Larry gets read to eat.
Happy March! We are now in Massachusetts Maple Month, according to the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association.
Regular readers of this blog will know that I LOVE maple syrup—not just on pancakes but as a sweetener for all sorts of dishes. It’s particularly useful in recipes like this one, sent in by Larry Fox, who lives in Eugene, Oregon.
I’ve known Larry almost all my life. In some ways he seems very grown up: he has a very responsible job and prematurely gray hair. When we get together, however, I always think the hair is a disguise–like the shoe polish we used to whiten our hair in high-school theatricals. He’s still fun and youthful at heart.
As you can see, Larry’s recipe only requires a tiny bit of maple syrup (and you may use sugar if you want to). The syrup enhances the sweet-and-sour appeal of this cabbage concoction.
Larry used some form of chicken sausage when he prepared it; I used turkey kielbasa. If you are near a German butcher, try a German sausage since the dish definitely has a German flavor.
Larry’s recipe also included a teaspoon of cracked mustard seeds, but I couldn’t find my mustard seeds so I left them out and it was still delicious—warm, flavorful, and hearty.
What’s YOUR favorite way to use maple syrup? Please leave a comment below to let me know….
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon peppercorns, cracked
1 large yellow onion, sliced
1 pound cabbage, roughly shredded
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
2 firm apples, cored and cut into 1/4-inch wedges (Larry uses honey crisp; I used Gala apples from Apex Orchards, and I used Apex’s vinegar as well)
5 sprigs fresh thyme (you may use dried if you absolutely have to)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 cup apple-cider vinegar
1 pound sausage, sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon peppercorns, cracked
1 large yellow onion, sliced
1 pound cabbage, roughly shredded
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
2 firm apples, cored and cut into 1/4-inch wedges (Larry uses honey crisp; I used Gala apples from Apex Orchards, and I used Apex’s vinegar as well)
5 sprigs fresh thyme (you may use dried if you absolutely have to)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 cup apple-cider vinegar
1 pound sausage, sliced into bite-sized pieces
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large pan over medium-high heat, heat the oil; then toss the spices in it for 1 minute. Add the onion, cabbage, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook until they are nice and brown, stirring frequently.
Turn off the heat, and stir in the apples, thyme, sugar, and vinegar.
Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish, and place the sausage pieces on top. Place the dish, uncovered, in the oven, and bake for 10 minutes. Flip the sausages over and bake for another 10 to 12 minutes, until the sausage pieces are cooked through.
Serve with lots of German-style mustard and roasted small potatoes—not to mention a hearty beer. Serves 4.
Eating this dish may start you dancing like my neighbors' snowgirl.
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Tags: Comfort Food, Larry Fox, Maple Recipes, Sausage and Cabbage
6:41 am — and this sounds DELISH!
I like maple syrup on just about anything, and use it often as a sweetener, too. This sausage recipe sounds good, and easy… I’ll try it!
I’m not so sure about the sausage and cabbage dish – I think I’ll pass on that one! I think my favourite dish involving maple syrup is simple French toast and bacon, with lots and lots of maple syrup!!
This looks amazing for a cold winter day of the sort we keep on having so weirdly here in Philly.
My favorite way to employ maple syrup is on fried corn cakes–sort of pancakes made of cornmeal. Next to that, straight!
I feel as if I’ve been off the internet for ages (except for work). I found a great turkey sausage (with the Heart Association’s seal) that is delicious. I love this recipe and need to make it this week with that sausage – while the weather screams for comfort food. I made an Asian-inspired dinner last week and used a little maple syrup in the salad dressing. Not enough to scream “MAPLE” but it added a certain something hard to define. I also have a lovely unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar that I picked up not too long ago. Everything I make from your blog turns out stellar (and turns up in my recipe file).
Sausages and cabbage, two of my favorite things. I have to admit I’ve never used maple syrup much in cooking. I do have a bottle of real maple syrup a friend sent us so I’ll have to try thinking outside my pancake/waffle box.
Lately, I’ve been perfecting some Maple Syrup Scones….. but, it’s great on or in just about anything isn’t it? Just to add that little ..”something”…
cabbage and sausage could be just the thing … Mother Nature is messing with our heads tonight…it’s snowing…..
Mmm … maple scones! What a GREAT idea!
This cabbage and sausage recipe sounds delicious and I shall try it very soon. I found this web site by seening your post on the Haiku Foundation’s blog. How did you discover the Haiku Foundation and do you write haiku?
Adelaide
Hi, Adelaide–Thanks for visiting! I found the Haiku Foundation blog through my neighbor Judith Christian, who recently contributed this critique:
http://www.thehaikufoundation.org/2010/03/07/viral-6-5/
and this haiku:
http://www.thehaikufoundation.org/2010/02/21/viral-6-4/.
My regular readers would tell you that I can’t be brief enough to write a haiku–but I admire those who can!