From my kitchen: roasted cabbage, sauerkraut, chickpea stew, massaged kale salad and lots of preserving

The summer months are when my kitchen gets to prove it's worth. At any given time, I may have two or three different fruits or vegetables on the counters in some stage of preservation, along with the ingredients for the daily preparation of meals .The room is in a perpetual state of messy abundance and it is glorious to behold. This time of year, I feel like the richest person in the world.

Frozen green beans ready to be bagged.

Harvests of peas, green beans, rhubarb, berries and cabbage are passing through the kitchen. The excess peas, green beans and fruit are being frozen while the cabbage is being pounded into sauerkraut and left to ferment.


Right now, I am harvesting Caraflex cabbage which is a cone head variety. The heads are deceptively heavy, averaging around 4-5 pounds each and the flavor is mild and buttery. It may be my new favorite cabbage. This week I tried roasting a whole head with a little olive oil, seasoning and Parmesan cheese. With the core removed, the halves looked like two hearts.


 The leftover cabbage went well with a meal of chickpeas, sauteed with Swiss chard, re-hydrated sun-dried tomatoes, lemon and feta cheese.


Curing in my garage for the next several weeks is my garlic harvest. I'm pleased with the size of the bulbs. I save the best looking bulbs from each harvest to use as seed garlic in the next planting and the garlic gets bigger and healthier each year.


A special treat this week was a dish of early Adirondack Blue potatoes simply boiled with butter and seasoning. Divine.


Massaged kale salads are a favorite in the summer and this week I topped ours with chicken, strawberries, mandarin oranges and green onions. The dressing was a simple one made with red currant jelly and red wine vinegar, slowly melted together and cooled.


Just a typical July week in my kitchen. What's been happening in yours?

Sue