Yamitsuki Addictive Cabbage

Yamitsuki addictive cabbage, made with furikake seaweed seasoning, sesame oil, rice vinegar and salt, is a dish that is somehow way more than the sum of its parts. It's so good!

Like chai tea, shrimp scampi, naan bread and ghee butter, the title of this dish is repetitive but that’s how it is sometimes in English when the words are foreign. My excuse is that this recipe is adapted from one in New York Times Cooking and yamisuki addictive cabbage is what they called it. 

Yamitsuki means addictive in Japanese so this cabbage is doubly addictive by name, if not in practice. We did love it but to say it is addictive would be a bit much. 

That said, I served it as a side dish with rich, fatty pan-fried salmon and it ably served the purpose it does in Japan at an izakaya – the Japanese equivalent of a pub – where yamitsuki cabbage is said to be a refreshing palate cleanser to balance other richer, fattier foods you might be eating. 

Yamitsuki Addictive Cabbage

As mentioned above, this recipe is adapted from one on New York Times Cooking. 

If you can’t find Taiwanese flathead or Napa cabbage, substitute what fresh green cabbage is available to you. I used Hispi cabbage also known as pointy cabbage.

Ingredients

For the cabbage:

1 lb or 450g cabbage (about ½ head)

1 tablespoon fine sea salt

For the dressing:

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 cloves garlic, finely grated

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

For seasoning and garnish:

1 tablespoon furikake seaweed seasoning, or more to taste 

This is made up of nori (seaweed), toasted black and white sesame seeds, salt and sugar.

Method

Remove any wilted leaves from the cabbage. Halve the cabbage through its core and remove the solid white heart of one half. Wrap the other half up and save for another recipe.

Rip the leaves of the cabbage into rough 1 ¼-inch square pieces. Any really thick bits, like the ribs, can be cut out and sliced thinly.

Wash and drain the pieces of the cabbage in a salad spinner in the sink. 

Put the cabbage pieces in a very large bowl and sprinkle them with 1 tablespoon fine sea salt, then crunch and scrunch the leaves with your hands, making sure they’re all separated, well mixed in with the salt, and beginning to soften. Let the salted cabbage sit for 10 minutes.

While the cabbage sits, finely grate the garlic into a smooth paste into a small bowl. 

Whisk the sesame oil, ⅛ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper into the bowl with the garlic.

After 10 minutes, the cabbage should be slightly wilted and taste slightly salty. Test a leaf by rinsing it under running water and tasting it; it should taste like the leaf absorbed some salt. (If not, let it sit for 10 more minutes and then taste again.) 

Put the cabbage pieces in the salad spinner, rinse off the salt under running water, then spin the cabbage dry. Let it sit until you are ready to dress the salad.

When you’re ready to serve the dish, transfer the cabbage to a serving bowl, add the dressing and use two large spoons (or chopsticks) to toss until coated. 

Sprinkle the salad with the furikake seaweed seasoning, again making sure everything is mixed together.

Sprinkle with a little more furikake seaweed seasoning to garnish. 

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 25th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter Y. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the Y recipes below:

• Dahiwale Aloo Ki Sabzi/Potatoes In Yogurt Sauce from Sneha’s Recipe
• Frozen Yogurt Pie from A Messy Kitchen
• Teriyaki Ahi, Avocado, and Cucumber Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Vegetable Raita | Indian Yogurt Salad from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Yamitsuki Addictive Cabbage from Food Lust People Love
• Yangzhou Fried Rice from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Yellow Mustard Seed Giardiniera Deviled Eggs from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Yemarina Yewotet Dabo (Ethiopian Honey Bread) from Culinary Cam
• Yogurt Cornbread from Jolene’s Recipe Journal

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken 

N. Nocciolata Swirl Meringues 

O. Jersey Octopus Ceviche 

P. Easy Pastina Soup 

Q. Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad 

R. Celeriac Mash with Scallop Roe Butter 

S. Fresh Scallop Sashimi 

T. Roasted Chicken Thighs with Stuffing 

U. Umeboshi Calamansi Lime Juice

V. Mirabelle Plum Vodka 

W. Welsh Rarebit Potatoes with Cavolo Nero 

X. Homemade XO Sauce 

Y. Yamitsuki Addictive Cabbage – this post! 

Pin this Yamitsuki Addictive Cabbage! 

.

Tiny Batch Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins #MuffinMonday

These tiny batch whole wheat blueberry muffins are perfect when you just need three tender, sweet fruity muffins for breakfast or snack time. 

I must confess that when Muffin Monday comes around these days I struggle to find motivation to bake. It’s not that I don’t have a ton of ideas still. Far from it. Muffins are so versatile – sweet, savory or some combination of both - that I don’t think I’ll ever run out of ideas! 

The problem is that with just two of us at home we just don’t eat enough muffins. Back when my husband was working, I’d send in extras for him to share with his colleagues. I do still share with friends and neighbors but now I have a single lady living next door and she’s not a big eater. As I said, it’s a struggle. 

Hence my tiny batch this month and I’m wondering if it’s time to give up Muffin Mondays in the New Year. It might be time. 

Tiny Batch Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

This recipe makes three regular sized muffins. I baked them in silicone muffin cups rather than using a half empty six-cup muffin pan but that will work too. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup or 60g whole wheat flour

1/4 cup or 50g sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 large egg white, at room temperature

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 tablespoons full-fat sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup or 45g fresh or frozen blueberries

Method

Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C. Line three muffin cups of a standard 6-cup  muffin pan with paper liners, or use silicone muffins cups on a baking pan. 

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 

Add in the blueberries and toss to coat. 

In another bowl, whisk the melted butter, egg white, sour cream (or yogurt), and vanilla extract. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and fold until combined and no streaks of flour remain. 

Divide the batter evenly between the three prepared muffin cups. 

Bake the muffins for 5 minutes in your preheated oven, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F or 180°C. 

Continue baking until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes more.

Place the muffins on a cooling rack and allow them to cool slightly before removing.

Enjoy!

It’s the last Monday of the month which means it’s Muffin Monday! Check out the links to the recipes my blogger friends and I are sharing today. 

• Banana Cranberry Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Fig Muffins with Creamy Goat Cheese Filling from A Messy Kitchen
• Pumpkin Apple Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Seeded Rye Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Tiny Batch Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins from Food Lust People Love

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page. 

Pin these Tiny Batch Whole Wheat

Blueberry Muffins!

.

Confit Turkey Thighs

A delicious alternative to roast turkey, serving just a few people, these succulent confit turkey thighs have crispy skin and melt-in-your mouth meat.

Just a few months ago, I was looking for a roast pheasant recipe only to discover that, much like a whole turkey, if you roast a whole pheasant, you often end up overcooking the breast to get the thighs cooked. If you read my roast pheasant crown post, you know that I decided to separate the parts and cook them separately, choosing to confit the whole legs.

That’s because once you cook something with the confit method, you will want to confit all the things. Duck legs, pork belly, garlic, chicken gizzards, even tomatoes! I’ve cooked them all covered in oil or fat. I’ve even poached wild salmon in butter, which is essentially what the confit method is: Poaching something slowly in fat or oil.

So last Thanksgiving when I found myself with only three eaters to cook turkey dinner for, my thoughts, as per usual, turned to confit. I decided on turkey thighs because we do love the crispy skin and smaller joints like legs and wings don’t really have one big piece of skin to crisp up or, frankly, as much meat to share. 

I already bought my turkey thighs to repeat this dish for Thanksgiving this year and I can hardly wait. It’s that good! 

Confit Turkey Thighs

This recipe is easily doubled or trebled, if you have the right pot and enough duck fat. If you don't have duck fat, you can use another animal fat like goose fat, lard, or schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), or mild vegetable oils such as olive oil, canola oil or peanut oil. Keep in mind that some fats might change the flavor of the confit compared to the traditional duck fat method.

Ingredients

2 turkey thighs, bone-in, skin on – approx. weight = 1.87 lbs

Flakey sea salt – I like Maldon

Poultry seasoning

Freshly ground black pepper

2 bay leaves

Duck fat to cover in tightfitting pan or Dutch oven – I used 3 3/4 cups or 887ml

Method

Generously season the turkey thighs all over with the salt, poultry seasoning and black pepper in a shallow pan or casserole that will fit in your refrigerator. Tuck the bay leaves under the thighs and cover with cling film.

Refrigerate 24 hours or as many as 48 hours. 

When ready to confit the turkey thighs, preheat your oven to a slow 300°F or 150°C.  

Wipe the salt off gently with a paper towel and dry the thighs. Put them into a close-fitting oven safe pan or Dutch oven.  

Warm the duck fat gently if it is solidified.

Pour the duck fat over the turkey thighs to cover. They look like they are sticking out but there is a very thin layer of fat over the top. 

Bake at this gentle temperature for at least 3 hours. Remove from the oven and use a slotted spoon to put the thighs in a snug storage container with a lid. Pour the duck fat from the cooking pan over the thighs to cover. 

When chilled, the fat covering will protect the turkey thighs. 

These confit turkey thighs can be kept, carefully covered, in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them. As long as they are completely submerged in the duck fat and they are in an airtight container, they can last months. Confit is a great make-ahead dish.

To serve, bring the duck fat to room temperature and pour it off the turkey thighs. (Save it in a clean jar in the refrigerator for future use!)

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C. 

Brown the thighs skin side down in a hot pan. This just takes a few minutes.

Turn the thighs over and brown the other side. 

Bake the thighs, skin side up, in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. You can do this in an empty pan but last Thanksgiving, I popped them on top of the pan of stuffing since that needed to be baked as well. It was a good decision!

Baked and just out of the oven

To serve, remove the crispy skin and cut it into strips. Pull the turkey apart into large pieces. Discard the bones. Put the turkey in a serving bowl, surrounded by the skin so people can help themselves to both. 

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are acknowledging that not everyone has a crowd to cook for during the holidays. So, for those folks, we are sharing some holiday main courses with fewer diners in mind. Check out the links below. 

• Bacon-Wrapped Sirloin Tip Roast from Palatable Pastime
• Confit Turkey Thighs from Food Lust People Love
• Dry Brined Roast Turkey Breast from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Milk-Braised Pork Loin with Carrot Sauce from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Nawabi Mutton Biryani with Burani Boondi Raita from Sneha's Recipe
• Roasted Lemon, Herb & Lavender Spatchcocked Chicken from Culinary Cam
• Stuffed Pork Loin Roast from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Stuffed Turkey Breast with Gravy from Karen's Kitchen Stories

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

Pin these Confit Turkey Thighs!

.