Thursdays Are For Cooking
This is an old family recipe that comes from my paternal grandmother out in Nebraska. In hot, humid weather, it is simple to make and is good, solid food but does not overload your appetite, and might even perk it up a bit. It’s simple food, made the old-fashioned way, with elbow grease and a little bit of “happy smiles” thrown in for good measure. And the cost? Modest, even at its worst.
Tomato/onion cole slaw
Chopped tomato – preferably not too ripe, but just nice and firm and juicy.
Shredded cabbage: use both green and red if you like, but slice it and dice it into a good coarse chop. About one-half of a green cabbage will do for starters, but if you have a crowd, increase the amount.
Chopped onion: any kind, any color: red, white, yellow – doesn’t matter: onion adds sip and flavor to this simple dish
Salt & pepper to taste
Any other ingredients, as pictured in that photo up top, can be included at your discretion, too, but sometimes, cutting them up as finger food for a summer food fest is good, too. And kids love that stuff.
Do all the chopping and prepping first, maybe the night before, to save some time. Mix the ingredients together in a single bowl (preferably one that you can chill by setting it in a bowl of cracked ice), and let it sit for a bit. The volume of this should depend on how many people you have and whether or not they like the contrast in flavor between this and the ordinary hamburger and corn on the cob.
Oh, did I say corn on the cob??? You do know that you can boil or roast sweet corn, right? Boiling it briefly is best, in my view, because hot water won’t make the fructose in the corn go starchy on you, and when you add butter to it, so that it can drip off your chin, is there anything better?
If you prefer to roast the corn ears, go for it. I just happen to like the way sweet corn pops all that flavor into me when I have butter dripping down my 10-year-old chin.
What??? When you’re 10, roasted chieken, foil-wrapped baked taters and sweet corn with butter are pure heaven… aren’t they?
A simple lemon vinaigrette will dress this nicely.
2/3 cup good olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper.
Whisk oil and lemon juice in a small bowl or shake in a re-sealable jar to emulsify; season with salt and pepper.
Thanks, Ex.
Are you sure about the ration of oil to vinegar? I usually go 2:1 vinegar to oil. 🙂
That’s what the recipe called for. They’re just guidelines anyway. Use whatever ratio you like.
You can throw garlic salt in there, too, if you like. Just a small boost in another flavor.
Thank you Ex-PH2! Sounds like a cool, easy-to-make meal for these hot days.
Oh, it is good, and it keeps well, too.
Once my fridge is fixed (tomorrow!), I will be fixing this for supper for the weekend.
“…are pure Heaven…” Testify! You can also take these same kinds of ingredients, feed them to a cow and turn the cow into rib-eyes for a side dish…just saying.
Resurfaced from my super seekrit squirrel TDY mission to a secure commo link. Forwarded this to my folks out in NE (GO BIG RED!). They will appreciate the connection. Speaking of Heaven, there is a slice of Heaven right outside of Pender NE that I refer to as M_____’s Magical Miracle Kitchen. Wish I was there right now.
Going dark again, see y’all soon.
Thanks Ex, Let’s eat! Been on short rations of late and my diet has been unbalanced (out of cookies).