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1. Canadian Nationalism: Canada holds a special place in the history of the worldwide domination of Brassica oleracea since it was Jacques Cartier who first brought the plant to the New World. And why not? The cabbage and its variants thrive throughout temperate climates and provide hearty sustenance in cold winters from Korea to Russia to Ireland and on.

2. Multicultivationism: The cabbage is the leading diversity proponent of the vegetable world. Members of the brassica family include (but are by no means restricted to): cabbage, kale, collards, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, mustard, rocket (and/or arugula), watercress, nasturtium, turnips, rapini, bok choy, napa, radish, horseradish, rutabaga and even canola.

3. Caldo Verde: The Portuguese national dish and the best stockless-soup in the world. Here's John Villa's version from David Leite's Culinaria: http://leitesculinaria.com/recipes/port/caldo_verde.html

4. Sautéing: Coating cabbage in a cooking medium, like olive oil, will prevent it from releasing sulphurous compounds as it breaks down in the heat. In other words, it need not smell.

5. Kim Chi: Why would anyone have coleslaw, when you can have Kim Chi, Korea's great gift to the world of condiment? If ever there was a fermented fish dish suitable for the cold Canadian climate this is it! Recently kim chi has been credited with preventing bird flu. Why not?

6.  History: The first records of cabbage eating are fro the ancient Egyptians. The Classical Greeks and in turn the Romans also ate the leafy versions of the cabbage and by 100 AD were reporting bulbous varieties grown in the Northern parts of the Empire bordering the Goths.

7. Hotdogs: Sauerkraut is obviously a cabbage product, but so is mustard, made from the seeds of a type of cabbage plant!

More Gremolata veggies: Arugula vs. Rocket, Beets, Gai Lan, Rapini.