A Melted Cabbage Journey: Saying No to Cheap Dopamine. Recipes4Survival Lives

Recently, I heard neuroscientist Emily McDonald share something that stopped me in my tracks on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast: one major reason we get stuck in procrastination is because we’re “chasing cheap dopamine.”

It’s that quick-hit comfort—constant snacking, scrolling, or little rewards—that keeps us from doing the deeper, more nourishing things that actually leave us feeling accomplished.

For me, my version of cheap dopamine was taking myself out to dinner… Even when I could’ve been home working on personal projects that truly matter to me—and eating just as beautifully.

That’s where Recipes 4 Survival continues to show up as something constant and grounding in my life. More than a job, more than a routine—it fulfills me in a way that’s hard to describe until you’ve felt it yourself.

And this dish, melted cabbage, is the perfect example.

It’s simple, economical, and deeply comforting—and the joy and sense of accomplishment I get from making it far exceeds anything I would’ve had to forage for in the bitter cold anyway.

Now, don’t get me wrong: I absolutely believe in treating yourself. I love dining out, and when I do, I order whatever I wouldn’t make at home.

But if you’re thinking, “Sure, you can cook like this because you’re a chef,” I promise—I can coach you in a way that makes cooking at home feel not only doable but genuinely empowering.

So let’s get into it.

This is a fabulous one-pan dish: silky, oven-finished cabbage wedges with a bold tahini–balsamic–quince dressing. No fancy knife skills, no fuss — just a beautiful ritual you can make your own.

In this episode:

• choosing to cook at home as an act of self-care
• cutting, searing, and braising cabbage wedges
• building a light bouillon with a little chili heat
• making a tahini–balsamic–quince dressing
• oven timing, glazing, and finishing uncovered
• serving ideas: rice, toasted baguette, or straight from the pan
• reflections on comfort, routine, and mindful eating
• and an open question: nuclear winter vs. global warming

If you have any questions or want more recipes and guidance, visit recipes4survival.com.

MINDFUL MEALS & SUSTAINABLE LIVING - The Art of Living an Elevated Lifestyle 

Transcript

Hello And New Cooking Intention

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi my friends! Um today I'm gonna make that melted cabbage everybody's making. Um you can see how pretty simple it's gonna be. A couple things. I made this little resolution to myself that I was no longer going to eat out by myself because it's like cheap dopamine. I heard this fantastic, you know, neuroscientist on um Jay Sheedy on purpose on his podcast. I'm not doing cheap dopamine and just taking myself to dinner when I'm in not a good mood or by myself, and I'm really doing a lot to get back to recipes for survival and cook at home. So with this melted cabbage, you're gonna just cut the cabbage into wedges. You cut the core out, right? And then in a cast iron, or I don't know what this is, but it's my favorite pan, it's gonna go in the oven. I'm gonna get that up on um, you know, good temperature, and cook that with some oil and salt of de-earth. I have a new blend called Fire and Ice. Of course, I haven't taken a picture of it or gotten it in a bottle, but anybody can have it. I'll get it to you.$8 includes shipping, I hope. Who knows how much shipping is nowadays in the regular mail. So, look, this is what I'm gonna do. Just from having watched everything else online, and then um I will make a broth with vegetable bullion cube that I have. I'll show you. That's just boiling water, and um, I'll probably do that off camera. Um, and then I'll get it in the oven. Probably, I don't know, we'll see, 30 minutes. That I didn't pay attention to. But what I did pay attention to was the you know, dressing and sauce that they put on it. Now, I have this beautiful dressing I made for a dinner party recently. I'm gonna use that, but I'm also craving zucchini. So I'm gonna add some tahini to that dressing, and that's it. I'm gonna let this let's see if you can see it. Yeah, that's all perfect. And then I'll give this like four or five minutes on each side to steer it, and then turn them over another four or five minutes, and in the meantime, I'm gonna bring some water to a boil and get some bullion uh to put in here, and then get it in. Do a 375-degree oven. So we'll be right back with the test if anybody's joining me for melted cabbage. Okay, my friends, so that and I got the bully on it. I actually put a little dry toy top that I have in the stuff. And I turned them over to not waiting out, but I think it's doing it today. Before the broth of that in the oven. I didn't really know how much broth to put in. I think I made about two crops, and I'm gonna put a top on it in the oven. You can see they really go together well. Real set here. I'll make the dressing uh when we come back. I had this very basic vinaigrette that I had, but I had a craving for some tahini. I've put in a good heaping tablespoon of the tahini, and that's gonna really thicken up this dressing. I'm now gonna add some balsamic. That works. Then the wackiest thing of all is I have this jar of quince jam. I'm putting some of this in. So, you know, honey, some maple syrup, maybe um apricot jam. I don't even know how it's gonna taste, but I'm doing it, and that's it. I think that's gonna be my dressing. We'll taste it in a second. And as I mentioned, I definitely put oh my god. That's a delicacy if you ask me. I have made, I have made Quince Jam before. Oh, you know what? Paprika. Definitely paprika in here is gonna be good. Uh, right. So if anybody has any questions, I'm making melted cabbage like eight wedges, seared it in a pan with olive oil and some salt of the earth, seared it on both sides, about four minutes each side. Made a bouillon with some chili peppers in it. Very light. And then put it in the oven at 375, and now we're making the little sauce that's gonna go over it. That's very good. Let's look at the cabbage. It's probably been in the oven about 10 minutes. Shake it around a little bit. Let's see how this looks. Ooh, nice. It's fantastic already. I'm gonna put the dressing on, some of it, and put it in the oven for another five minutes or so without the top on. Oh my god, this is kill our. I don't know if this'll be the perfect dish for a first day. But it's certainly good if you wanted to eat at home and care for yourself. I'm totally into it. I'm gonna put this in the oven and then come back and plate it up. Thank you. Hi my friends! You've gotta see how beautiful this looks right out of the oven. How great is that? It's screaming hot, so of course, please have very good oven mitts. So you can see I'm using this spoon first to dish it out. Oh, I'm so excited. I love recipes for survival and hope you do too. If you have any questions, please check out recipesforvival.com. Oh my god, I'm starving. I finished my red wine last night. So oh actually, I have a good white wine in the house. Some of that right now. Finish that off. It's like a set or two. Let's see how it came out. I'm sure it's screaming hot. That's good. Definitely a little bit of rice with fresh guys or a toaster baguette. And even this works. I'm gonna take a poll here. Does anybody see nuclear winter? Which is, in my mind, the opposite side of the same coin as global warming. I'm so curious. Who else might have thoughts on that? Much love, and we'll speak to you soon, and I hope you see this in a number of different platforms. Thanks for joining me for Recipes for Survival.