summer slaw.

mmm... cabbage.
mmm... summer.
mmm... slaw.

summer screams cole slaw! it's so versatile.
in salads.
on sandwiches.
by itself.
with bbq.
possibilities are endless!

i love slaw. i especially (and really only) love home-made slaw. none of that pre-packaged crap that's swimming in mayo. that shit's for the birds...
i personally like to make my slaw with a teeny-tiny bit of mayo and more red wine vinegar. (something i'm clearly a HUGE fan of) i'll mix it with some dried minced onion, and the varieties are limitless! limitless!
typically, i'll slice my cabbage into medium-long strips and toss it. today, i ran it through the food processor. i (more like cuisinart) chopped it into tiny little bits, and i'm liking it.
i mixed my head of cabbage with the chopped up bits of 5 carrots. i added about two tablespoons of low-fat hellman's, and about 1/8c of red wine vinegar. i tossed it together, added some dried minced onion and black sesame seeds. (why not?!)
i'm letting my cole slaw sit, i love how it gets "cooked" in the vinegar and gets nice and dense.
i'm amped to throw my cole slaw over salad, and more specifically throw it on a toasted roll with some vegetarian ribs.

yum!
perfect.summer.dinner.

cabbage casserole!

who would've thought that those two words would have worked well together?
not me!
apparently vegetarian times did.
(what an excellent resource as a publication and a website!)
they had a recipe for a cabbage strata, which naturally, i refused to follow the recipe on and had to give it the good 'ol kathrine treatment.
bow chikka bow wow.
i doctored their recipe slightly, adding my own fabulous touches to it!
i started by blanching the cabbage leaves in garlic water. (i refuse to use salt!) i also browned some finely slivered onions, cooked down two cans of diced tomatoes, and thawed a 16ox bag of spinach.
now that everything is (almost) mise en place....
i greased up a 9x9 baking dish and made a layer of cabbage leaves on the bottom of the dish. on top of the cabbage layer, i sprinkled my browned onions. yum! i love onions! after, i spread a layer of my cooked down diced tomatoes (which i cooked down with garlic and italian seasoning). on top of that i placed a mixture of spinach & fat free cream cheese. the original recipe called for ricotta, and for some reason i could not bring myself to buy dairy. i figured i would forge ahead, doing without. alas, considering the dry nature of the cabbage and the cooked down tomatoes, i dug up a bar of fat free cream cheese that had been hiding in my fridge. i mixed half a bar with the 16-ish ounces of thawed, drained spinach. so, after the cabbage. after the onions, and after the tomatoes, came 6 splotches of spinachy cream cheese, on top of my casserole, looking like a die. i re-layered, and re-layered, making (i believe) three layers in total. cabbage, onions, tomatoes, spinach. i baked my strata (how fancy!) at 350 degrees for about an hour.
mmm!
a full-on vegetable bake!
what more could you ask for?

lunch was always my favorite period...

This is unheard of!
sound the horns!
not only did my sister make something, but it was so delicious that it's worthy of being displayed to the internet!
*applause*
so here it is, alfalfa sprouts, shredded cabbage, shredded carrots and.... the sauce, the sauce! she processed cashews, chicken broth, garlic, and cayenne pepper. that sauce was so absolutely delicious, i've been begging her to bring me leftovers all week. eating a plateful of this a day, would be ideal.
taking matters into my own hands, i'd like to make a play on the sauce. right now, i have some jalapeno peanuts in my cabinet. how could that not be delicious? that's it! it's official! next week, there will be bowls of shredded cabbage & shredded carrots and that delicious sauce!

nom nom nom.

now, for something i have been enjoying at work the past couple days...return of the cucumber and red onion salad! yum!
this is where i get my serving of whole grains for the day. mini whole wheat pitas stuffed with avocado, cucumbers, & onions make this sandwich delicious and filling.

don't lie.
i know you're drooling.