Only recently have I discovered an appreciation for cabbage. I suppose I grew up with the mind-set of "it's green and smells, therefore it must not taste good." I felt the same way back then about Brussels Sprouts, beet greens and asparagus.

Cabbage stuffed with beef, zucchini and herbs is a hearty dish that showcases the flavor of each ingredient, without loosing the integrity and texture of the cabbage. Cabbage, packed with vitamins K and C is also fairly inexpensive in a time where grocery bills have increased greatly.

When choosing cabbage, the heavier the better, but stay away from heads of cabbage with extra, giant leaves on the outside. Make sure the head doesn't give, as well, as that can be a sign of interior rot.

While I would describe myself as an adventurous eater, I also have to admit that my palate has some definite blind spots. Basically, there are a few tastes that I've never experienced, simply because they've never crossed my plate. This year, my wife and I joined a CSA, which means that we are now trying to figure out what to do with a wide variety of exciting and unfamiliar vegetables.

A couple of weeks ago, we got our first napa cabbage. I'm sure that I've eaten napa before, but I've never really prepared it, and I wanted to do something beyond the obvious. After a little searching, my wife and I came up with a recipe that used napa cabbage as a salad base for filet mignons cooked with shiitakes and mizuna, but the idea of spending $40 on ingredients to make a dish in which napa was an afterthought struck us as a little silly. One night, however, I was making bulgoki and looking for a vegetable accompaniment. As I am not a huge fan of kimchi, and we wanted something on the cool side, I decided to mix up a napa salad. After looking over a few Asian slaw recipes and thinking about how I was going to taste-match with the bulgoki, I put this together. It's tasty, light, colorful, and easy to make. Best of all, it makes a great side for bulgoki!

Now if I can only figure out what to do with all the kale that I got from the CSA...

Napa Salad
1 medium-sized head napa cabbage, cleaned and thinly sliced
2 red bell peppers, cored, cleaned, and julienned
2 Bosc pears, peeled, cored, cleaned and julienned
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
Juice of 3 limes
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
salt to taste

Mix vinegar, lime juice, ginger, sesame oil, sugar, and salt together in a cup or bowl. Combine remaining ingredients and toss with vinegar lime dressing. Serve immediately.