Spiced Pears - Adapted form spice pear recipe found on Yummly.com:

2c water
1 1/2 c honey
1c cider vinegar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp whole cloves
10 bartlett pears

Combine all ingredient except pears in a large stainless steel pot.
Bring to a boil
Reduce heat & simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally

Peel pears. Slice in half lengthwise. Remove core.
Slice pears into wedges.

Place pears in the liquid.
Cover and cook on med high for 30 minutes. If pears float, dunk them frequently & stir to distribute the flavor evenly.

When tender, remove from liquid and serve as a side dish.

OR

To intensify flavor, place pears, with their liquid & cinnamon sticks, in glass jars. Cover and refridgerate. Allow to stand a few days before serving.

Cabbage with White Sauce

This rich side dish from The Old Farmer's Almanac Garden Fresh Cookbook is how I decided to use up the last of the cabbage from the garden this year. It turned out very well. When I got up from the table to refill my water I came back to find the kitten slurping down a strand of cabbage...so she seemed to agree!

1 head cabbage
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour
3/8 teaspoon salt
pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups milk
seasoned bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400. Shred cabbage and put in a greased baking dish. Melt butter in a small sauce pan. Add flour, salt, and pepper and whisk until blended. Add milk gradually and bring to a simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour over cabbage and top generously with seasoned bread crumbs. Bake for 20 minutes.

__________________

Find me on Etsy, my Public Facebook, or my Personal Facebook

Simple grilled Cabbage... only way my kids will eat cabbage!!

Sliced bacon,
1 head of cabbage
Butter
salt and peper to taste.

Cut the cabbage into serving size wedges, Spread a generous amount of butter on one side of the wedge, and sprinkle the salt and pepper onto the butter (this way it draws the seasoning into the cabbage). Then wrap 2-3 long slices of bacon around the wedges and wrap it in Alum. foil. Grill over medium-high heat until soft to the touch ( about 6-10 minutes for each side) Flipping once, Butter side up at first..

Enjoy the soft texture of the cabbage with the crunch of the bacon!!!

Kids love helping fix this.. and love eating it too..

Note: fresh Stonehead cabbage seems to get a sweet taste and as of now is our favorite cabbage to grill!

I made this last night and it was really good. A few changes I made were to use lambsquarters instead of spinach (delicious) and double the cumin. Serve with bread or brown rice.

CHICKPEA AND SPINACH STEW

1 cup water
10 ounces baby spinach
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
Kosher salt
Pinch of saffron threads
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of freshly ground pepper
Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas with their liquid
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 large tomato—peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins

Pour the water into a large deep skillet and bring to a boil. Add the spinach leaves and cook over high heat, tossing frequently, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Drain the spinach in a colander, pressing hard on the leaves to extract the liquid. Coarsely chop the spinach.
Using the flat side of a large knife, mash the garlic to a paste with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the saffron. Transfer the garlic paste to a small bowl. Add the paprika, cumin, cloves and black pepper and mash until combined. Stir in 1/4 cup of the chickpea liquid.
Wipe out the skillet. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to the skillet and heat until shimmering. Add the onion and tomato and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until they are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the spiced garlic sauce to the onion and tomato in the skillet and cook for 1 minute.
Add the chickpeas and the remaining liquid to the skillet. Add the raisins and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Add the spinach, reduce the heat to moderate, and simmer for 15 minutes. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil on top, and serve.

We have had grape tomatoes coming out our ears. This is a good way to use them up and they are extremely yummy. (I've found the grape tomatoes work best, but cherry are good too) This is my "recipe" so it's mostly descriptive in nature. Sorry.

Ingredients:
Cherry or grape tomatoes (say a 1 to 1 1/2 cup)
Cayenne pepper
Sea salt
Coconut oil (melted) (better than olive oil because higher smoke point, and tastier, IMO)
Feta cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425.
Spoon 2-3 tablespoonfuls (if you're doing a cup or so of tomatoes) of coconut oil onto an ovensafe glass pan (I use a bread pan). Sprinkle on desired amount of cayenne pepper (remember a little goes a long way!) and sea salt. Mix evenly into the coconut oil. Add tomatoes and give it a good shake until the tomatoes are coated. Place in oven for 10-20 minutes. Give it another good shake in the meantime. You're looking for the tomatoes to start getting shrively and sizzly.

Serve tomatoes, with plenty of the now-seasoned coconut oil, over feta cheese. It is truly yummy.