Patriotic cabbages

On my way to work this morning I passed this truck piled high with cabbages. So?  Well, this means winter's coming. Traditionally, the first week is when this staple of winter foods is bulk-delivered to Beijingers, for storage in gardens or on balconies. Up until recently, it was one of the last vegetables the state still subsidized and many older people still eat it out of a sort of nostalgic civic duty. The young are less enamoured. Nevertheless, it's still a mainstay of northern China's winter home-cooking. In addition to using cabbage in soups, salads, stir-fried dishes, Mongolian hot pots and dumpling fillings, it's  converted it into kimchi and sauerkraut, which are easier to store.