By late fall my freezers are always stuffed full, and I’ve done enough gardening for a while and am ready to sit by the stove in the evening, studying seed and nursery catalogs. But there’s always some late-season surprise in the garden to keep me interested. This year, it’s cabbage. In late August I had a little empty space in a bed with rich soil, and a few savoy cabbage seeds that I hadn’t remembered to plant earlier, so I threw them in. Most of them never germinated, because in desert country in August it’s pretty hard to keep a seedbed moist enough to start anything. But two little seedlings did get going, and struggled through the heat and the competition, and when the nights got cold in October they began to grow rampantly. Now they are about 4’ across. They’re thriving through the first hard frosts, but probably won’t live long enough to head up, so I started eating the leaves. To my surprise, these are the mildest and best crucifers I ever ate, far better than non-savoy cabbage, with a crisp texture, no toughness except in the veins, and no “cabbagey” aftertaste when chewed raw. They’re sweeter and milder than collards, kale, Portuguese kale, regular cabbage, or any other cabbage family green that I’ve grown. I tear the two sides off the large central stem/vein, which goes to the goat. Roll up the leaf halves, cut them in 1/4” strips across the larger veins, and then use your clean hands to massage them briskly by handfuls, planning about one minute per large leaf to soften the texture. If planning to use them raw, massage a bit longer. This massaging trick is invaluable in dealing with the more substantial leafy greens. Generally half a large leaf is plenty for one person, although real greens-lovers might eat more. Greens are full of soluble fiber and very filling.
As for how to use them, try any of the following:
Slaw, either classic or spicy Asian with ginger, scallions, and rice vinegar
As the basis for a Kale Caesar salad
Stir-fried with garlic and ginger, or with black bean sauce
Cooked like collards with bacon fat and onion and garlic, with a handful of crumbled crisp bacon over the top.
In a simple soup with ham or sausage, chicken broth, and sautéed garlic
Sauteed with leeks and finished with cream
Or try using them cut to appropriate size as a far healthier version of lettuce wraps, or whatever else you can dream up.
Like all dark leafy greens they are alarmingly healthy and likely to make you outlive your finances, so better keep saving. They are also surprisingly luxuriant and attractive in the garden, until you start cutting at them.
My urban homestead 