Summers over , back to the chalk board or the white board since thats the modern equivilent
Summers over , back to the chalk board or the white board since thats the modern equivilent
Member since:23.09.2002
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For a new years dinner I cooked a gammon joint and served a red cabbage dish with it. This was really tasty, complimented the gammon. This made me think I would try and grow some this year from seed. There are several red varieties of cabbage. I shall try to grow a Savoy type.
I expect a packet of seeds will cost around £2. I expect to buy at my local garden centre but seeds are available on line too. Red cabbage should be grown the same way as green ones. I will buy a variety which I can sow in March or April.
I shall start my seeds growing in some growing compost in a seed tray in my greenhouse. This will give them a good start. I shall sow a few seeds then a few weeks later sow some more so I do not get all my cabbages maturing at the same time. I shall plant them out when the seedlings are well established a couple of inches tall.
Cabbages are relatively easy to grow needing little care just water when it is dry. I shall have to wait a while before I pick my red cabbage as cabbage sown in April will not be mature much before September. I shall protect my red cabbage from slugs and snails we get a lot in these chalky hills, this year I am going to buy nematodes for the slugs as I do not want to use slug pellets. Nematodes are a parasitic nematode of slugs They are harmless to children pets and wildlife. birds & hedgehogs can happily eat slugs after using nematodes .
I try to garden organically and love butterflies however white butterflies love to lay eggs on cabbage and caterpillars to feast on it. I shall net most of my cabbages to stop the butterflies getting to them I shall perhaps leave a couple of red cabbages unnetted for the caterpillars.
Red cabbage grow just like a summer cabbage, sowing in March, April, planting in June and harvest in August, September.
Red cabbage will add colour to dishes red coleslaw perhaps or just plain boiled red cabbage. Red cabbage is popular pickled husband loves it. When you cook red cabbage it will lose a lot of color boiling in water will turn the water red but leave the cabbage a blue grey washed out colour . Adding vinegar helps red cabbage retain its red colour. The dish I made with apples kept its red colour 750g shredded red cabbage 350g Bramley apples 50g Butter 250g Onions, finely chopped 1 garlic clove 1 inch piece ginger root 0.5 tsp cinnamon powder 4 tbsp brown sugar, unrefined 4 tbsp white wine vinegar ¼ pint vegetable stock Method . Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the onion, red cabbage and apple and cook gently for 5 minutes. Add the ginger and cinnamon or allspice and the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15- minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated and the vegetables are tender. I then put the cabbage in a casserole in the oven with the gamon joint for about ½ hour . There was plenty left over and we had that cold the next day with the cold ghammon
Beware though I think it was this that gave both my husband and I the most amazing tuneful bottom burps. We were in orchestra all night.
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