No-Mayo Coleslaw

You don't need mayonnaise or even oil to make a delicious coleslaw. I had been making a slaw dressing with just oil, vinegar and sugar when my husband's aunt introduced me to her mama's recipe that didn't have any fat in it at all. I was skeptical, but it really is very good! Both dressings are included below. Cabbage is really the only vegetable you need for coleslaw, but I like to add carrots and sometimes onion, too. 

3 cups shredded cabbage

1 carrot, shredded (optional)

1/4 cup onion, chopped (optional)

Shred or chop cabbage as finely as you like it.

Add carrot and onion.

Mix up one of the below dressings and toss all ingredients.

Dressing 1

2 T. apple cider vinegar

1 T. vegetable oil

1 T. sugar

salt and pepper

Dressing 2

2 T. apple cider vinegar

2 T. water

2 T. sugar

salt and pepper

Refrigerate 30 minutes prior to serving. 

Choucroute Garnie (avec Biére)

Translated from French, this is Packed Sauerkraut with Beer. The idea for this recipe came from one of my favorite food/cooking shows, The Splendid Table. The host, Lynne Rossetto Kasper, had a caller ask what to make with sauerkraut. My attention was piqued, having made sauerkraut the last few summers and still having a few quarts in my pantry. Lynne's suggestion was a Choucroute Garnie, a dish from the heavily German-influenced Alsace region of France, that pairs pork and potatoes with a mound of classed-up sauerkraut. I took Lynne's suggestions, along with some cues from Jacques Pépin's recipe in Food and Wine, swapped out the wine for some beer and called this our St. Patty's day dinner. There's sausage, cabbage, potatoes and beer, so I think it counts, even if it is German!

2 T. bacon grease or peanut oil
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. fresh thyme
1 qt. sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
1 12 oz. beer
1 T. brown sugar
1/2 t. ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 lb. beer brats
3 lbs. thin-skinned potatoes (such as Yukon Gold or red potatoes), cut into 2" chunks
1/4 c. butter
1 T. dried marjoram

Ingredient notes:

• If you don't have your own homemade sauerkraut, buy some that is refrigerated in the grocery store, not the canned stuff! 
• You can use any beer, but I would choose one that you're going to want to drink with dinner. I used a flavorful pilsner. If you use a sweeter, full-bodied stout or porter, you may want to omit or cut back on the brown sugar. 
• Jacques used pork ribs in his recipe, that he coated in salt and brown sugar the night before. Next time I make this, I'm going to try that in place of the brats. Again, you would want to omit the brown sugar in place of this.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large, oven-safe skillet (preferably one with a lid), melt the bacon grease over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and thyme and sauté until onions are caramelized, about 15 minutes. Add sauerkraut , beer, sugar, pepper and bay leaves, and stir to combine all ingredients. Once the beer begins to boil, add brats and remove from heat. Put a lid on the skillet or top it with aluminum foil and put in the oven. Bake for 1 hour or until brats are cooked through.

While brats are cooking, prepare potatoes. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes, reduce heat to a steady simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes or until tender but not mashable. Drain potatoes and return to the pot you cooked them in. Add butter and marjoram and stir to coat.

Serve each brat on a mound of sauerkraut with potatoes on the side. Accompany with some spicy or grainy mustards and sweet pickles. 

Fried Rice

This recipe puts leftover rice to good use, and is great for clearing out veggies from the fridge and freezer. Leave the bacon out and make it vegetarian.

1 cup uncooked (or 2 cups cooked) long-grain rice

1/4 lb. bacon, chopped (or 2 T. canola or coconut oil)

1 cup onion, chopped

1 T. garlic, minced

2 t. fresh ginger, minced

2 carrots, cut into matchsticks

2 cups shredded cabbage

3 cups other fresh, frozen or pre-cooked vegetables (peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, green beans, corn, etc.)

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

2 eggs

1 T. toasted sesame seed oil

salt and pepper, to taste

Rinse rice and prepare according to package instructions. While it cooks, heat a large skillet over medium heat and cook bacon until just shy of being crisp, tossing occasionally. Remove bacon, reserving grease, and add onion, garlic and ginger to the pan. Cook two minutes and add carrots, cabbage and any other hearty fresh vegetables (broccoli, zucchini). Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften. Add remaining fresh (pepper, mushrooms), frozen or pre-cooked vegetables and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 5 more minutes. Add rice and soy sauce and stir to combine. Whisk eggs with sesame seed oil andd 1/4 t. salt and add to hot pan, stirring until eggs are cooked. Return bacon to the pan and stir in. Serve hot with additional soy sauce.

Vegetable Lo Mein

I never order lo mein at Chinese restaurants, but this is easy enough to make at home and I think tastes better than what you get at most restaurants. It does take a bit of time to make, so ordering take-out will definitely be quicker!

I've tried to minimize the amount of ingredients that I don't already have in my pantry. If there are ingredients here you don't have, either leave it out, substitute for something similar, or make the investment and just fix this lo mein a couple more times this year!

1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms (or fresh if you want to splurge)

3 eggs

1 t. sesame oil (can substitute or omit)

4 cloves garlic, minced

fresh ginger, peeled and minced, no more than the garlic (can substitute 1 t. ginger powder)

1/4 cup soy sauce (divided)

1 T. sugar

1 T. dry sherry or Chinese rice wine (substitute any sweet wine or omit)

2 carrots, cut into matchsticks

1 small turnip, cut into matchsticks (substitute other hard vegetable or omit)

3 cups thinly sliced cabbage

3 T. canola, peanut, coconut or other oil with a high smoke point

1 lb. lo mein noodles or whole wheat spaghetti

1/4 cup stir-fry sauce

In a small saucepan, boil 3 cups of water. Remove from heat, add dried mushrooms and cover to allow mushrooms to reconstitute (at least 10 minutes). 

Whisk eggs and sesame oil and season with salt if desired. Pour egg mixture into non-stick skillet over medium heat. As eggs begin to cook, move cooked parts to the middle of the pan to allow for uncooked egg to fill in the exposed edges, making an egg cake. Put a lid on the skillet for a minute to get any liquid egg on top to cook. Transfer to a plate to cool, and then cut into strips.

Drain mushrooms (reserving the mushroom water to add to a beef or vegetable broth in the future) and squeeze the liquid from them. In a small bowl, combine mushooms, garlic, ginger, sugar, 2 T. soy sauce, and dry sherry or sweet wine. Set aside, allowing to marinate for a few minutes.

Chop cabbage, carrots and radish. Heat a large pot of salted water to cook noodles. Heat 1 T. oil in wok or large skillet over medium-high heat.

When water boils, add noodles, cooking according to package instructions. Add mushroom mixure to hot wok and cook, stirring continually for about 3 minutes or until mushrooms are cooked and garlic and ginger are very fragrant. Remove from pan and add remaining 2 T. oil. Add cabbage, carrots and radish, stirring continually until vegetables reach desired tenderness (I like them with a little crunch still). Add a few spashes of soy sauce once vegetables begin to wilt to encourage them to steam.

Drain noodles and add to wok, along with mushroom mixture and egg strips. Stir in stir-fry sauce and toss all ingredients until well combined. Serve hot with soy sauce and Sriracha hot chili sauce.

Poor Man's Cabbage

After a holiday season of decadence, expense and lots of hours in the kitchen, this is just what I needed to be reminded of the joy of everyday simplicity. Leftover mashed potatoes and a head of cabbage never tasted so satisfying.

3-4 cups leftover mashed potatoes or 2 lb. baking potatoes

3 T. olive oil

1 head of cabbage, shredded

2 onions, sliced

2 carrots, shredded

Salt and pepper

Reheat mashed potatoes with milk or boil 1 lb. of peeled potatoes in salted water, mash and then add milk and butter until creamy. Heat oil in large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and cabbage. Cook for 20 minutes stirring often to caramelize. Add carrots and cook for another 10 minutes or until soft. Add salt and pepper. Serve cabbage mixture on top of potatoes. Make it a full meal with a side of Southern Skillet Cornbread. 

BEV NOTE: A crisp pale ale or IPA adds a nice freshness to an otherwise savory meal.