Purple & Gold, colors of majesty and the name of this recipe which came to me naturally since the ingredients I use are all in the purple and gold color family, I boast Gold in my sur name and my school’s colors. I was a proud member of the Wheeler School GOLD team pride, our mascot is a lion, our nemesis, the purple cows. I must also give myself a little toot of a horn – this recipe was my first published piece – in the ProJo, (That’s the Providence Journal for those not in the know) winning a place in a column for healthy, economical recipes.
Growing up in a diabetic home, square meals and nutrition was very important to my mother and a concern I took to heart. In the late ‘90’s I conceived and developed, Recipe$ 4 $urvival, Utilitarian Cooking and Much More, the highly acclaimed Manhattan Neighborhood Network cult classic cooking show. A graduate of the Natural Gourmet, the Institute for Food & Healing, I consider myself an authority on cost effective, resourceful, efficient and mindful cooking.
One of my favorite recipes to share is my purple & gold COLE SLAW! Feeds many, lasts a long time, it’s D*licious, healthful and it doesn’t break the bank to make.
For the slaw
1 head of purple cabbage – thinly sliced
Kosher or fine sea salt – for softening & to pull water out of the ingredients
1 red/purple onion – thinly sliced
1 Jana Gold apple – diced
golden raisins – re-hydrated
For the dressing:
1 C – fine quality, preferably organic olive oil – mayonnaise
1/4 C – Mirin, rice or apple cider vinegar
Splash – 1/4 C orange, apple or pineapple juice
2T honey or maple syrup
Salt & Pepper
WHAT 2 DO:
I start by CUTTING THE SLAW:
Tear off and discard the tough outer layer leaves of the cabbage.
With a sharp knife cut the bottom of the cabbage off to give you a stable surface from which to work & slice, then cut the head in half. Lay one half of the cabbage head flat on the cutting board and cut in half which will give you two quarters.
Starting from the top of a quartered section, not the root/stem end, THINLY SLICE – methodically across the cabbage section. If you don’t like slicing with a knife a simple mandolin works beautifully and the slaw can be made in a matter of minutes.
Cut as close to the stem keeping in mind the cabbage
is tougher and quite spicy the closer you get to the stem. Each time you cut a section of the cabbage add it to the bowl and sprinkle with a few good pinches of salt. I found that 1/2 a cabbage had was certainly enough for a few days. Once you’ve shaved, sliced or grated the amount of cabbage you want and salted let this stand in the refrigerator for at least a 1/2 hour then drain the liquid out. You may want to dry hand fulls with paper towel at this point
The slaw will now hold the dressing better and help to avoid liquid building up as the slaw marries its flavors.
For DRESSING
Put the mayonnaise in a mixing bowl.
Thin the mayo out with the orange juice, the mirin or the vinegar of your choice honey or maple syrup.
SIDENOTE: If you’re ever in a pinch to make this dressing adding a 1/4C of bread & butter pickle vinegar is fantastic for this dressing.
Mix until the mayo is not lumpy and becomes perfectly creamy.
I added three grinds of a black, green & pink peppercorn medley to this and a pinch of sea salt and mixed well again.
If you feel you don’t have enough dressing mixture, repeat as above but in another bowl and add to the preparing bowl. I like my slaw light on the dressing.
It’s best to add these type ingredients: diced apple, hydrated golden raisins, chopped dates or apricots, and toasted sunflower seeds after the dressing has gone on & the cabbage & onion have released their water & the cell membranes have softened.
Refrigerate. Best served very cold after some time of marinating.
The video is in the works and will be on youtube – soon
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