When I got home from a trip to pick up a new Katahdin ram this Sunday, I noticed two giant cabbages on my porch swing. Since my porch swing doesn't normally produce random vegetables, I figured my Serbian-American friend had left a gift for me.
These were not the tame little cabbages you can find at Gary's Market in Stephenson. These were bigger than a human head. I picked some leaves off the smaller of the cabbages, enough to produce 4 cups of shredded cabbage for some Barley-Cabbage Soup. The cabbage didn't look much smaller when I got done.
I went to visit my friend to thank him for the cabbages. I learned they were part of a trailer load of deer cabbages he picked up in Escanaba. He IS using some of them for deer feeding--- and for his goats and pigs---- but some are going for keeping him and his friends supplied with cabbage for the winter. He suggested I make some sauerkraut--- and asked if I had a barrel.
I'm not much of a sauerkraut person, so I don't think I'm going to make a full barrel of it. But I do have a recipe for sauerkraut soup, and thought I might make enough to give the recipe a try.
Since I came home from my friend's house with 4 more giant cabbages, I am going to have to look up 'root cellaring' and figure out how to store my cabbage supply until I use it. Luckily, I'm at the public library at the moment--- my internet connection is still out--- and I can see what books they might have on root cellaring--- and on sauerkraut.
