Inspired by Cabbage Rolls Recipe

This is so much better than the attempt I had made when following a recipe, and when I looked later, I realized it was very different.. .So here is what we are calling Cabbage roll unrolled.
And SO satisfying on a cold day. 


Remember, This is best as a weekend lunch, Don't eat beef, or other high protein after 5 to be nice to your kidney ( and so you don't wake up to pee at night)

The amounts may seem high, but it barely filled a 9x13 and we need a lot of food if we even hope to have leftovers for some lunch... so at least keep the ratios -- The best part about this dish is how extraordinarily good the huge amounts of veggies turned out to be!  Someone's 2 yr old is mmmming while chewing cold leftover bites right now!


Batch of RICE,

• whole grain of course, so brown, red, black, wild,.. etc,  
• We use brown basmati or Brown short grain for our day to day rice.  a handful of black forbidden rice will make the whole pot turn blackish purplish...
• You are used to this now, right?!?!  ....Don't forget to throw a handful of  wakame or kombu in it!! nutrition like iodine and green and oh so vital and you don't taste it, but it makes things taste better,... its that natural msg type flavoring as well as those 90+ minerals.  
• Visually, it will break up and hide when it is all mixed with the other food.
• ...at Winco, Costco or sprouts is a great brand, http://www.lundberg.com/products/grains/  Their Brown Short grain will even sprout! water, heat, and a day or more...
  

GROUND BEEF

• a little less than a pound, freeze the rest for another meal.
• Winco Country of origin, USA, Canada, Australia, NewZealand, 73% [good] fat Ground Beef
• loving the low prices right now of this apparently great quality beef... these are countries that when listed together imply that it is likely trying for grass fed!!
• you will notice, that it is sweeter and gentler on your organs, more alkalizing, and of course just plain yummier with the higher fat,
• ...don't worry, it won't be fattening since it is the good fat, good ratios, no sugar and not at night.
• I think this meat was a big part in making this dish taste how it did.... so try it at least once with good grass fed fatty beef!

ONION

• We are talking at least 3 onions, people!,  get the meat cooking in a pan while you cut up onions...
• Cut on the equator and then in half again, so that you are cutting across the N/S lines short across your long slices and then dice it...  eh, watch a video, picture worth a 1,000 words.
• this will open the cellular structure to break down better/quicker.  I think it lets them be sweeter! 
• but we always buy the sweet onions now because somebody's was 8 year old could tell the difference and wouldn't eat the others.  A small price to pay for the amount of onion I cook with. yum.
• Start adding it to the pan with the beef, plan on only about half of it even fitting, but it all tastes best if part is cooked with the meat. I takes the "rankness" out of the flesh, and the onion gets a little bit of the browning fried taste..

• Add the rest of the chopped onion to a pot where you can steam it with some water.

ABOUT THE FOOD IN THE PANS 

• Salt, season salt, tony's, or whatever you usually use, to put a little salt on the onions and meat.... it breaks down the onion better and makes all the flavors pop. 
• Keep a lid on it for part of the time since you'll want to make sure it is all cooking through the large amounts of food and this is good kept moist anyway.
• Put some wakame seaweed in here, it will re-hydrate with some of that moisture and blend right in.

MUSHROOM

• depends on how much you like them, but at least half a box... like 4 oz or whatever...
• chop then however and put them in with the meat, they will disappear but add their amazing chemical components. 
• I add dried mushroom powder to almost everything I cook on the stove... besides making meals taste awesome, it is nice to add those nutrients without having to keep up with fresh mushroom's shelf life.   
• https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/products/shiitake-mushroom-powder/profile wouldn't growing them be nice? someday ;)  
• Mushroom powder is a great healing herb, just do a search if curious,... such as for balancing protein cholesterol and such, isn't that a great mix with beef?

PURPLE CABBAGE

• unnecessary, but was looking for color (and I do mean visually, not just for the antioxidants :) )
• ...and anytime you increase the count of veggies, it tastes better. 3 or more veggies always seems to taste best =]
• Chop and add some to the beef /onion frying pan!

CABBAGE

• a whole cabbage! Seasonal goodness and prices!
• Depending on how your family handles seeing vegetable leaves or stems or textures then you decide what shape to do... But don't be surprised if most agree that this dish ends up being surprisingly delectable and ends up being well accepted.   
• I cut my cabbage head in quarters through the stem, and peeled off the outer leaves. when they stop coming off well, then chop the rest up into sizes your family is used to...  
• Put it in that pot you had with the onion and a little water and a bit of salt for steaming
• it is helpful to put the big pieces vs small pieces in the order so that the right timing or so so that the onions and different sizes of cabbage all get to a nice melt in our mouth tenderness about the same time, (if there are a few thicker stem sections that no one eats, it is not a big deal) 
• Keep the lid on most the time and some water handy to make sure that the water doesn't run out, cabbage leaves don't taste the same when they get brown or burnt, eww. there should be nice green and white color only!

PARSLEY, a whole bundle!

• This is surprisingly important, so don't skimp on the amount.  You'll be ok since it is a nice mild herby, sweet taste that is super good for you. besides your 
• I chopped a whole bundle of flat leaf parsley, 
• and generally separated out so that stems earlier, leaves at the end of cook time. gently cooked, with lower heat maintains better nutrition and taste.
   
• Cabbage, seaweed, parsley, beef are nutritionally great combinations and balancing of each other, with onion bringing it all home and getting them assimilated nicely. 
• I suppose our ancestors would have also added juniper berry, but I didn't feel like trying it the first time around and when the meat ratio was so low. 
• But I did add some Oatstraw powder for more nutritional power, but I usually do, so don't agonize over something you aren't used to,... :)
• Speaking of which, near the end of cook time I also added a nice sprinkle of
  OREGANO, ALLSPICE, AND BLACK PEPPER. Just wing it, sorry I don't measure those, but it was light..., taste test it. ;)

Can of simple PETITE DICED TOMATOES

• Optional, with mixed reviews taste wise, but nice for the color and flavoring the brothy liquid in the bowls...   if it wasn't for the juice mixing; then, fresh tomatoes would win out in our house.
• a can of simple petite diced tomatoes, no sugar or spice needed, but some pickling lime/calcium hydroxide is nice to help alkalize the addition. 
• I don't even heat this so it stays sweeter, but add it however it is easiest... it can be mixed in to one of the hot pots or used to help cool down the other two parts fast which you can decide is good or bad in your day's time.

COMBINE

• When the two pans of food are done, then either mix in a bowl 
• or scoop in alternating layers in to a wide pan. the larger pieces of cabbage can be laid kind of like lasagna layers that has to be cut through 
• or lay the leaves in the bowls on top like a lid to keep in the heat :) .... your choices..
• Serve with or on the rice!  It should be done by now, right?!  better go check it =] 
• Brown rice in my pressure cooker still seems to take the same 40 minutes as the old way on the stove top, but without burning it ;)