Whole 30 - Coleslaw with Snow Pea Pods, Raisins and Almonds

Since being on Whole 30 I've been more careful about reading labels. I'm shocked at how much sugar, dairy and grains sneak into our cooking under various names. These ingredients are all approved for the plan.

Finely slice about 1/3 of a large head of green cabbage and 1/4 medium head of purple cabbage into a large bowl. Add 1 large shredded carrot, 5 or 6 chopped green onions, some sliced crispy snow pea pods, 3/4c golden raisins, 2±oz. toasted slivered almonds.

In a little bowl, whisk together: 1/2-3/4c mayonnaise, 3T red wine vinegar, 3T dijon mustard, a sprinkle of Himalayan pink salt and some black and cayenne pepper.

Pour over the vegetables, toss, refrigerate an hour or so to blend the flavors before serving. This is good by itself or as a compliment to just about anything that needs a little freshness, protein and crunch. . .Lin

Clean Out The 'Fridge Coleslaw

2/3c apple cider vinegar

1/2c EVOO

2T turbinado sugar

1/2t fresh ground black pepper

1/2t garlic salt

1/2t dry dill

Whisk all this together in a 2 quart pot. Bring to a boil, whisking until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat.

1/4 head of cabbage

3 floppy carrots

1/4 sweet onion

2 red mini peppers

2 tired stalks celery

Scrub the carrots then soak a while in ice water. Lay them on the counter to peel. Slice or chop all the vegetables then stir into the dressing. Cover and let stand 5-10 minutes.

Stir, strain, discard the dressing - or save it for a salad.

Put the coleslaw in a covered container, chill in the 'fridge. This goes well with a hot, heavier dish to balance the richness. . .Lin

My Version of KFC Coleslaw

 

In a big glass bowl whisk together then set aside:

3T sugar

2T lemon juice

1/2c mayonnaise

2T white Balsamic vinegar

1/2c cold fresh water

3-4T buttermilk powder

salt and pepper

To the dressing, add the chopped vegetables, mix well then cover and chill several hours.

8c chopped green cabbage

1½c chopped purple cabbage

1 lg. chopped carrot

3-4 sliced green onions

Serve with burgers, grilled chicken, meatloaf. . .Just about anything! . .Lin

Peanut-Craisin Vegetable Curry

3 stalks celery (save tops for later)

2 big carrots

1 medium 'winter' onion

2T coconut oil

Chop the 'mirepoix' and sauté over medium heat, in a 5 quart pan for a few minutes.

Chop and add the rest of the vegetables shown in the second photo except the tomatoes. Note that I opted for fresh Campari tomatoes instead of the canned shown in the first photo →

Colorful mini bell peppers, 4 med. red potatoes, 5 lg. cloves garlic, 2 big purple shallots, 1½# green cabbage, 1 lg. brown radish

Seasonings: 3±T mild curry paste, ¼t cayenne pepper, 1t fresh ground black pepper, 1t salt, 1t sugar, 1-2T ground cumin.

Add 2c cold fresh water and simmer on low heat until the carrots are tender. Meanwhile, put a covered steamer basket over the pot once it begins to simmer.

Add tomatoes and steam for 3 minutes. Plunge them immediately in a big bowl of ice water. The skins will now peel off easily. Core and peel them, then dice and add to the pot along with the celery greens. 

You can also add 1c roasted-salted peanuts and 1c chopped dried fruit: craisins, apricots, prunes, or golden raisins, or even chopped apple if you'd like. Today it was craisins.

Continue simmering for a total of an hour or so. Stir in 1 can of coconut milk, or coconut cream. Stir, then bring back to a low simmer for just a few minutes before serving. Perfect for a crisp fall day. . .Lin

Spiced-Pickled Vegetables

To start, I used 3/4 of that monster cabbage. The leftover piece was 1-1/2#, so I'm thinking there's about 2 pounds of green cabbage in this recipe! I also added carrots, celery, radishes, garlic, onion, poblano pepper. Use whatever you have, that you'd like to pickle. My pickled vegetables are always heavy on cabbage, because I love it! You can go with any proportions you want, they're your vegetables, do what you like, in cooking, recipes should only be a guideline!

When the vegetables are sliced, cubed or chopped, put them in a big stainless or glass bowl and salt them with a heaping tablespoon of salt. Gently stir, mix this around every so often for at least an hour. Notice how great they smell! While the vegetables are salting, mix up the brine in a 6-8 quart pot.

BRINE:

3c white vinegar

3c fresh cold water

1/2c white balsamic vinegar

1c light brown sugar

make a bouquet garni with 2t of each spice/herb in a coffee filter or a piece of paper towel. Staple to close:

black peppercorns

whole cloves

dry dill

2 cut-up bay leaves

After an hour, you'll notice the salt has pulled lots of excess liquid out of the vegetables. This will make them crisper. Rinse and drain them well. Bring the brine to a simmer, add the spices, simmer a few minutes then turn off the heat for 15 minutes. Bring back to a simmer, remove the spices and add the vegetables.  Stir to mix and give each piece a good bath. After this comes to a simmer again, ladle everything into clean jars and seal with hot lids. If the seals hold, they will keep for many months in the pantry. If not, refrigerate and use within a month or so.

Once the jars were filled, I still had lots of brine left which I could use or throw out.  I sliced the rest of the cabbage, salted it for an hour, drained, rinsed then simmered it in the brine for a minute before filling a quart jar with just the sliced pickled cabbage and brine. All my jars sealed. .😁. .Happy Pickling. . .Lin

Peanut-Craisin Coleslaw

• ½c mayonnaise
• ½c white balsamic vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic - mashed and minced
• ¾c honey roasted peanuts
• ½c craisins
• salt and pepper

• 1 sm. green cabbage
• ⅓ med. purple cabbage
• 1 celery heart w/greens
• 2-3 green onions
• 2 mini peppers
• ½ med. onion 
• 1 carrot

In a medium glass bowl, whisk the mayonnaise and vinegar together. Add the garlic, craisins, peanuts, salt and pepper. Slice-chop all the vegetables and add them to the bowl. Toss everything together and chill an hour or so to blend the flavors before serving.

This goes great with grilled chicken, fish, sandwiches, or just a big bowl of it, all by itself. . .Lin

My Favorite Coleslaw

⅔ lg. head of green cabbage

½ med. head of purple cabbage

4 green onions - sliced thin

1 lg. carrot - shredded

½ c sliced or slivered almonds

⅓ c craisins

⅓ c salad vinegar

½ c poppy seed dressing

½ t ground black pepper

a sprinkle of sea salt

¾-1 t dry dill weed

My sister got me started on this dressing.  She likes it on regular salads.  I ate it that way a couple times, but it was a little sweet.  Then, I realized. . .This would be a PERFECT coleslaw dressing!!  I've tied others, even those called Coleslaw Dressing that look similar, but they're not as good.  One I also like, if you can't find the Brianna's brand, is Kraft's Poppy Seed Dressing, but lately I haven't seen it in the grocery store.  Meanwhile, no more experimenting.  I won't mess with 'perfect!'

Slice the cabbage really thin, into a big glass bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients, toss, add dressing - made separately, or just added to the vegetables.  Toss well again and chill a half hour before serving.  I didn't think I had almonds or craisins but wanted to make this anyway.  I stopped for a couple minutes, did a quick search, and found them after I took the initial picture.  They add good crunch and sweetness.

This is such a nice, simple cabbage salad!  It goes well with a heavier, hot main dish.  The temperature and flavor contrast creates a nice balance.  Hope you like this one as much as I do. . .Lin

Asian Chopped Salad

This turned out well, but the dressing started out a bit mild.  I didn't have one that felt like it would be a good option alone, so I worked around the one shown, adding things I felt were needed.  I have Newman's Own Sesame Ginger, but it seemed that would be too strong.  In the end, what this taught me is, with all these cut surfaces, the vegetables are porous.  They absorb the dressing, and, as it marinates, the strong bite is neutralized.  After a couple hours, it seemed the salad needed a little kick, so I added some Newman's Sesame Ginger, which seemed to put everything in a better balance.  

So, if you have a strong Asian dressing that you like, you'd probably be safe using it.  It won't seem as strong as it would on a regular tossed salad.  A friend of mine makes a great kale salad.  She uses Ken's Steak House brand, lite 'Asian Sesame with Ginger and Soy'.   I'll try that one next.

The salad ingredients, and amounts, are pretty straight forward as shown here.  Starting at the upper left, going clockwise, I used: celery, Brussel's sprouts, radishes, 2 mini orange peppers, kale, a 1½" cross-section of a small purple cabbage, and ½ the medium sweet onion.

⅓c tahini dressing

2T toasted sesame oil - (brown, not clear)

1T rice wine vinegar

1T honey

1T toasted garlic

3T Newman's Sesame Ginger dressing

Measure these into a small glass bowl.  Microwave for 30 seconds, then whisk well before pouring over salad.  Toss to coat evenly, then cover and refrigerate 2 hours before serving.  This is good stuff! 😊 Lin

Crunchy Almond Cabbage Salad

½c white balsamic vinegar

2T toasted sesame oil

¼c avocado oil

½t black pepper

1-2t sugar

½ ramen seasoning package

⅓ finely chopped purple cabbage

½ finely sliced green cabbage

3 sliced green onions

1c matchstick carrots

⅔c sliced almonds

1 pkg. Asian ramen noodles

In a medium glass bowl, whisk together the first group of ingredients until the sugar dissolves.  Add the vegetable-ramen group, toss, cover and chill an hour to let the flavors blend and the noodles soften a bit before serving. . .Lin

Red, Green and Purple Steamed Vegetables

½ lg. head green cabbage

½ med. head purple cabbage

1 red beet - scrub-don't peel

1 scarlet turnip - scrub-don't peel

1c water

1t of each of the spices shown

1t fresh ground garlic sea salt

1 bunch beet greens-(slice) + stems-(chop)

½ med. yellow onion - chopped

⅓ lg. red bell pepper - sliced

2-3t spicy coriander (cilantro) chutney

3-4T basil pesto

⅓ bunch fresh cilantro - leaves + stems - chopped

Cube the cabbage into 1" pieces.  Slice, chop the beet and turnip.  If you use turnip of any kind, slice-chop small, mine didn't cook quite enough and were chewy.  Rinse the chopped beet in a strainer.  This will minimize the amount of discoloration of the lighter vegetables.  Add water and seasonings, cover and steam (once you hear the water boiling) for 15 minutes.  Add the next group of ingredients and a little more water if needed, when this begins to steam again, continue steaming for another 15 minutes.

Sprinkle on the cilantro, cover and remove from the heat for 10 minutes.  Stir and serve.  This is a really healthy vegetable dish.  Mmmm have I mentioned How Much I Love Vegetables!!  This would be perfect by itself, with maybe a sprinkle of panko breadcrumbs and grated hard cheese.  It would also be good with grilled steak, chicken or fish. (or, with leftover ahi tuna meatloaf 😋). . .Lin

A Simple Kimchi

1 med.-lg. green cabbage

⅓-½ med. purple cabbage
6 lg. green onions

3 med. carrots

⅓c Himalayan pink salt

Thinly slice the cabbage, onions and carrots into a large bowl.  Salt everything and massage it into the vegetables.  Let stand for 2 hours.  Add 10 cups of water and massage again to be sure all the vegetables are well coated and covered with the salted water.  Keep vegetables submerged with a heavy glass plate.  Put in a cool spot on your countertop or 'fridge for 24 hours.

1½T finely ground red pepper

1½" cube of peeled ginger

6-8 large cloves garlic

¼c bottled fish sauce

2t sugar

Drain the vegetables in a large colander and rinse well.  Let drain while mixing the sauce ingredients.  Finely chop the garlic and ginger then combine vegetables and sauce, mixing well with your hands in the large bowl that was washed and dried.  Fill vented kimchi jars with the mixture and refrigerate.  This is best after being chilled a week or so.  It's fermented, so it will keep a long time in the refrigerator. . .Lin    

Ajvar Cabbage with Spaghetti Squash

1 med. spaghetti squash

Cut in half, scoop out the seeds, place face down on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  Pour a little water over the squash halves then bake 45 minutes at 375° - flip over, slit each half lengthwise through the squash, and set aside.

1-2T butter

3 cloves garlic minced

1 sm. - med. chopped onion

fresh ground pepper

fresh ground garlic salt

1T aged balsamic vinegar

¾ lg. or 1 med. green cabbage

1c cooking liquid

1c ajvar

1T sugar

4oz. coconut milk - optional

Saute' the next group of ingredients until the onion is a little translucent.  Add the cabbage and liquid.  You can use water, vegetable broth, adding a little white wine for part of it.  Today I made a big pot of Jasmine Green Tea and thought, maybe that would be worth a try!  Be creative!  You never know when something odd will become a favorite cooking trick!  Cover and simmer this for 20-30 minutes, then add the spaghetti squash, ajvar, sugar (and coconut milk).  Stir, reduce heat, cover and simmer another 15 minutes.

You could add chopped nuts, pine nuts, a ½c panko bread crumbs at the very end, as well as a sprinkle of grated parmesan just before serving. . .Lin

This Scandinavian Woman's Crunchy Colorful Kimchi

3# green cabbage

1# purple cabbage

½c salt

2 yellow sweet peppers

1 lg. red bell pepper

1 Anaheim pepper

1 lg. leek

8 radishes

2 med. carrots

1/2 purple onion

2 bunches green onions

2t sugar

¼c fish sauce

1½" cube of ginger

8-10 lg. cloves of garlic

2T finely ground red pepper

I don't think 'Scandinavian Kimchi' is really a thing. . .it's just My Thing!  I'm 62% Scandinavian, and I love Kimchi.  For me though, the traditional Korean style is WAAAY too hot for me.  After buying MANY jars of a really mild, crunchy, flavorful version at the Duluth, Northern Smoke House, I decided to create my own 😉 Mine has way more ingredients than any of the other I've tried, but I think they each bring something special to the mix. 

Thinly slice the cabbage into a huge bowl.  Sprinkle on the salt and massage it in.  Let stand for 2 hours then cover with 10c of cold water.  Stir this around with your hands to be sure the salt is evenly distributed.  Using a big glass plate, invert it over the cabbage and weigh it down.  Leave it like this - on your counter if it's cool in your kitchen, or cover and put in the refrigerator - for 24 hours.

Next, either the same day or about 12 hours later, slice the vegetables into another huge bowl.  Mix up the last group of ingredients, for the sauce.  Finely mince the ginger and garlic, and pour the spicy sauce over the colorful vegetables.  Stir gently with a wooden spoon, or if this is in a big Tupperware-type bowl with a tight fitting lid, be sure the lid is well sealed and 'burped', then shake and flip it around until all the vegetables are well covered.  Do that occasionally, until it's time to combine them with the cabbage.

After 24 hours, drain and rinse the cabbage very well, in a large colander.  Shake off the excess water and blot with a clump of paper towels.  Add the cabbage to the marinating vegetables.  Combine well and then fill your Kimchi jars.  Leave the jars sealed for 24 hours, in a cool dry place, then refrigerate for at least 48 hours before serving.  The Kimchi will have much better flavor if it's allowed to ferment in the refrigerator for a week or so.

If you're unsure of what vegetables to include in your mix, pick apart and examine a good brand of grocery store Kimchi, or one you like at an Asian restaurant and use that as your guide.  Have fun with this!  It's a fun, creative process, and Kimchi is so good and healthy.  Last time I made this I found I was adding it to salads, sandwiches, over meat, and a lot of times just a nice bowl of it, by itself.  Be Creative!  Happy Cooking!! . . .😀. . .Lin

Quick Crunchy Coleslaw

⅓c poppyseed dressing

⅛c white balsamic vinegar

¼-½t black and cayenne pepper

a couple grinds of Himalayan pink salt

⅓ medium head of purple cabbage

½ medium head of green cabbage

1 med. white onion

1 med.-lg. carrot
(golden raisins or craisins and chopped almonds are also a great addition)

Poppyseed dressing is my favorite to use for coleslaw. However, I didn't want this too sweet, so I added the other ingredients to balance that. Whisk the dressing ingredients in a medium glass bowl. Finely chop the cabbage and onion into the bowl, add the grated carrot, toss, chill an hour or so, toss again and serve. . .Lin

Sour Cream Cabbage

1 med. - lg. head of cabbage

2T butter

½-1c sour cream

red and black pepper
seasoned salt - or - 

pink Himalayan salt

Cut the cabbage into cubes.  Steam in a little water in a covered 3qt. pot.  When the cabbage is cooked the way you like it, drain any excess water and add the remaining ingredients.  Simmer another 10 minutes, or longer, if needed.

I just love cabbage.  I like it raw (in salads and cole slaw), fermented (in kimchi or sauerkraut), cooked. . .any way at all.  This makes a great side dish to serve with chicken, fish, or meatloaf (and garlic mashed potatoes!)  If you add some pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, for a little protein, it becomes a vegetarian main dish.  Sprinkle on some parmesan cheese for an added burst of flavor. . .Lin

For The Love Of Kimchi!!! - A Scandinavian Woman's Kimchi Adventure!!!

3# mixed cabbage - Purple, Napa and Green

¾c sea salt or Kosher salt

Cut the cabbage into quarters then slice.  Sprinkle with salt and work it in with your hands in a LARGE plastic or glass bowl.  Let this stand an hour or two before adding water.  Cover with 8-12c of water for 12-24 hours, weighing down the vegetables - to keep them submerged - with a heavy plate.

2 lg. carrots - julienne sliced

8oz. daicon radish - julienne sliced

1 bunch green onions - diagonally sliced

1 lg. leak cut into cross-sections and rings

½ Anaheim pepper - sliced

¼-½c finely chopped fresh ginger
½c finely minced fresh garlic
¼c fish sauce
2T finely crushed red pepper
2t granulated sugar

You can do this second batch of vegetables the same day, or wait till the next day.  I opted for the same day and to let them all 'marinate' together in a plastic bag in the 'fridge.  😊  Be forewarned however, the Anaheim peppers can be quite hot on your hands!  I've had problems with this in the past with some really aggressive Banana Peppers I grew years ago.  The pain of the heat lasted for days!  I didn't think Anaheim's were strong enough to cause discomfort, but I was wrong. . . 😡  When you chop peppers, it's always best to put liquid soap on your hands afterward.  Don't dilute it at all, just rub it in.  It has an emulsifying effect on the pepper oils that doesn't happen when you add water.  Work it in well, then rinse with warm water.  That should take care of the problem.  (do as I say, not as I do 😊 - profit from my bad experiences 😉) 

After 24 hours, rinse and drain the cabbage mixture very well.  Repeating several times.  Combine both bowls of vegetables and fill your jars.  This only made 3 quarts of Kimchi.  It needs to be tamped - packed down very well into the jars.  I bought special lids that let the gasses out as the Kimchi is fermenting.  There are ways around this, but I didn't want to hear glass jars breaking at 2 in the morning, so I went the easy route.

Leave the jars sealed for 24 hours in a cool dry place.  Then open to be sure the gas is escaping, recap and refrigerate for at least 48 hours.  The Kimchi will be more flavorful if it's allowed to ferment in the refrigerator a week or so.  Have fun with this!!!  This recipe is so inclusive of all the things I like in Kimchi, that I'm pretty sure it won't change much.  Possibly the amounts of garlic, ginger and red pepper will be adjusted a little, but that's about it.  I love the mix of vegetables I used for this. . .Lin 

A Power Salad

¼ sm. head of red cabbage

⅓ med. Vidalia onion

a few crunchy radishes 

1 med.-lg. mini English cucumber

Feta cheese

a little poppyseed dressing

sunflower seeds, slivered almonds, etc.

Combine all the chopped vegetables in a big bowl.  Use just a little dressing, add some great seeds, sprouts, nuts, a little seasoned salt and pepper. . .etc.

This salad is worth its weight in gold!! . . . Lin

5 Ingredient Lettuce-Vegetable Mix

Shown in Salad Spinner Bowl—>

2 romaine hearts

a big handful of fresh spinach

1/3 med. head of cabbage

1 med. sweet onion

1 fat carrot - scrubbed

Slice the romaine lengthwise, then make 1½" crosscuts.  Put this in your salad spinner, rinse, soak then drain and spin until dry.  The salad spinner shown is a priceless find!  It's a Progressive brand spinner and is under $10 at Bed Bath and Beyond as well as Walmart!!  I've tried others over the years, mine as well as friends.  You can spend anywhere from $10 - $100 on one, and you'll have a hard time finding one you like better than this!  Such a bargain!

With Feta Cheese, Capers & Tomatoes

Almonds, Beans & Tomatoes Added

In a large bowl, or the bowl from your salad spinner, combine this with the spinach; either left whole, or sliced a little; the slice-chopped cabbage, quarter-sliced onion, and julienned pieces of the carrot.   

With Beans, Capers, Cauliflower

Toss this, grab a handful, and it's ready.  By itself, with your favorite dressing, or add any and all of your favorite accouterments: chopped tomato, avocado, capers, artichokes, chopped mini-English cucumber, cashews, black beans or garbanzos, sunflower seeds, cheese, croutons, or. . .whatever strikes your fancy.  😉  Here are three big salads I've made with this salad mix in the last couple days.  There's still enough for one or two more.  I also added canned corn and feta to the last one!  So good!  And healthy, but NOT low carbs or calories.  Have Fun-Be Creative-Happy Cooking! . .Lin