Monday, August 1, 2011

A Renewed Love Of Cabbage

Kalua Pig and Cabbage, Rice and Mac Salad
I don't know what's happened lately, but I have a huge lust for cooked cabbage. Perhaps the most loved dish in Hawaii is Kalua Pork and Cabbage. Talk about a dish that is filled with love. I would dare to say that anytime you dig a pit in the ground (an Imu), put in a whole pig, hot coals, tea leaves, burlap, bury it with earth and let it cook for a whole day, you are talking some serious food of love.

Fortunately, there is a short cut to that process. You can walk into any L&L Drive Inn in Hawaii and for about seven bucks, get a heaping portion of Kalua Pork, cooked with cabbage and served with the mandatory couple scoops of white rice and mac salad. 

This has become a bit of an addiction, and an especially handy one after being at the beach and not feeling like cooking dinner (it happens). However, it's probably not the healthiest of dishes, unless you're trying to bulk up for a winter of hibernation. Which, of course, sometimes I am. 

But for those other times, and in case you don't have an Imu dug in the back yard or an L&L nearby, it's possible to make a cabbaggey bacony concoction that will satisfy your craving. And let me just say this: In case this craving comes around when there is a storm that knocks down a bunch of power lines in your neighborhood and keeps the power out for waaay to long, all you need to do is fire up the gas grill, pull out a cast iron pan and work it still! I'm just saying ....
   
Bacon and red onions 
Chop up some bacon and onions and saute until bacon is crispy. Then add chopped cabbage and cook until tender.  



Bacon, Onion and Cabbage


Ok, I have a big craving and I must go cook cabbage. Enjoy!

"A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe.
~Thomas Keller