It had never occurred to me that one could put cabbage in the rice bowl and see it as part of the set meal!
ご質問ありがとうございます。
"It had never occurred to me that"=「私には~のようなことは考えついたこともありませんでした」
"one could put cabbage in the rice bowl"=「キャベツを茶碗に入れて」
"and see it as part of the set meal!"=「定食の一部としてみるということを!」
ご参考になると幸いです。