10 Day Coleslaw

 Cabbage is an old time food that is affordable, in-season, very nutritious and it fits right into winter salads and hearty soups and stews.  

I don't know if you remember the Mennonite cookbooks written by Edna Stabebler.  I have "More Food That Really Schmecks."  She described how in the fall she would buy the biggest, heaviest cabbage she could find at the market and then stored in a plastic bag in her cold room until  it shrank enough to fit in her fridge!  Every week she took off a few of the outer leaves to make coleslaw, hot slaw or to shred and keep for several days in an airtight container in the fridge so she could easily mix as much as she needed with salad dressing or add to other salad ingredients.  Edna said that one cabbage would last her for months - she lived alone!  The book was printed in 1983 but copies are still available used.  It is a good book to have if you are looking for practical recipes that use in-season ingredients available in Canada.  

Coleslaw in one form or another is my "go to" winter salad.  I remember a coleslaw I made years ago that had a boiled vinaigrette that was poured over the shredded vegetables and it kept for three weeks!  I am of course intrigued by any recipe that promises to last and even improve over ten days. Plus with busy schedules it is convenient to have a ready-made salad in the fridge you can take as part of your lunch or add to meals.

We made this in our cooking class at the YMCA a few weeks ago and it was delicious.  After seven days (photo below) it did taste even better!  This was a rough chop salad.  You can finely shred the cabbage  easily using the shredding blade with the food processor.  We used a dark brown "demerara" organic sugar and it gave it a bit of a brown colour but some additional flavour.  I want to try it again using local honey instead of sugar.

INGREDIENTS:

Imperial	Metric Measure	Ingredients
8 cups	2 liters	Cabbage, green, shredded
4 cups	1 liter	Carrots, grated
1 cup	250 ml	Green pepper, diced fine
1 cup	250 ml	Onion, diced fine
1 ¼ cup	310 ml	Apple cider vinegar, natural (preferably with “mother”)
½ cup	125 ml	Olive oil, extra virgin
½ cup	125 ml	Sugar (I used organic dark brown sugar, demerara)
1 tsp	5 ml	Celery seed
1 ½ tsp	7.5 ml	Mustard powder, dry (like Coleman’s, no name is fine)
1 tsp	5 ml	Salt, sea
½ tsp	2.5 ml	Pepper, black

METHOD:

1.  In a large bowl combine the shredded cabbage and carrots, diced peppers and onions. Set aside.

2.  Combine vinegar, oil, sugar, dry mustard, celery seed, salt and pepper in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve sugar, boil 3 minutes.
3.  Pour hot dressing over cabbage mixture and toss well. Let stand at room temperature for 30-60 minutes, tossing occasionally. For best results, cover and refrigerate 2 days. Keeps up to 10 days in refrigerator.

NUTRITION FACTS (per 108 gram serving)

Calories	100
Total Fat (g)	6
Saturated Fat (g)	1
Cholesterol (mg)	0
Carbohydrate (g)	13
Fibre (g)	2
Sugar (g)	6
Protein (g)	1
%Daily Values
Sodium	6 (140 mg)
Calcium	4
Iron	4
Vitamin A	80
Vitamin C	45

Eating cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables can help prevent cancer.   Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable as are broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower and kale.  The cruciferous are rich in a variety of compounds which may slow cancer growth and development in humans. The indole-3-carbinol (indoles) are linked to the anti-carcinogenic effects.   Cabbage contains high levels of antioxidants known as polyphenols and anthocyanins.   They protect against oxidative stress in the brain and Alzheimer's disease.   Cabbage is low in calories (only20 calories in a cup), high in vitamins K and C and a good source of fibre, vitamin B6, folate, and manganese.   Red cabbage has 3 times as much vitamin C as green.  

Above are pretty, young red cabbage and broccoli in my garden in June.

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Tastefully yours,

© Nancy Guppy, RD, MHSc

Visit me at www.chapmanslanding.com