my new food obsessions: cabbage and dates

 

left: roasted cabbage; middle: shrimp with beans, tomatoes and cabbage; right: sauteed cabbage and kale with a fried egg on top and MORE roasted cabbage on the side

I haven't yet told you guys about my new fruit and veggie obsessions: cabbage and dates.

The cabbage thing happened a few months ago. I had about half a cabbage left over from a veggie soup I'd made. It's not something I'd usually buy, as I always associated it with sauerkraut and coleslaw (both of which I deathly hate). But I do like it in soups, so I had some on hand. I tweeted a question out about what to do with it, and the lovely Holly of Holly Would If She Could recommended just slicing, chopping and then sauteing it in butter until browned. So I did, and I loved it. LOVED IT. I seriously had no idea cabbage could be so tasty, especially when prepared in such a simple way.

Then, my food blogging friend Marissa over at The Boot posted a recipe for roasted cabbage rounds. She's also new to cabbage and she raved about how delicious the roasted cabbage was, so of course I had to try it and of course, it was out-of-this-world good. Sweet and flavorful in a way I never imagined that crunchy tasteless cabbage could be. The last week of January, I think I ate cabbage like five times: roasted, sauteed, cooked with kale, over rice, with eggs (see above). I ate roasted cabbage again for dinner the other nigh....only roasted cabbage, nothing else. Basically, I'm obsessed.

 

Look at the way the light is hitting these dates. Don't they look like dates straight from God?

My fellow Blisstree writer Elizabeth recently posted about dates and I was intrigued. I've had them before, of course, but usually chopped and mixed into quick breads or things like that. Since I'm always always always looking for new snacks, I bought a container of whole Medjool dates at my local health food store. And whoa. Who knew they were so good?!

Dates are my new 3-pm-slump snack. I have a ridiculous sweet tooth and eating them definitely fills the same urge as eating a cookie or a candy bar, but they're so much healthier. And weirdly filling, too: just one or two of them as a snack makes me feel like I've eaten something significant, which usually doesn't happen with other fruits. I also like to eat a few of them when I eat peanut butter on crackers or a handful of almonds or something like that, too. Protein + sweet dates = perfection in snack form.

In summation: eat more dates. Cook more cabbage. You just might be as surprised as I was. 

Do you have any suggestions of other ways I could cook and eat dates or cabbage? It seems like it would be weird to eat them together in a dish, but since I'm so besotted, I can't say I wouldn't try it...