Liam Loves It: Cabbage and Apples

My kids have pretty broad palates, so I take it for granted that they'll eat whatever we put in front of them (with varying degrees of complaining), since they know that no alternate dinner is forthcoming. This means that Anna's first experience at McDonald's was (1) something she'll remember forever and (2) completely scarring. John considers ginger chicken to be an excellent snack food, to the amusement of his camp counselor. We've had waiters at Middle Eastern restaurants stand around our table in awe, remarking that they haven't seen anyone eat garlic dip with a spoon since they visited their grandmother in Lebanon.

This also makes cooking for other peoples' children a bit of a challenge; since we skipped the kid food phase entirely, I'm honestly bewildered by "normal" tastes and appetites. I try to go with fairly identifiable foods and hope for the best. We invited friends for a weeknight dinner - garlic chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed green beans, and this cabbage dish, which I honestly didn't expect anyone except me to like. There was half a head of cabbage hanging out in the fridge and this seemed like a good way to use it up and add a little color to the table. Also I really love cabbage and I'm always looking for an excuse to add it to the table now that we don't get to eat stuffed cabbage anymore (if you can think of a substitute for the tomato sauce, please let me know).

Imagine my delight when Liam, age (something under 2), stuffed handfuls of this into his mouth and grinned at me. He's invited to dinner Every Single Night! Anyone who appreciates my cooking is guaranteed to get more of it, especially anyone who is this cute *and* pre-verbal. I'm posting this for Liam's awesome mom Andrea, who swears she'll make it for him. From Mark Bittman's Best Recipes in the World.

Cabbage and Apples 

1/2 head red cabbage, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped into chunks
salt and pepper to taste

Put the butter, sugar, and vinegar in frying pan large enough to hold the cabbage. When the butter has melted, add the cabbage and toss to coat with butter. Add the apple chunks, stir, and cover, then reduce the heat to low and cook until the cabbage is soft or the rest of dinner is done (about 45 minutes in this case). Season with salt and pepper to taste.