Pretty Purple Coleslaw

Where has purple cabbage been all my life? Okay, even the ho hum green just got introduced to me a few years ago. But the purple--it's just so beautiful. I've made several salads with it recently and although none of my children has yet eagerly ventured into eating those salads, they've all been intrigued and some have even swooned ("Mom, it's puuurple") over the way these salads have looked. When you've got picky kids, that's a pretty big step (and a far cry from the usual it-looks-gross response).

After making an incredible and colorful rainbow salad (coming soon), I still had half a head of cabbage left. And then there was Memorial Day and then there was coleslaw. The end. Seriously, though, I was craving some delicious slaw something fierce, and this simple, beautiful little concoction really hit the spot and added a pop of color to our burger and chips meal.

I love it on so many levels: 1) It's pretty, 2) It's pretty healthy (sure there's a dressing, but there's also a purple vegetable), 3) It's easy, 4) It can make a bunch of food quickly and is therefore is really good for potlucks or BBQs, 5) It's cheap, 6) Even though it's easy and cheap, it's really really tasty.

I'd never made regular old coleslaw before (gasp) and had always assumed there was some magic to it. Nope. No magic. Unless you consider mayonnaise magic (I kinda do). It was incredibly simple and can be left that way or dressed up a bit with chunks of apple, sesame seeds, or whatever. I went simple.

Pretty Purple Coleslaw
adapted from Homeschool Encouragement
Makes at least 12 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Rest time: optional, but I do think this is better after it chills for a couple hours
Cost: $2.70 (that's about a quarter a serving)
cabbage: 2.00, carrots: .15, mayo: .40, vinegar: .10, sugar: .05

Veggies:
1 smallish head purple cabbage, chopped
1 C carrots, grated (about 2 carrots)
Note: I made my slaw with just those two ingredients and it was delicious and beautiful. However, if you wanted to dress it up, I think that a cup or so of tart chopped/grated apples and a scoop of sunflower seeds would go really well with it too. I don't think it needs it. In fact, those who love classic slaw would surely prefer it without, but I do think it would be a great way to pimp this coleslaw if that's your thing.

Dressing:
2-3 Tbsp sugar
1/4 C apple cider vinegar
3/4 mayonnaise
1/2 tsp salt

Chop your cabbage. I do this by slicing it into rounds and then cutting those rounds up. Shred your carrots. Combine in a large bowl.

Combine dressing ingredients.

Mix dressing into veggies. Let sit at room temp for 20-30 minutes. (This allows the sugar to melt into the dressing, so don't skip this step.)

Chill for an hour or two if you can spare it. Stir again before serving.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Vegetable Soup

Cheap Eat Challenge: Watch or join us as our family of 6 eats, or tries to, on $6/day.

A vegetable soup.

As promised.

Because it's pretty.

And healthy.

And because cabbage was on sale last week.

And because it's spring and the parsley is popping up through the leaves in my herb garden. (It's the little guy on the left.)

But also because ever since I stopped nursing my baby about a month ago, I've had a sharp--sharp, I say--decline in appetite. I've always noticed a shift in the amount of food I need when I stop nursing my babies, but I've never noticed such a dramatic drop. I can only blame the mid-30-something birthday that is just around the corner for ruining my youthful metabolism.

Whatever the cause, I've lately been almost inclined to skip lunch entirely, or rather postpone it till 2:00 or so, which wouldn't so much matter if I were French and wouldn't even think of eating dinner until 8:00 or 9:00, but in a house where we dine at 5:00, well, you get my point. My body is just off. And it's not needing as many calories as I'm used to eating. And I'm trying to humor it. Because if I've learned one thing from bearing offspring, it's that you should listen to your body when it's trying to tell you something. So I made vegetable soup. And ate it at a normal American lunching hour. And it was very very good. And then I was starving at 3:00. Hmm. Bring on the crusty bread.

Now before I get to the recipe, allow me to blabber on about it.

First of all, I just throw everything in a pot. You could do this in a slow cooker too. It comes out great this way and I have no complaints and eat it greedily.

Could you saute the onion and then garlic in oil and add the veggies and saute them for a minute before adding the broth? Absolutely. Would it make it even better? Quite possibly so. I'm just too lazy to do it. I use this as a sort of lazy vitamin boost/brownie detoxification/not-too-hungry sort of soup and I don't make it a gourmet affair. Could you make it perfectly divine? Yes.

Along that line:

You could roast these vegetables in olive oil, salt and pepper with a sprinkle of lemon juice on it all to brighten it up, and I expect get an even better result than I do.

You could add Italian seasonings and even a little Italian sausage.

You could add white beans and make more of a meal of it.

You could add a bit of salsa, chicken, and lime juice.

You could add asian greens and ginger.

You could swap the chicken broth out for vegetable broth and make it purely vegetarian.

You could do a whole lot with this soup.

But I don't. Forgive me.

Vegetable Soup
Serves (in this house, it serves only me over and over again): 10-12
Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes (or more if you're busy and just want to let it simmer)
Cost: $2.85
(cabbage: .75, tomatoes--free for me since canned from last summer's harvest, but otherwise would be about .1.25, onion: .20, carrot: .10, celery: .20, garlic: .05, broth--free for me, but if you don't have any homemade will cost about .30 from bullion)

2 lb head of cabbage (a small to medium sized one)
1 C diced carrots (1 large)
5-6 celery stalks
1 small onion
29 oz. tomatoes (diced or whole or even Italian style)
2-3 cloves garlic
2 C chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
small handful parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Chop vegetables and throw them in a pot. Pour broth over it. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with parsley.

PRINTABLE RECIPE