Two facts you might know about me:
1. I am a Leo & I’m pretty proud of it. But then tell me a Leo who isn’t…
2. I hate mayo and cringe at the mere sight of the word mayonnaise. I didn’t even know how to spell mayonnaise (THANKS, spell check!) because there is simply no reason for me to. EVER.
OK so I’m a Leo. Let’s discuss this briefly because I tend to go ON about astrology– especially at parties where I’ve been drinking too much… Being a Leo means that I live by the code “Productivity fueled by laziness.” As a result, I spend most of my time searching for recipes with ingredients I already have sitting in my pantry. I wonder if my incessant need to stockpile food is a Leo thing too? My grandmother who is a Leo does it… But then again I have a Capricorn mom so that could be the reason why. So yeah… I test out a lot of recipes that don’t require me to go to the grocery store more than twice a week. I also love coming up with things on the fly. I love tinkering with recipes because it fuels my pride when I get it right. This salad is definitely a product of that. I’m a Leo. RAWR.
And then the mayo thing…Uggh the mayo thing. You can imagine how repulsed I was to see Richard Blais DEEP FRY MAYO on Top Chef this week. I turned my head and plugged my ears like a 2 year old until the Quickfire challenge was over. Barf! There are thousands of recipes I pass by the instant I see “mayo” as an ingredient. It’s a shame because there are SOO many good ones out there…that are ruined by mayo. When I found this “cool slaw” recipe that uses cashews as the creamy base, I was intrigued. If the Everyday Chickpea Salad I recently made & fell in love with had the same cashew base, wouldn’t I love this one too? After mixing up the ingredients & letting it sit, I took a taste and thought it needed something. Because I set out to eat a substantial salad for lunch, I couldn’t see myself eating a whole bowl of the “cool slaw,” like I planned. Back into my pantry & fridge I went and came up with a few additions of my own–soy sauce, green onions, toasted sesame oil & toasted slivered almonds. A pretty fricking delicious Asian inspired coleslaw was birthed and it maintained the “vegan” status on the original recipe. Although I’m thinking of dipping into my freezer stash and adding shrimp or chicken…just cuz.
And we’re off!
Let’s make the dressing first!
Water, cashews, agave syrup, Dijon & apple cider vinegar go into the food proceesor. BLEND.
For like 5 minutes. Yup. I’m serious.
Scrape down the sides every minute or so.
Pour the dressing over your coleslaw mix.
Let it sit for awhile.
And here’s my tinkering…. If you think it needs some zip continue with my steps.
Add green onions, slivered almonds, sesame oil….
And some soy sauce….
And take a taste….
Productivity fueled by laziness pays off. Try it.
Asian “Cool Slaw”
Makes 6 servings
(recipe adapted from Appetite for Reduction, by Isa Moskowitz)
- 1/4 cup cashew pieces
- 2 tablespoons white onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup water
- 5 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon agave syrup
- 1 14oz. bag coleslaw mix
And here’s where my tinkering begins:
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 chopped green onions (both white & green parts)
- 1/3 cup slivered toasted almonds
To make the dressing, place the cashews, onion, water, apple cider vinegar, Dijon & agave syrup in a food processor and blend for at least 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides often and continue blending until smooth. Pour the dressing over the coleslaw mixture and mix well. Let it sit for at least 45 minutes so the cabbage is nice & wilted.
Let’s tinker!
Add in the soy sauce, sesame oil, green onions & toasted slivered almonds and mix thoroughly. Taste for salt and chill until ready to serve.
Other possible additions:
- sesame seeds
- mango
- peanuts
- jicama
- red peppers
- won ton chips
- grilled shrimp
- orange segments
- green beans, snap peas, peas…
- baked tofu
- chicken
- shrimp
- anything really….except mayo
