Even if there aren’t parades, big barbecues, parties, or other typical large gatherings to attend this year, you can still make burgers or chicken or hot dogs on the grill, and you’ll need a slaw to go with them.
Our good pal Bubbie Lehigh in Eastport sent this one along with many helpful comments. She reports that this recipe, from a cookbook called “The Uncommon Cookbook,” which she found second-hand and doesn’t have anymore, is tied for favorite place with Marj Standish’s Garden House Slaw. She copied it down in case the cookbook vanished, she said, which is exactly what happened.
Bubbie raised good points about what constitutes a “large” cabbage, and “a little” green pepper or grated carrot as called for in the original recipe. Curious minds want to know. Large, of course, is a relative thing comparing one cabbage to another. Because the old recipe was written in those terms, she suggested that four cups of shredded cabbage was probably a good amount for the proportion of dressing the recipe called for.
I like doing things according to taste and supply. For example, I don’t have any green peppers right now and since I don’t like them that much anyway, “a little” in my book would be hardly any. I used red. And after I mixed the dressing, I put on only as much as I like and saved the rest for another time. (Or if I thought I needed more, I’d mix it up and make a note to make more the next time. You can see how that goes.)
P.S. Speaking of dressings, Beth Chamberlain sent along a dressing recipe for an orzo salad that she put on the lentil and orzo salad offered here last week.
Here it is, in case you want to try it out: 3/4 cup canola oil, 1/2 cup rice or cider vinegar, grated rind from large orange (squeeze in some juice as well), 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 cloves of garlic crushed, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon pepper, salt to taste. Mix well and toss salad with it.
Beth said, “My salad recipe has golden raisins and cilantro, in addition to veggies. Will add lentils next time I make it. A perfect dinner, with a slice of bread or a muffin on a hot summer night.” Many thanks to Beth for sharing that one.
Cole Slaw
Serves 4-6
4 cups shredded cabbage
3 scallions or ¼ cup finely chopped red onion
¼ of a green onion, or to taste, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, or to taste, grated
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup sugar
3-4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Toss the cabbage, scallions or onion, pepper, and carrots together in a large bowl.
Put the mayonnaise, sour cream, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper in another bowl and whisk together until smooth.
Pour dressing over the cabbage mixture, tossing until the slaw is well-coated.