A simple coleslaw, but better

I've always enjoyed the idea of coleslaw. Shredded cabbage with a light vinaigrette--simple, tasty and refreshing. But the toils of preparing it had always seemed too daunting to be worth the effort. Or, when I tried, the results were so bad I just gave up, like when I tried shredding cabbage by stuffing cabbage chunks into our food processor using the slicing disc attachment. Aside from all the work it took (i.e. prep, process, empty, clean), I would get unevenly shredded cabbage with big chunky pieces that I basically had to throw away. What's more, the dressing recipes I always seemed to try were too complex or overpowering to make a good coleslaw.

Me learning to make coleslaw

It turns out that I was trying too hard to make something extravagant out of something that wants to be plain and simple. This occurred to me during our trip to Serbia and Croatia this past summer, where my mother-in-law taught me an easier easier way to shred cabbage and prepare coleslaw. The technique is quite straightforward:

1. Take a head of cabbage and peel off the top few layers of cabbage leaves, which effectively act as nature's packaging for the cabbage head. Rinse the cabbage head if you wish.
2. Using a medium-sized utility knife (6" or so) cut the head of cabbage in half cutting from the top of the cabbage down to the root (i.e. lengthwise and not widthwise).
3. Here's where it gets a bit awkward. You want to find a comfortable way to hold or brace the cabbage using your non-dominant hand so that you can use your dominant hand to shred the layers of cabbage over top a bowl. You can either stand and do this with a bowl on the counter, which takes a bit of work. Or, an easier way to do it is to sit in a chair with a bowl in your lap.
4. To shred the cabbage you simply shave off layers of the cabbage at your desired thickness from the top of the cabbage down the sides, gradually moving inward and down the cabbage, while generally avoiding the tough root part.

Now for the dressing I was taught to use a light splash of vegetable oil, a generous amount of vinegar to taste, and salt and pepper to taste (sorry, I don't have any specific measures, you really just have to do this according to your own taste). I've found that using light rice wine vinegar (like Marukan's) in place of white vinegar creates a smoother and also sweeter flavour. I also use a spray can of oil to keep the oil to a minimum. A few shorts sprays is more than enough. I recommend adding salt last because the salt in the rice wine vinegar will lessen the amount you need to add afterwards.

Random ingredient recipe: tomato peach and ginger salsa

The scenario: I had several pounds of ripe tomatoes from a local vegetable market in Bloor West Village and another couple pounds of ripe peaches from the Winona Peach Festival. We were heading to a friend's cottage for the Labour Day weekend and so I was thinking about some kind of party food. The idea of salsa first came to mind given the shear volume of tomatoes I had and I thought that the sweetness of the peaches would compliment the salsa nicely.

However, when I searched several recipe websites that I typically rely on, I came up empty. Then after a basic web search, I came across the exact recipe I was looking for. I followed the recipe almost exactly, except that I added about 2 teaspoons of fresh grated ginger for extra warmth which gave it a nice touch. I used about 4 dried red Thai chili peppers which worked quite nicely and gave it a medium spiciness overall. I also didn't use a food processor to mince the onions and peppers, but rather I diced them by hand.

This is an excellent recipe that makes a wonderful, fairly thick and chunky style salsa (see above). I did not can this for long-term storage however if you're a experienced at canning, you certainly could. Here is the complete recipe for Tomato Peach and Ginger Salsa adapted from the blog "A Handmade Life" with my comments and additions in italics:


Tomato Peach and Ginger Salsa

• 3 1/2 pounds ripe, Roma tomatoes (blanch, peel, and chop)
• 1 1/2 pounds peaches  (peeled and chopped)
• 3 large bell type peppers diced
• several hot type peppers (maybe 6 jalapeno type then add more depending on your taste - I used 4 dried hot Thai chilies which worked perfectly)
• 1-2 large onions diced
• fresh minced garlic (1 head is nice but can use less)
• 2 tsp grated ginger

• 1 small can tomato paste
• 3/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 tbsp coarse salt
• 2 tsp paprika (optional -- I included paprika)

Place all ingredients in a large pot.  Bring to a boil uncovered and then turn down heat and simmer for 1 hour.  Keep an eye on it and stir every so often otherwise it can burn on the bottom as it thickens.