Food confession #1

I really like cabbage.

I forget this from time to time, as my wife abhors the stuff. And as my son is a picky eater, he's not much help either. So I just don't get it instead of letting it go bad.

My absolute favorite is sauerkraut, especially piled up on a veggie dog with mustard. But again, given the relative infrequency with which I have a hot dog, there's no reason to keep it around. Instead I take advantage of the fixings every time I get a dog at a cart.*

I also enjoy a good cole slaw--my mother-in-law makes an excellent one with ramen noodles as a crunchy extra. Whenever it comes as a side with my wife's meal, I get to eat it.

Although I've eaten both sauerkraut and cole slaw for as long as I can remember, my first distinct cabbage memory comes from junior high. We were reading some book in a class that made reference to the smell of boiled cabbage being pervasive since it was the main food the characters could afford. In order to illustrate this for us, our teacher stuck shredded cabbage in a crockpot on high in her classroom when she arrived at school. By the afternoon and our classtime, the smell had invaded the hallway. Walking into our room was an experience unto itself. We understood.**

* I was never the type to buy a hot dog from a cart until we moved up here. And yet now I do every couple of weeks. Something about walking the city streets makes it very appealing. Plus, the carts around here grill your dog when you order it, no sitting in bacteria-infested water all day long. And there are all sorts of choices, including veggie dogs, at every cart.

** Nonetheless, when she offered to let us taste the cabbage, I was one of a handful of students who tried it. And despite the smell, yes, I liked it.