Cabbages and Kings

I'm keeping busy. Doing loads of laundry, cleaning, cooking, and moving...I'll go crazy if I sit still. 

I had seven black bananas that had to go, so we made vegan banana bread. I got a gorgeous red cabbage in this week's CSA produce bag, so I picked out a sweet and sour German red cabbage recipe to try. 

Cooking this cabbage reminds me of my Grampy, who died five years ago. He had a small kitchen in his townhouse but that didn't stop us from cooking up a storm. His surname was Rothlisberger; his heritage was Swiss and German. Two things he liked to cook that stand out in my mind are Hungarian beef stew and German potato salad. He loved a good meal, a glass of wine, and coffee at any time of day.

Cooking honors my stepdad, who died two days ago. He was a chef, and the way he loved others was to feed them with good food and keep the wine glasses full. I'll never forget kids in school who had PB&J for lunch asking what I was eating (leftover pork tenderloin with potato and veggie sides). He taught me so much about cooking and appreciating both classic and unique cuisines. 

When I told him I was no longer eating meat, he was dismayed and devastated. And then he learned how to make kickass vegetarian versions of his meals, and they were always winners. We shared a love of tawny port and dark chocolate. He taught me that wine doesn't have to be outrageously expensive to be good or enjoyable.  

He taught me other things, like how to ride a bike and how to think critically. He imparted other passions, such as a love for movies, an interest in math and science, and an appreciation for a good deal or discount. I'll never forget him driving my sisters and me all over town after church on Sundays so he could use his coupons with different deals at different grocery stores and maximize his savings. I scoffed at it back then because it annoyed the hell out of me, but when I was older I realized that he had gone back to college to obtain a new degree and my mom was working to support a family of five...he was doing everything he could to save us money (and they still managed to take us on the most incredible family road trip vacations). 

But I will forever and always associate good food and laughter around the dinner table with Dad. Before he went to the hospital, he was still cooking for my Mom while they were quarantined, giving her a champagne brunch for her birthday and stocking her fridge and freezer for when he was going to be in the hospital.

I aim to keep cooking until the end of my days, just like him. 

Thanks for making me a foodie, Dad. Na Zdorovie (or as I like to say, "Nice driveway").