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One of the new vegetables Brad tried growing this year was cabbage.

He likes it and so does our daughter Sarah. Sarah wanted her daddy to grow cabbage so she would have her own home grown.

Brad prepared a raised bed beside our house and planted six cabbage plants in it.

It was fun watching them grow.

When the first one was about the size of a soccer ball, we figured it was time to harvest.

Brad tried cutting the stalk with a knife, but the stalk was so tough it was no use. He ended up using a saw to cut the darn thing.

Sarah and her husband, Michael, came over a couple of days later and Brad presented her with the cabbage. She was excited.

Another week passed, and we kept checking the other five heads of cabbage wondering when they would be ready to harvest.

Brad read somewhere that you are supposed to cut them when they are the size of a softball, but we both thought that was too small.

We ended up harvesting the remaining cabbages when they were all firm and a little smaller than a soccer ball; again, using a saw to cut through the tough stem.

We tore a few of the outer leaves off and put them in the refrigerator.

Brad had also read that cabbage will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.

Brad was anxious for us to do something with the cabbage.

I’ve never cared for cabbage. For one thing, I grew up thinking it smelled bad when it was cooking, and if it smells bad while cooking, why would you want to eat it?

But since he was excited about it, I went along with him.

I told Brad I’d cook it if he found a recipe.

He grabbed his phone and started his internet search. He found a recipe on allrecipes.com for roasted cabbage that was pretty simple.

So together we prepared this side dish.

 

Roasted Cabbage

INGREDIENTS

— 1 head of cabbage

— Olive Oil

— Salt

— Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Remove a few of the outer leaves.

Core the cabbage.

Cut the cabbage in half then cut each half into four wedges.

Lay the wedges on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Drizzle olive oil over the cabbage and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. You can use other spices if you like.

Roast at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, turn cabbage and roast an additional 15 minutes or until the cabbage is lightly charred.

 

Brad grabbed the smallest head of cabbage out of the refrigerator and we removed a few outer leaves.

He had a little trouble removing the core, but once that was done, slicing the thing in half and then one half into four wedges was a breeze.

Brad drizzled the olive oil over each wedge and then we sprinkled them with salt and pepper and a little garlic. We did this to all sides of the wedges.

Brad sprinkled one wedge with a little red pepper just to see how it turned out.

The cabbage went into the oven, and all the while I was thinking that was sure going to be a lot of cabbage for Brad to eat because I probably wasn’t going to like it.

After 15 minutes, I checked on the cabbage. It wasn’t charred, but it was beginning to brown.

I turned each wedge and set the timer for 15 more minutes.

The cabbage was beginning to char when we took it out of the oven.

I was surprised that when I opened the oven it didn’t smell bad.

We sat down to eat, and I handed my plate to Brad so he could put a little bit of the cabbage on it. But he put a whole wedge on the plate.

Reluctantly, I gave it a try.

I could not believe my taste buds. It was actually really good.

I ended up eating the entire wedge that was on my plate.

Neither one of us could remember which piece had the red pepper on it but we didn’t think what we were eating was spicy. Brad devoured his wedge and said, “This is so good.”

I’m loving another simple recipe that can be put together in no time.

I can’t believe I’m saying that this is a nailed it recipe since it involves a vegetable and I’m not crazy about vegetables.

I don’t know? Maybe my taste buds are changing as I age.

A few days later, we had our friend Sheila over for supper and decided to roast more cabbage. When she arrived and I told her what was on the menu she reluctantly said, “OK.” I knew then that she wasn’t a fan of cabbage, but she was a good sport and said she’d try it.

She took just a little bit from the baking pan while serving herself. Once she tried it, she was like me and very surprised that she liked it. She ended up eating more and more.

No matter what, we are definitely having this vegetable again, especially since there are still cabbages in the refrigerator.

Brad wants to try making his own sauerkraut. I’ll let you know how that turns out.

He’s also decided we’re growing cabbage next year, maybe even this fall.

Sarah Condley is an amateur baker and chef who is compiling a cookbook of her favorite recipes.