Sometimes it's fun to wander around among new and unfamiliar blogs, and occasionally you happen upon one that is just to your liking. I found such a blog this week - it belongs to Kate and is called Four Obsessions: Reading, Writing, Cooking and Knitting. I don't share all these obsessions, but they are most definitely all of interest to me at one level or another. And even though Kate doesn't bill her blog as a food blog, it does have a feature that will appeal to all food bloggers - an index of recipes in the sidebar!
Nearly every recipe sounded appealing, particularly things like Chocolate Polenta Pudding Cake, and Chocolate Orange Sorbet. But with my weekly cookie regimen, I felt obliged to resist these tempting treats and find something more from the "good for you" camp. I didn't have to look far. In a recent post, Kate described an amazing looking dinner of beer-can chicken, roast sweet potato wedges, buttermilk biscuits, and Alice Waters' coleslaw. Her favorite dish from the meal (and the one she provided a recipe for) was the coleslaw, so I decided to try it myself.
I risked life and limb and pulled out my much neglected mandoline at Kate's urging. She's right - it produces finely shredded cabbage which is perfect for this coleslaw. I usually end up with a much coarser cut, which is OK when you're using a creamy dressing, but for this lime juice and olive oil dressing, I think the finer cut works much better. The coleslaw also has jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced red onion, and a generous amount of cilantro. I would have loved some of that beer-can chicken alongside, but I had to settle for a pan-fried chicken breast. The coleslaw was easy to make, lovely to look at, and very good. I think it's safe to say this won't be the last time I dip into Kate's recipe file!
Zarah has been hard at work this week working on an assignment for school, but I suspect she took some time out to dine with the bloggers... after all a girl's gotta eat!
7 comments:
Wow, that slaw does look gorgeous! And how funny, I hadn't read your post before I wrote mine, and I've had the exact same "It has got to be an everyday/healthy meal I make"-thought!
Hi Zarah! I've been a little piggy lately what with my Monday cookies, a sweet at the coffee shop on Sunday, and nibbles on candy here and there... so it was time to shape up!
I'm usually not a fan of coleslaw, because it's always so overly creamy and goopy and sweet, but this looks like a really nice version. And I'm always happy to eat more cabbage, with my very strange love of Northern European cuisine!
Hi Niki! I like coleslaw just about anyway you make it, but this one does sound just right for you. I had some leftovers last night and the flavor was even better after sitting overnight - the cilantro was much more noticable.
Mm... slaw...
It's times like this when I wish I had a mandoline. I know I'd have to fight my fear of slicing off my fingers, though.
Hi Nic! Yes, my mandoline and I are still getting acquainted. You've probably heard the story before about how it came to be mine - my brother bought it for himself and then was afraid to use it so he gave it to me! I think this is just the third time I've used it in almost 3 years.
Hi Cathy,
Mille grazie for the kind comment on the blog... I had been wondering myself when I would have the time to get back online! Having just one guest over for a month was enough to put my usual schedule off... never mind the fact that said guest was my 19-yr. old son and most of the time HE wanted to be on the pc whenever we were at home.
Your new blog find sounds like a real treasure, and that slaw recipe looks delicious to make! I don't have a mandoline but maybe the foodprocessor might do the trick. I've been on a cabbage roll lately (no pun intended!). Couldn't get enough the veggie after eating all that sauerkraut in Germany!
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