cooker until creamy and still soupy.

Winter Warm-up Soup

If you put the wafers in the bowl with the soup and then a dash of sour cream its amazing. Oh, and save the olive oil that you roast the garlic in - you can use it in your other cooking and its very flavorful. The nice thing about this soup is that it stores well and you can pair it with a salad for lunch and its perfect. I recommend dressing it up with more spices - basil, rosemary, etc... Cole even likes a little red pepper.

Roasted-Tomato Soup with Parmesan Wafers
4 pounds tomatoes, halved lengthwise
6 garlic cloves, left unpeeled
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups chicken stock or reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream

Accompaniment: parmesan wafers

Garnish: oregano sprigs

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
Arrange tomatoes, cut side up, in 1 layer in a large 4-sided sheet pan and add garlic to pan. Drizzle tomatoes with oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Roast tomatoes and garlic 1 hour, then cool in pan. Peel garlic cloves.
Cook onion, oregano, and sugar in butter in a 6-to 8-quart heavy pot over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes, garlic, and stock and simmer, covered, 20 minutes.
Purée soup in batches in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids), then force through a sieve into cleaned pot, discarding solids. Stir in cream and salt and pepper to taste and simmer 2 minutes.
Divide soup among 8 bowls and float 1 wafer in center of each.