I had been under the weather for more than a few days with a headcold. Then I set out to clean the attic and was beseiged by dust bunnies attacking from all directions…All in all, I was not too pretty a sight over the last several days. I really wanted to get into the kitchen and cook up something a little fabulous after perusing many recipes and discussing a few options with family and friends (I did try a Carrot, Ginger and Pear Soup which may show up on a post in the near future) — but since I wasn’t really feeling too creative I instead opted for quick, easy and comforting.

This is some sort of nod to my ethnic heritage, though I’m a mix of many different things and so I am not quite sure of the official name nor the origin of this particular dish. It’s just something that has always screamed “comfort” and “cheap meal” to me, especially this particular time of year. My mother used to make this dish for our expanded-via-foster-care family. At one point she was feeding herself, my father, my sister, myself and eight to ten extra children, all squeezed into a three bedroom rancher – so a cheap meal was a good thing!! [Secretly, I hated this as a child! I don’t know why…It’s one of my favorites now. Funny how the tastebuds evolve over time!]

I like to think that it was the influence of my parents doing foster care when I was younger that sparked a desire in me to be more compassionate and understanding about altered families and the children who are ultimately the ones that suffer. Les and I did foster care early on in our marriage, and I am so thankful that we had the opportunity to do it. Of course later we ended up adopting five children and though some of it was for the selfish reason that I wanted children and was told I would never have any, there is still a sense of having hopefully touched a child’s life for the better. I love all of my children and am happy to stay at home and watch them growing up. We still have the normal issues, and even some added adoption things, but we are very blessed just the same!

015Back to the dish…This recipe is so simple you almost don’t really need an actual recipe, but here is what I do:

* Saute 1 onion, sliced thin, in 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter. Add 1 medium head of cabbage, thinly sliced, and saute til wilted.

* Cook 16 oz. egg noodles per package directions. Drain.

* Toss noodles and cabbage together and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Like I said, pretty simple. The picture to the left doesn’t show the finished dish — can you believe I forgot?! I guess I’m still learning, so please continue to bear with me!

Now, of course I like to play in the kitchen, so I can’t say this is always the same dish…For example, I like to carmalize the onions and cabbage slightly; but I have also served it just after the cabbage was slightly wilted such as in the picture. To make this dish stretch, I often buy a larger head of cabbage and maybe add an extra onion. I also wanted to note that earlier in life I could not stomach onions in any way. Now I can eat them cooked, so in they go!

By the way — this is an excellent way to make use of seasonal produce. Cabbage is pretty inexpensive around my way at the moment, and I am blessed to be able to still get some fresh cabbage at reasonable prices rather than have to rely on grocery store offerings.