Napa cabbage, also known as Chinese cabbage, is the most common ingredient in kimchi, appears in soup and stir-fry recipes in many cuisines around the world and also makes a good salad. It is milder and sweeter than head cabbage and a great back-up vegetable to keep on hand. Like other cruciferous vegetables, it lasts a pretty long time in the fridge – up to two weeks. If, after a long refrigerator nap, the outer leaves look spotty or wilted, just peel them off and use the rest. I find it in Northeast farmers markets from spring to fall and it is widely available in mainstream chain groceries and Asian markets year round. Napa shrinks down dramatically as it cooks because of its high water content so don’t be afraid to start out with a lot of raw cabbage.

My favorite way to prepare Napa is in a macrobiotic/Japanese style sauté with onions, carrots and sesame that I learned how to make when I took a macro cooking class my first year out of college. I make it the same way all these years later because it is simple to prepare, good leftover and everyone seems to like it. Why mess with a good thing?

SAUTÉED NAPA CABBAGE WITH ONIONS AND CARROTS

• 2 TBs neutral cooking oil, like avocado or grape seed
• 1 large onion, peeled, halved and sliced
• 3-4 large carrots, cut in thick matchsticks
• 1 small or 1/2 large Napa cabbage, cut in squares (make 2-3 lengthwise slices and then slice crosswise)
• 2 TBs tamari or soy sauce
• 1-2 tsps dark sesame oil
• 1-2 TBs toasted sesame seeds or gomasio (sesame salt)(optional)
• Heat the oil in a large high sided skillet or wide stockpot.

Add onions and cook until wilted but don’t brown.

Add carrots and cook 3-4 minutes more.

Add Napa and tamari, stir, cover and cook about 4-5 minutes until wilted but still some bright green evident. 

Turn off heat, add sesame oil and toss. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary. 

Put in serving dish and top with sesame seeds.

Serves 4-6 and stores 2-3 days refrigerated.

Two potters I like and respect, Liz Quackenbush and Doug Peltzman, recently posted similar recipes for lacto-fermented pickles. Liz uses a combination of salt and vinegar and Doug just salt. Last year, I posted a recipe for vinegar pickles and enjoyed those well into the winter but in Doug’s recipe, the cukes are cured with salt water and delicious but are not for long term storage. I gave them a try. Lacto-fermentation is the process of good bacteria eating and converting sugars into lactic acid, similar to sourdough, yogurt, kombucha, kimchi or sauerkraut (also very easy to make with just cabbage and salt). Food becomes easier to digest and has healthy benefits (good bacteria in our guts is a positive thing) as a result of this process. 

I thought making pickles with vinegar was easy but with salt it is even simpler. Just dissolve the salt in water, add herbs, garlic and spices and your cucumbers (whole or cut). Then you  cover and wait a few days until the pickling magic happens. You can use a crock (Peltzman makes some beauties especially designed for this process, with a water lock—the gallery/shelf where the lid sits has a little depression for water—so gas produced by fermentation can escape) or just clean glass jars. I’ve found other potters making crocks (including (Krista Cortese, Gwendolyn Yoppolo, Miki Palchick, Daniel Bellow to name a few) but there are many making wonderful big jars or lidded bowls which work, too, if you crack the lid to let the gas that is formed by fermentation to escape.

You can pickle other vegetables, like carrots, green beans and green tomatoes this way. If I make more pickles  I will have to learn to use a water bath to preserve them into the winter without refrigeration but, honestly, it is not likely I will be willing to go through that hot processing, since we are eating them so quickly. For now, we will be happily munching pickles from the fridge, using them in salmon and sardine salads and putting them on burgers of all kinds. Next time I may have to use a half-gallon jar… Thanks to Doug and Liz for the inspiration and guidance.

PICKLES (from Doug Peltzman)

• 1 clean quart glass jar with non-reactive lid
• 1 quart water 
• 2 1/2 TBs salt (I used Diamond Crystal kosher)
• 1/2-1 TBs black peppercorns 
• 1-2 bay leaves
• 2 crushed garlic cloves
• Small handful of fresh dill, with flowers if available
• Enough fresh pickling cucumbers (like Kirby) to fill your jar, whole or in half or quartered spears
• Optional – mustard seeds, allspice or coriander berries, red pepper flakes

Pack jar tightly with cucumbers, whole or in spears, along with dill, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns and whatever other spices you choose 

Mix salt into water and stir until dissolved. 

Pour into packed jar to completely cover pickles. 

Let sit out uncovered (I used a layer of cheesecloth draped on top to keep out flies, etc.) 2-3 days until brine is bubbly and cucumbers have started to yellow or darken from bright green and look like pickles. Cover tightly and refrigerate a few days before using. Taste to see if they are pickled enough for your preference. 

Mary Barringer makes a wide range of handbuilt stoneware pots with intriguing, painterly imagery and rich, textured surfaces. Her small plates are irresistible to me and so pleasurable to use or just look at. We have been buying and enjoying her pots for decades and I highly recommend having a look at her shop–the link is below.

Do you ever feel stymied when trying to plan dinner and have no clue what vegetable to make? Me, too. It is easy to choose when you’ve just been to the market and the seasonal vegetables, (like asparagus and sugar snaps now), were plentiful. But there are times when everything looks a little sad or wilted and not very appealing. I try to stock up regularly with the consistently available broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and kale. And there are always frozen peas. But on the days when my fridge seems bare, I rely on the bags or boxes of pre-washed greens I keep stashed for just such occasions.

I have mixed feeling about these bags and boxes, especially since the packaging is wasteful and they have often traveled long distances. I prefer the bunches of local greens at the farmer’s market if they are available but, if not, I often resort to packaged grocery greens. Recently I’ve found local (within state) brands in stores that make me feel a little better about buying them. And, at least, the plastic is recyclable PET. But so much these days is a compromise and if I want ever-ready greens all year long, I buy the “super greens” mixes or arugula, baby kale, pea shoots or spinach and always have greens ready to sauté or toss into eggs, pasta, beans, sandwiches or soups. I add them to smoothies, juices and even my turmeric latte. Almost any green will make a tasty pesto, with or without cheese. The more greens, the more nutrients and fiber so, in this instance, more is more.

BASIC SAUTÉED GREENS

Sautéing packaged greens is more of a fallback technique than a recipe. I write about it just to remind you that it is easy to add a vegetable to every meal if you have a package at the ready. After a quick washing (I don’t care if it says pre-washed, I always swish at least a few times), I sauté the contents of the whole container or bag, and sometimes 2 (they shrink down to almost nothing), in a little olive oil with minced garlic and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. If you don’t like garlic, use onion or leave it out completely. You can vary them by sautéing mushrooms with the garlic before adding the greens or a dash of soy sauce, lemon juice, vinegar or cayenne at the end. Voila – quick and delicious sautéed greens.

Birdie Boone makes the kind of pots I want to use all the time. Not only do they look great on a shelf alone or with food, drink or flowers but also feel great in the hand, wash up well, stack easily and make me happy to use. Could I ask for more? (She will be selling new work at the Hudson Valley Pottery Tour in October).