Cooking Cabbage for the Lazy Non-Eastern European

It's so big and it's so friggin' cheap. Every time I walk by the cabbage display at the local grocer's produce department, I think gloriously about how just one head of cabbage is going to sustain me for days.

About a month later, that head of cabbage is tossed into the compost and the idea of cooking cabbage is forgotten for the time being. Until... once again, the sale sign is up in front of the cabbage display and you think, "coleslaw and cabbage rolls are pretty darn tasty, aren't they?"

You see, it's all the cutting (cabbage is tough) and the soaking and the wrapping and the baking. It just seems to be such a process to make anything with cabbage. That is, until I found an easy way to cook the stuff while not really doing much and still coming out with something tasty.

Whole baked cabbage. That's right, cook the whole freaking head. No shredding, no wrapping. You simply cut the core out and cram it with some goodies and it's off to the oven it goes.

Here's how it's done. Realize that none of this 'recipe' is an exact science. Neither is making peanut butter and jelly. Think about it, do you measure out 1 TBSP of jelly, apply to one slice of 100% whole wheat bread then measure out 1 and a half TBSP of peanut butter and apply to another slice of 100% of whole wheat bread, being careful to swirl in a counter-clockwise motion with a butter knife...

• Purchase a head of cabbage. It is up to you the colour, size, etc.
• Cut off the stem and dig out the core.
• Dice up enough onion and garlic to fill the void you've created from removing the core.
• Cram that mixture in tight and pour a teaspoon or so of black pepper over the mix.
• Pour extra virgin olive oil over the mix, letting it soak in. Do this a couple of times, allowing it to settle.
• Wrap the cabbage in tin foil, making sure the garlic and onion crammed hole is always facing up.
• Bake the package in the oven at 350 for 3 hours.

Slice up the final product and eat as a side. It tastes great on its own and will piss off all your co-workers when you heat it up in the microwave at lunch as it will emit quite an odor that only you will appreciate. One cabbage should be good for 3-4 meals, if not more.