Oh me yarm Am I in Heaven Cabbage Soup wrote:2 quarts water
2Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion
1 rubber band thingie green onions
2 ribs celery
carrots, to taste (I used maybe 1/4lb of baby carrots that needed to be used up, throwing out half the package)
2lb tomatoes (I used a 28oz can, because they were cheap)
3/4 head of cabbage
2Tbsp apple cider vinegar
hot peppers, to taste
1/2 bulb garlic
Old Bay
Misc. herbs you have around, to taste
1) Chop up, not too finely, the onion, green onion, celery, and carrots. Put aside half of the onions.
2) Heat the olive oil in a large pot, adding the onions set aside once hot, and your peppers. Once they start to become golden and soft, remove them.
3) Heat the water in the pot. While that goes on, chop the cabbage into bite-sized pieces.
4) Once the water is boiling, add the veggies and tomatoes (but not those onions that were just cooked).
5) Boil the crap out of it for 20 minutes.
6) With a hand-held food processor, puree the solid contents in the hot water. Alternatively, strain it, puree it, then add the puree back in.
7) Heat up again. This time, once it boils, add the reserved cooked onions, garlic, apple cider vinegar, herbs, and any other seasonings (that is, however much Old Bay is needed to properly salt it

), and cabbage. Boil until the cabbage softens, 10-20 minutes.
8 ) Eat with a velvety lager (Sam Adams Black Lager or Octoberfest), or light wine (FI, Yellow Tale's cabernet, chardonnay, or riesling--whichever is on sale).
I've now made some variations. Notes:
1. Starting with bacon (bacon with the onions and olive oil), adding diced potatoes, and eating it with sausage and mustard on the side, to complete the meal...glorious.
2. Plain green cabbage is best. Savory cabbage is easier to chop, but does not have the sweet flavor or chewiness. It ends up tasting kind of like V8.
3. Don't use pickled peppers. The bitterness and 'quick heat' do not mesh well with the tomato and celery flavors, textures, and aromas. If you don't have fresh hot peppers, serving it with hot sauce is a better option.
4. You can add other veggies at the beginning, with the onions. But, don't avoid the step of cooking the onions and oil. I tried it, out of laziness, and it leaves the soup somewhat flat. Cooking them afterwards, then adding in, helped a bit (the woody flavor of cooked olive oil is a big part of it, I think). Also, Canola oil works OK, if not as good as olive oil.
5. If it is too bitter (old cabbage, old celery, unripe tomatoes, etc.), try adding honey, sage, and parsley.