Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Cabbage, Potatoes and Onions with Mustard



Dinner last night was a function of what I had in the house. There was left over cabbage from making the salad over the weekend, so I thought I would use that in cooked form. Cabbage is a member of the cruciferous family of vegetables and has the same cancer fighting properties as broccoli. Cabbage and potatoes are a good combination, so I included the potatoes. The onions and garlic were added for their cancer fighting properties, as well as flavor. The fennel was included for flavor as well as its blood thinning properties. The “stickiness” of your blood (as measured by fibrin levels) makes a hospitable environment for cancer. By consuming food that reduces platelet aggregation (like fennel) you can make your body a less hospitable environment for cancer to grow and metastasize. Since all of us have microtumors that our body needs to fight I plan to give it all the help I can. Finally the mustard was added for flavor. Mustard goes well with both cabbage and potatoes (just ask any German). Even my husband, who is not a mustard fan, liked this dish and couldn’t identify the mustard specifically. Overall, this recipe was a winner and one I will be using as a base recipe in the future.

Cabbage, Potatoes and Onions with Mustard
Serves 2

Ingredients:

½ tablespoon of canola oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon of fennel seed
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced (allow to stand 10 minutes so the allicin can develop)
¼ head of green cabbage, finely shredded
1 pound of Yukon Gold Potatoes
4 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Sauté the red onion in the canola oil until it is tender crisp. Then add the fennel seeds so that it can toast for a minute. Add the green cabbage and garlic and continue to cook over medium high so the cabbage will release its liquid.

Meanwhile, microwave the potatoes until they are just tender. You don’t want them to be too soft of they will break up in the final dish. It won’t change the flavor only the texture of the final dish. Cut the potatoes into bite size pieces.

Add the Dijon to the cabbage and toss to evenly coat. Add the potatoes and toss to evenly coat with the mustard. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as desired.

Serve hot.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 294.77
Calories From Fat (5%) - 15.42

Total Fat - 1.89g
Saturated Fat - 0.1g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 397.78mg
Potassium - 1701.9mg
Total Carbohydrates - 64.95g
Fiber - 7.1g
Sugar - 0.52g
Protein - 8.62g

Comments:

This dish is a great example of the something that is better than the sum of its parts. I loved the taste and texture. I would have liked a little more color in the dish, but that is a visual issue and has nothing to do with taste. I intentionally held the fat down on this dish since our breakfast was a little high to get the overall fat down for the day. Much to my surprise the dish seemed to have more than enough fat for both my husband and myself. If you have someone in your life that isn’t a fan of mustard (like my husband), the mustard flavor does not overpower the dish. We discussed the dish after dinner and my husband did not know this contained mustard until I told him.

If you want to know more about what reduces platelet aggregation see Chapter 17 in "Life Over Cancer" on blood circulation. I will be using more foods that reduce platelet aggravation and will be identifying those on the blog when I do.

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