Braised Red Cabbage with Cranberries and Mint

Red cabbage is high up on my list of seductive vegetables along with eggplant, red bell peppers and artichokes. It's color is so vibrant and beautiful that sometimes I wonder if I buy it just to look at it in my basket. Luckily I love how it tastes as well!

Most often red cabbage finds itself in my salads or as part of a coleslaw, traditional or Asian style. But occasionally I cook it up and then its brilliant hue becomes even more vibrant before it transitions to indigo. It always astounds me what colors are found in nature!

Beet and Orange Salad with Feta and Mint

Beets are the quintessential root - earthy and rich and sweet and potent - depending on how you prepare them. Simple preparations are my favorite and adding the oranges in this case with the mint and feta created a perfect harmony. These are naval oranges, rather than the blood oranges I have been featuring lately. The beet juice simply "bled" on them a bit, lending a bloody orange appearance.

As the citrus season comes to a close (and presumably the beet season as well, if you have been cellaring them since the fall!) this is an excellent way to pay tribute to both orbs. I was feeling sort of Moroccan-ish when I was cooking up the beets, hence the feta and mint. A preserved lemon vinaigrette was a possibility but I decided simplicity would rule the day.

Decadently Simple Roasted Broccoli

Broccoli is much loved by my family. We eat it steamed, roasted, hot, room temperature or chilled. Generally all we require is salt, olive oil and pepper, and deliciousness ensues. But once in a while, you need to dress it up, kind of like pulling those designer shoes out of the closet and showing them off. That is where this recipe comes in handy.

Roasted broccoli and garlic, tossed with lemon juice and zest, and dusted with parmesan cheese. Magic in your mouth! While this recipe is originally Ina Garten's (aka The Barefoot Contessa), I followed the paired down version that The Amateur Gourmet offered, who left out the toasted pine nuts and shredded fresh basil. No doubt the dish would not suffer from these additions but I can attest most fervently that it certainly shone despite their absence!

Tagliatelle with Green Herb Pistou

One of my favorite vegetables is...flat leaf parsley. I know it is technically an herb and not a vegetable, but in my kitchen it gets treated like a green. I use it equally as a base for salads or as a garnish or base for a pasta sauce. Ounce per ounce it has more iron than kale, and is packed with important minerals and vitamins - potassium, calcium, manganese, and magnesium in addition to vitamins A, C and most of the Bs - as well as being a great source of anti-oxidants. But the truth is, I love it for the taste!

I buy a bunch of it at least once a week and sometimes that isn't enough. Along with cilantro, it is the green that you will always find in my refrigerator. But if you are not a certified parsley lover like myself, there are lots of ways to prepare it to get all of the benefits without having to chew on it like a rabbit, as I am known to do!

Irish Soda Bread (with Rye and Caraway)

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! The patron saint of Ireland's feast day is more celebrated in the U.S. than Ireland, due in large part to early Irish immigrants desire for a connection to their homeland. While modern celebrations tend toward much imbibing of green beer and other libations, it always gives me a good excuse to highlight some of the peasant food the Irish do so well.

Last year I wrote of Colcannon - traditionally mashed potatoes with leeks and cabbage (or another green). This year I made soda bread, which was new for me, and I am hooked! While most recipes call for buttermilk, there is a substitution of yogurt, milk and white vinegar that worked very nicely for me.

Shrimp Scampi - Rebel Style

What happens when you cross international lines and mix up some classics - you get a yummy dinner! A few nights ago, still settling into my new home and tired of unpacking, I looked in the freezer and saw gougeres and shrimp and spied garlic on the counter. Mama mia! Shrimp Scampi over Gougeres it was!

French everywhere are shuddering in horror, Italians are wondering why I would sully scampi with a cheese puff. Welcome to Kirsten's Rebel cooking!

It had been eons since I made scampi so I actually had to recheck a recipe and sure enough, it is simplicity itself; garlic, shrimp, white wine, butter, parsley and red pepper flakes. Presto! Fantastic meal in minutes (the gougeres took longer to bake than the actual food prep.)