Chopping instead of Shopping

A couple of months ago I read an article in the Economist about Korea and a crisis that was threatening the country.  No not that one - although their neighbors to the North have proven they can create crisis alright. No, this article was about a cabbage crisis, with escalating prices causing people to look outside the country for their cabbages needed to make their staple, Kimchi.

 
Lucky for us there is no shortage of beautiful cabbage right now in Southern Oregon.  Last week we purchased  140 lb. of beauties from our local organic farmers Whistling Duck Farm.  We spent Black Friday in the kitchen, cutting and shredding, mixing and packing into our ten gallon crocks.  As Kirsten said, we were chopping instead of shopping.  By the end of the day we were both dreaming of a big old Nemco vegetable slicer and an 80 quart stainless steel bowl.  I think we are going to need bigger stockings on the hearth this year.

This batch is made up of napa cabbage, garlic, onions, ginger, carrots and chili flakes - all organic and most from local farms.  It should be a good batch so stay tuned.  It should be out of the crock and in the jars in a couple of weeks.