Alex is in the kitchen this month:

Wherefore art thou, vegetables? Coming back from my summer travels, I tried a lot of different and new foods that made my taste buds happy. But I kept searching for vegetables. Why are they so hard to find when you travel? Don’t get me wrong, I love standard tourist fare – pub food, pastas, potatoes, pastries – I seek it all out when I go somewhere new or well known for something. But this summer, I found I needed way more vegetables to keep me going.

A year ago, I wouldn’t be caught dead ordering a vegan or vegetarian meal when I was traveling. I never chose the plant-based meals when I thought there was something more meat-filled and delicious on deck. However, after a year (plus) of a (mostly) plant-based diet, I even went to a baby shower and happily chose the vegetarian option, ignoring the chicken sitting right next to the eggplant. Cheers to personal progress.

Tofu and cabbage stir fry.
Tofu and cabbage stir-fry. Credit: ALEX MURRAY / For the Ledger-Transcript

It helps that there are more options out there than ever before; gone are the days when the only vegetarian option when eating out was a sad salad. I like to see chefs and cooks stretching the imagination and being creative with plant-based options. It shows me they are thinking about flavor and food creatively and with intention, and it’s nice to eat with the season.

As we turn to fall and start to get cooler, our own garden is slowing down. We’ve picked all the raspberries, harvested a bonanza of beans that we’ve had to parboil and freeze for winter months, and eaten cherry tomatoes like candy. But we also have so many cabbages. So. Many.

Learning to love vegetables means appreciating that cabbage is king. It’s a whole meal unto itself. You can make it into steaks, slather it in a tahini lemon sauce, and there’s your dinner.

Oftentimes, people will argue that meat is important to a diet because it keeps you full. That’s true; meat contains protein that will help you feel full. But also, eat a giant, charred slab of cabbage steak and tell me you’re still hungry. You can’t, the magic of cabbage is that by eating a wedge, or steak, or what have you, you are getting the nutrients you need and the fullness your body requires. And if you add beans to your cabbage steak, you’re done, protein requirements met.

Some say cabbage is the secret to a long life. I heard from my Irish cousins that their Uncle Eddy lived to be 101. At age 99, he was still playing football in the back garden with the youngsters, all attributed to his drinking cabbage juice (and whiskey, but that’s a different life choice).

This recipe makes for a quick weeknight dish and feeds a family. I can only fit half a cabbage into my giant cast-iron pan, but you can make it with a whole cabbage if you cook it in batches. Once again, eating a host of cabbage is filling and nutritious. Try it!

Cabbage Tofu Stir Fry

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 6 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
  • 4 tablespoons hoisin sauce
  • 3 teaspoons Chinese cooking wine, or any vinegar like rice wine, mirin, or apple cider
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Stir Fry

  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon ginger powder, or 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 16 oz superfirm tofu, pressed and crumbled (use hands)
  • ½ head of cabbage, cored and sliced
  • 2 carrots, peeled
  • 1 handful of green beans (see note for adaptations)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Black sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Combine sauce ingredients and set aside.
  2. Heat oil in a very large cast-iron skillet (I use a 14-inch) over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until it softens, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 30 seconds.
  3. Add crumbled tofu, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook until it starts to dry out a little, around 5 to 7 minutes.
  4. Add half of the sauce to the pan, coating the tofu, and cook for another 2 minutes. Add cabbage, carrots, and green beans, stirring until the cabbage is wilted. Add the rest of the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add black sesame seeds on top.

Note: This stir-fry recipe is very forgiving. Use whatever vegetables you want that will wilt or crisp. String or dragon beans, zucchini cut into batons or shredded, or kale; these would all go well here.

For more information on how your food choices affect the planet and your health, go to: harriscenter.org/rhp