Saturday, February 23, 2008

If Only the BBQ wasn't buried in snow...


After yesterday's oh so decadent chocolate sandwiches that left me sitting around bloated and overstuffed with a happy smile on my face, today is the triumphant return of vegetables! I return to vegetables with perhaps one of the healthiest. Cabbage. Both red and white cabbage too. Double whammy!

Cabbage is a great source of Vitamin C. It's also high in manganese, dietary fiber, folate and vitamin B6. Cabbage is one of those worldwide vegetables. It can be found all over Europe, it's used in cuisines from India and the Orient. It can be eaten boiled, fermented, sauteed, or even raw. Like I did.

I wanted to make a red and green cabbage coleslaw. I guess I just thought it would be pretty. That and Val over at More Than Burnt Toast keeps posting recipes to BBQ. Our BBQ keeps getting snowed in. How weird is it that we have more snow in February than in January? Very odd if you ask me. All this BBQ posting has me in a picnic sort of mood. So I hunted around and found this recipe on Epicurious that I sort of used as my inspiration.

Although I kept having to switch bowls to get one big enough to accommodate the entire salad, it was a fairly easy recipe to make. I personally found it easier to just cut up the cabbage by hand than to use the food processor and spend so much time cleaning it. But I'm sure the food processor would work for this too. The result was this lavish and colorful salad that is super super tasty. It would go great with a burger. Or if you're a vegetable nut like me, a heaping helping is a satisfying lunch!

And since it only used half a head of red cabbage and half a head of green cabbage, expect more cabbage recipes in the very near future. Cabbage starts to lose its vitamin C quickly after being cut.

Multicolored Cabbage Slaw
inspired by Bon Appetit

3 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp minced ginger
1/2 medium head of red cabbage thinly sliced
1/2 small head of green cabbage thinly sliced
1/2 yellow bell pepper cut into thin strips
1/2 red bell pepper cut into thin strips
1 cup precut matchstick carrots strips
4 green onions thinly sliced (green and white parts)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp sesame seeds

In a small bowl mix together vinegar, oils, peanut butter, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, and garlic until combined.

Combine cabbages, peppers, carrots, onions, cilantro and sesame seeds in a very large bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat.

2 comments:

glamah16 said...

Nice balnce betweern healthy and decadent. Love veegies bright with natures colors.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Thanks for the inspiration, I have some cabbage. You always come up with the most delicious and tempting foods :D How have I missed so many posts, have I been hiding under a rock or is it snow. Our snow is gone now...can you believe it....can't wait till Spring!!!!!!!!PS Yhanks for the mention once again you are such a sweetie :D