I'm a huge fan of braised cabbage. I've done it with onions, apples, (fake) bacon, carrots, caraway, dill and any combination of them, with a little cider vinegar or tomato sauce and sugar, or lemon juice and honey, etc. Just a touch. Very, very good, IMHO. Here's one that hasn't been mentioned AGRODOLCE, which is "sweet and sour" in italian. I do this mostly to use up all this never ending mint that I have dried from the garden. I am making cauliflower agrodolce tonight for dinner. Squash Agrodolce from "La Cucina Ebraica" by Joyce Goldstein 2 lb. of squash, sliced about 1/2 inch slices, in the case of butternut or hubbard squash, peeled. 1/3 cup olive oil 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint (Note: I am NOT a mint fan so I'd probably use half of this. Since I use dried mint, I use about 1 TBLSP. Can always add more later if you want) 2-3 cloves fresh garlic, sliced paper thin 1/2 cup red wine vinegar 1/2 cup sugar Pinch of ground cinnamon (optional) Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Put half of oil in large saucepan. Sautee the squash until tender. Combine with mint and garlic. (Note: you could add some onions to this too, if you wanted). Season with salt and pepper. To the remaining oil, add the vinegar, sugar and cinn, if using, and cook until the sugar dissolves and the sauce thickens, about 5 min. Season with salt and pepper if desired (I use as little salt as possible, so would probably skip that step) Pour the sauce over the squash. Serve warm or at room temperature. Cauliflower Agrodolce from "Moosewood Restuarant Lowfat Favorites" 2 cups onions, thinly sliced 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 1 tsp. olive oil (I'd probably double) 1 large cauliflower 1 28 oz. can undrained whole tomatoes 2/3 cups raisins 1/2 cup red wine vinegar Sugar, salt and ground black pepper to taste Saute the onions and garlic in the EVOO in a large saucepan/braiser/dutchoven. Meanwhile, cut and core the cauliflower into smalish florets. Chop tomatoes or squeeze by hand. Add the tomatoes and wine vinegar, and raisins to the pan. Simmer for a few min. to blend flavors. Then add the cauliflower, and cook for 10-12 min., until florets are tender. Adjust seasoning to taste with sugar, salt and pepper. Serve hot, room temp. or chilled. Note: you can combine the two recipes, and add mint and cinnamon to the tomato sauce. You can add other veggies to this too, such as cabbage and carrots.

sorry chase, here is the recipe. Chicken in Caramel Sauce - Sol This recipe is from the Washington Post, which adapted it from a recipe from the Slanted Door restaurant that appeared in a cookbook called The Secrets of Success: Signature Recipes and Insider Tips from San FranÂs Best Restaurants by Michael Bauer 1/2 C packed dark brown sugar 1/4 C water 1/4 C Asian fish sauce 3 T rice vinegar 1 tsp minced garlic 1 tsp soy sauce 1 tsp thinly sliced fresh ginger 1/2 to 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (1/2 usually enough for me) 2 small chili peppers, fresh or dried, halved (I always use fresh) 1 T canola oil 1 shallot thinly sliced 1 1/2 - 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh meat, cut into bite-size pieces (can use a combo of light and dark meat, if you prefer) In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, water, fish sauce, vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, ginger, pepper, and chilis, and mix well. Set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat (can also use a wok, but IÂve had better luck w/a skillet). Add shallot and cook, stirring, until brown, about 5 minutes. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned on each side but not cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir the reserved sauce mixture and add to skillet. Bring mixture to boil, reduce heat to med-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced by about half and the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove and discard the chili peppers. Remove pan from heat, set aside until sauce has thickened and cooled slightly, about 3 minutes. Serve with rice. Note: This is traditionally a Vietnamese dish. If you havenÂt cooked w/fish sauce before, youÂll notice that itÂs pretty stinky before itÂs cooked (!), but when the sauce is all together it gives it a really distinctive flavor that would be difficult to duplicate without it. IÂm able to get it in my local grocery store, but if you canÂt, then Asian markets will be sure to have it. The dish can be more spicy or less, depending what you do w/the pepper and chilis. If I want it less spicy, I remove all the seeds from the chilis before adding them to the sauce. This time, I left most of the seeds in, and it was very spicy. Probably thereÂs a happy medium and it would be spicy enough w/about half the seeds. If you prefer it to be more sweet than spicy, remove all the seeds and use a bit less black pepper (even tho I like it spicy, I never need more than 1/2 tsp of pepper). Thank you for the ideas. I don't know why I have a hard time being creative with veggies, I always do. Stacy

Every now and then you'll find a woman who is breastfeeding who prefers to keep her diet milder...like no strong garlic, spices, etc... I think they believe the strong flavors are carried into the breastmilk and that some babies may not like the taste or something. I never noticed it, but thought I would mention it, just in case. I liked chicken dishes, and as woodie suggested, soup and salad may be good too. You may even consider including a quiche or breakfast food since they will be home all day long. I'm sure they'll appreciate anything and all you bring.

Rice patties are easy. I usually make a version with quinoa but the other day we were craving them and we were out of quinoa and used brown rice instead and they turned out great. Dice an onion or a couple of leeks. Dice a clove or two of garlic. Finely chop a veggie or veggies of your choice. We always have broccoli around and that's our go to veggie for these patties. Carrots, cauliflower and zucchini will all work well. Cook a cup or two of rice (depends on how many people you want to feed). Let cool slightly or you can make it ahead of time. Saute the onion/leek. Add the finely chopped veggie and saute until soft. Add the garlic and saute another 30-60 sec. Add herbs/spices of choice. Add veggies to the rice. Using 2 eggs/person, mix eggs well in a bowl and add to the rice and mix everything very well. Add 1/3-1/2 cup parmesan cheese (cheddar works well too). Add 1/2-1 cup bread crumbs (optional) You want the mixture moist but you want it to hold together when you form small patties in your hand. In a large saute pan, heat, add oil, and add 4-5 patties. Cook until golden brown on the bottom. Flip and cook until the other side is golden brown also. We eat them plain, but one of my kids likes them with soy sauce.