Asian Cabbage Salad

These days walks to the post office or down to the beach start with layers upon layers of clothing and a briskness in each step. The sky is a faded blue and barely streaked with a few white clouds, the air feels clean, crisp, and cold. There are still trees holding tightly to their leaves, all shades of deep red, brilliant orange, bright yellow and even a few green ones still left; knowing that the first strong wind and rain storm to pass through is coming soon and will tear them from their worn out branches.

As I was preparing this salad, it reminded me exactly of my walks from these recent days. Studded with orange form the carrots, reds and greens from the peppers, and yellow green from the cabbage. Even though I usually crave warming foods this season, this salad was welcome if only for it's beautiful colors. It even tasted of the crispness in the air, if you can image.

It's not very often that I make salads with an Asian inspired dressing, but cabbage seems to beg to be dressed with all things sesame, soy, and vinegar. It comes together pretty quickly once everything has been chopped and if you have a food processor it makes the task of shredding even quicker.

This salad is still great the next day, but it's not quite as pretty because the cabbage begins to soak up lots of the dressing and sort of slumps over. I would however recommend giving it at least 30 minutes to really soak in the dressing before serving if you can.

Asian Cabbage Salad
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics
serves 6-8

4 cups grated savoy or napa cabbage
2 cups peeled and grated carrots (about 2 large carrots)
4-5 fresh green and red chilis (use mild and hot varieties), seeded and minced
1 cup diced shallots
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
roughly chopped peanuts or almonds for topping(optional)

dressing
2 tablespoons vegetable or other neutral oil
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
3 tablespoons rice vinegar, or more to taste
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon mirin or dry sherry
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey or sugar, or to taste
pinch of salt

Place the cabbage, carrots, peppers, shallots, garlic, and cilantro in a large bowl (make sure it's large enough that you can toss everything without spilling everywhere).

In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour over the cabbage mixture and toss thoroughly. Taste and and more salt or vinegar if needed. Serve or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Shredded Brussels Sprout & Tangerine Salad

It's the end of & nbsp;February, which also means the official end of winter (although unfortunately maybe not winter weather), so today & nbsp;I'm sharing one last seasonal salad with you. I meant to get this recipe to you yesterday, but seeing as our usual morning csa delivery didn't arrive until around 6pm last night, the brussels sprouts I knew the box would contain, didn't arrive in time before I had a chance to prepare and photograph this salad.

All weekend I was thinking about these brussels sprouts and how & nbsp;I would savor them & nbsp;because & nbsp;I knew this would probably be the last bunch until next season. & nbsp;I thought a light salad, something that would ease its way into spring with a crisp freshness and touch of brightness, would be a good option. Something raw to enter a soon-to-be season of young fresh veggies, but still hanging onto the citrus of winter.

Truth be told, I also needed to think of a recipe I knew would be relatively quick to prepare. In the previous weeks I've been up to my ears in projects and exciting new things we're working on for our shop. I'm not usually a pro thirty minute meal or less kinda person, but I can appreciate a quick whole food recipe when I need one, especially when I can't stand to eat another sandwich or plate of leftovers.

I had picked up a bag of whole wheat Israeli couscous out of curiosity. I'd never cooked with this little bead shaped grain before and the fact that I saw it would take less than 15 minutes to cook, might also be why it made its way into my cart that day. I added it to the shredded brussels sprouts for some extra heft. My favorite part of this salad is when you get a sweet squirt of tangerine juice when taking a bite, also the unexpected but so delicious taste of basil.

This was another recipe that started out as something from The Food Matters Project, as you can see I'm not very good at following recipes, but at least I still used brussels sprouts! This weeks pick was by Marcia and to view a complete list of others who participated you can visit the website.

Shredded Brussels Sprout & amp; Tangerine Salad / serves 4

I really think any grain (quinoa, millet, barley, farro) would work here in place of the couscous. You can segment the tangerines if you like too, & nbsp;I kept it simple and didn't bother.

1/2 cup dry whole wheat Israeli couscous or 1 cup other cooked grain of choice
1/2 & nbsp;lb. brussels sprouts
1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
handful of fresh basil, chiffonade (about 1/4 cup)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
a couple big pinches salt, plus more to taste
3 tangerines
1/4 cup toasted walnuts

Bring a small saucepan filled with 1 cup water to a boil. Stir in couscous and cook at a simmer for 8 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, using a & nbsp;mandolin & nbsp;or sharp knife, slice the brussels sprouts as thinly as you can and place them in a large mixing bowl. Add in the red onion, basil, and couscous and give everything a good toss.

In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, and salt. Pour over the brussels sprout mixture and toss until everything is thoroughly dressed, seasoning with salt to taste. Add in the tangerines, then just before serving, top with walnuts.