While I was on my maternity leave this summer, my favorite thing to do was to take the baby to local farmers markets. I would plan our week around a farmers market trip, trying a few different ones over the course of my time off with Emmeline. I enjoyed the fact that I was able to be around people while still following the rule about no confined spaces with a newborn. Now, months later, I’m back to work and farmers market season has sadly come to an end. Lucky for us, there is a quaint little market just two miles from home, selling Connecticut grown produce and products AND they are open year round! Wades Farm Fresh in Bloomfield, Connecticut is a New England dream come true.

When we went in on this chilly Fall morning they had the fire going in the fireplace and the farmer was there in her dirty overalls putting out some product. I was geeked out on New England at that moment. I searched through the produce to choose something local and seasonal. Right now, it’s a lot of the cruciferous vegetables. Available was brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. Oh cabbage. It’s like the underdog of the vegetable world. It can be stinky and intimidating to cook with. Some may choose to pass on cabbage because of the gas it allegedly causes but we do not fear the gas in this house. 3 out of the 5 of us cannot control it and the other two choose not to! So, I went with the cabbage.

While my husband was out picking up some red wine for our meal, I searched cabbage on Pinterest and I finally decided on cabbage rolls. Perfect for a chilly day. No, I’m not Eastern European but I love anything stuffed with meat and cheese! I didn’t use one particular recipe, I just created my own based loosely on what I found on other peoples’ blogs. In my searching, I found a few different ways to make it, like with grated cauliflower instead of rice for the grain free types, and beans instead of ground beef for the vegetarians. I chose to fill my cabbage with grass fed beef and organic brown rice. I cooked the rice ahead of time but left the meat raw. I also sautéed half of an onion and chopped up some fresh parsley to mix in. I left out the egg some recipes were calling for and added some grated Parmesan cheese. Oh, and sorry, I am not the measuring type! After boiling the whole cabbage for ten minutes, I let it cool down before pulling the leaves off. I placed the filling on one side of a leaf and then wrapped it up like a burrito. I made 10 rolls with my mixture. I mixed a can of crushed tomatoes with some brown sugar to taste for the top. I baked covered for two hours at 325 degrees. When it came out, I let cool, topped with Parmesan cheese and devoured it with a nice glass of my favorite Cabernet.

 Liz is a social worker and currently the director of Youth and Family Services for a town in Connecticut. She is a Maman of 3; a pit bull, a beagle, and a human! And she is also married to the perfect person to share a bottle of wine with, who also happens to have taken all of these awesome pics for this blog post:)

written by: Liz Langevin

all photos taken by: Jason Langevin