Mango Slaw

Orange mango, purple and green Thai basil, purple cabbage, and other green herbs in a slaw on a white plate, with a "tree" sprig of Thai basil in the center. — Mango Slaw, photo by J.Andrews

I just spent a week in Hawai’i, the Big Island, and came home to cold and dreary weather. We hit avocado season there, which was amazing, but also found lots of fresh papaya, some passion fruit, and some interesting varieties of dragon fruit. But back here on the mainland, the tropical fruit variety is less exciting. The grocery store did have some rather sad-looking papaya, but the mangoes looked pretty good. The smaller honey mangoes were ripe and ready to eat.

Beyond that, I have a recipe on my menu plan this week that required 1/4 of a head of red cabbage. I swear, recipes either require a whole cabbage or just a bit, and I hate wasting things. So I pulled this slaw together to go with several other meals and use up a bit more of the cabbage (that still only gets me to half the head, but I’ll stir-fry the rest).

This is a TART slaw, not creamy, and the only “dressing” is lime juice and the juice from the mangoes — this is why it needs to rest a bit. My mangoes were super sweet, and the dinner that this was a side dish for was rich enough that this made a good accompaniment as it was. You may want to adjust a bit — a pinch or two of salt or sugar or a drizzle of olive oil may be needed to perfect this crunchy tart dish. Adjust as needed, and enjoy.

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Mango Slaw

CourseSide Dish

Servings	Prep Time
6 slaw servings	20 minutes

Passive Time

60 minutes

Servings	Prep Time
6 slaw servings	20 minutes

Passive Time

60 minutes

Mango Slaw

CourseSide Dish

Servings	Prep Time
6 slaw servings	20 minutes

Passive Time

60 minutes

Servings	Prep Time
6 slaw servings	20 minutes

Passive Time

60 minutes

Ingredients

Proper Measurements

2 cups red/purple cabbage shredded
2/3 cup honey mango cubed
1/4 cup cilantro thick stems removed, rough chopped
2 Tablespoons Thai basil leaves chopped
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1/4 cup scallions thinly sliced

Rough Measurements

1/4 head cabbage shredded
1 small honey mango cubed
1/2 bunch cilantro thick stems removed, rough chopped
2 stems Thai basil leaves only, chopped
1/2 lime juiced
4 small scallions thinly sliced

Servings: slaw servings

Instructions

Prepare all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Let flavors meld for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.
Before serving, taste and adjust — add a pinch of salt, sugar, or a drizzle of olive oil if needed.

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February 12, 2018

Warm Bacon & Kale Salad

This will be a quick post. This salad is really loosely based on some paleo salad recipe that I found and Jack made a while back. We really liked it, but this time it’s edited to use up whatever we had in the house this time around. The basis for that salad was sauteing the kale in bacon fat and then crumbling that bacon over the top. This is an excellent side dish, assuming you like bacon and kale. I’ve brightened up this salad with apples, onions, and carrots, cooked along with the kale, and cherry tomatoes added at the end. I like the little yellow ones, as they are sweet, and they are hot house-grown, so they are still decent in January.

If you don’t like some of these ingredients, leave them out! Well, not the kale or bacon. If you don’t like those, find a different recipe. If you can’t eat commercial bacon, consider making your own bacon. But the joy of salads is that they are malleable. Make them your own.

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Warm Kale & Bacon Salad

CourseSide Dish

Servings

3 servings

Servings

3 servings

Warm Kale & Bacon Salad

CourseSide Dish

Servings

3 servings

Servings

3 servings

Ingredients

5 strips bacon
1 bunch kale about 6 cups when torn
1 small red onion about a cup, slivered
2 small carrots about a cup, shredded
1 cup grape tomatoes
3 small apples chopped, about 1.5 cups

Servings: servings

Instructions

Cook bacon in a skillet, I use cast iron, over medium heat, until crispy. Drain on paper towels.
Drain off all but 2 Tablespoons of bacon fat. Don’t clean the pan.
Wash and tear the kale into bite-sized pieces. I like to use a salad spinner to dry it, but shaking it in a towel will work.
Shred your carrots and slice your tomatoes in half.
Then reheat the bacon fat over medium low. When hot, add the onion and carrot and cook until softened, 5-7 minutes.
Add the kale and stir well, in handsful if needed to not overflow your pan.
Chop and core the apples. I like the skin on for texture. Once the kale is wilted, add in the apples and stir well. Cook just until the apples are warmed.
Add the tomatoes and crumbled the bacon on top. Serve warm.

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January 29, 2018

Kale, Cranberry, and Ginger Salad

A white plate on a multicolored background holds a pile of green shredded kale with dried cranberries and some drops of dressing — Kale, Cranberry, & Ginger Salad

Last week was really not my week. I was in a bad mood and things kept happening to reinforce that, plus I was super busy and not sleeping well, and all around, it did not go well. I need my sleep, people. I am not a nice person without it. So I don’t know why I thought last minute tweaks to this recipe would work. They did not. It was disgusting. Jack ate some of it, but… nope. No more excuses — you want recipes, right?

I went back to my original recipe and this is much better. This is not a fancy recipe — it’s a pretty simple kale salad with an easy vinaigrette dressing that plays up kale’s intense flavor and texture and dressed up with some dried cranberries. Now, I know kale’s had its day in the sun, but I love it and will keep eating it. I don’t really love how chewy raw kale is, so when I make salads, I microwave the kale really briefly just to soften it up. That’s perfect for me — let me know how it works for you. The dressing is super thick and intended to really stick to the kale leaves. The cranberries will sink to the bottom, though, so scoop up.

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Kale, Cranberry, and Ginger Salad

CourseSide Dish

Servings	Prep Time
2 people	15 minutes

Cook Time

35 seconds

Servings	Prep Time
2 people	15 minutes

Cook Time

35 seconds

Kale, Cranberry, and Ginger Salad

CourseSide Dish

Servings	Prep Time
2 people	15 minutes

Cook Time

35 seconds

Servings	Prep Time
2 people	15 minutes

Cook Time

35 seconds

Ingredients

1/4 cup dried cranberries, rehydrated
2 cups kale destemmed and chopped
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ginger grated
1/4 cup olive oil
pinch salt
pinch sugar

Servings: people

Instructions

First, rehydrate the cranberries by just covering them with boiling water and letting them sit for 10 minutes.
Chop the kale. I tend to destem the whole bunch after washing and spin it through my salad spinner to dry it. Then I grab handsful and do a really rough chiffonade (slice thin). If the leaves were big, I then chop perpendicular to the original cuts a few times. About 1.5 leaves per person seems perfect for a side salad.
In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the kale on high for 10 seconds. Stir and do it again. In 20 seconds, your kale should be a bit brighter green and much more tender, but if not, do a few more seconds — microwave intensity varies widely.
Mix the dressing ingredients, except the oil, well. Then drizzle in the oil. Taste and adjust the seasonings — you might want more sugar if your balsamic is particularly intense.
Drain the cranberries, and toss the cranberries and lightly cooked kale with the dressing.
If you eat tree nuts, walnuts or almonds are a nice addition to this salad, but are totally optional.

Recipe Notes

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August 15, 2017

Seared Tuna Steak Salad

This is one of those areas where Denise and I diverge — neither of us is allergic to fish, but I love tuna, and she hates it. Conversely, she loves haddock, and I, eh, can’t get excited about it. If you’re pro-tuna, this might be your recipe.

The first time I had tuna — and liked it — was when I was in Greece in college. The whole experience was amazing, and so was the food. I had a simple salad one day, when I wasn’t feeling great and wanted something light. It was just lettuce, with canned tuna in oil and a few tomatoes. So simple, but so amazing. It was such a difference from the mayo-covered tuna salads I’d seen growing up, and it opened me up to tuna.

I first tried fresh tuna in sushi, and it’s still one of my favorites. But ordering tuna at a restaurant made me consider making it at home. Once you get more used to not cooking it all the way through (that dries it out!), it is SUPER EASY and seems pretty fancy.

This dish actually came out of leftover seared tuna. Normally, I make tuna for just me, as an occasional indulgence. But my grocery store was having a sale on some great-looking frozen tuna steaks, so I thought I’d give it a whirl as a mid-week dinner for me and my boyfriend. I cooked the fish and served it with steamed asparagus and bamboo rice — it was quick and easy, even though I got home late that night.

I overshot the amount of fish I needed, though. I’ve never had a leftover tuna steak before! Turns out, fresh tuna also makes an amazing salad. THAT is the recipe you’re getting today. But feel free to just buy too much fish for one dinner and make this salad the next day. Just scale the marinade up.

This recipe serves ONE. Scale up appropriately.

Tuna Steak Salad

Name: Mango Slaw
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 6 slaw servings
Ingredients: 2 cups red/purple cabbage (shredded); 2/3 cup honey mango (cubed); 1/4 cup cilantro (thick stems removed, rough chopped); 2 Tablespoons Thai basil leaves (chopped); 1 Tablespoon lime juice; 1/4 cup scallions (thinly sliced); 1/4 head cabbage (shredded); 1 small honey mango (cubed); 1/2 bunch cilantro (thick stems removed, rough chopped); 2 stems Thai basil (leaves only, chopped); 1/2 lime (juiced); 4 small scallions (thinly sliced)

1/3 lb. tuna steak, about 1 1/4 inch thick (the exact amount of tuna is up to you! But if your steak is substantially thicker or thinner, adjust your cooking time accordingly)

Marinade

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar (look for unsweetened, unseasoned, for the most flexible version)
1/4 cup faux tamari, or gluten-free soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon (generous) garlic powder (I used roasted, from Penzey’s, as it’s my new favorite)
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger

Salad Ingredients

10 stalks or so steamed asparagus
1 cup mixed greens (I don’t like lettuce, so I used a mix of baby kale, baby Swiss chard, and baby spinach, but the crunch of lettuce would be great)
1 Tablespoon of pumpkin seeds, roasted and salted

Dressing

1 Tablespoon vegan or safe mayo (Earth Balance, or Aquafaba salad dressing)
I Tablespoon faux tamari or gluten-free soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
dash of sriracha, to taste
dash of toasted sesame oil, optional, to taste

If your fish is vacuum-packed, slit the packaging before you defrost it (put it on a plate first, of course) in the fridge. I usually take it out the night before and give it the night and day in the fridge.

Marinate the fish for about 20 minutes, 10 minutes per side. If I’m serving the fish with rice, this is about the perfect cooking time for rice. The fish takes about 5 minutes to cook, so get everything else ready before you start the cooking.

The salad is easy — steam the asparagus, heap it and the greens on a plate. Make the dressing by mixing all the ingredients together with a whisk or fork — taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. If you are using salted pumpkin seeds, you won’t need more salt. If you aren’t, you might want a dash of salt at the end.

Heat a well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until it is good and hot. You are going to sear the fish quickly, so make sure the pan is hot. If it’s a well-seasoned pan, you won’t need to add more oil.

Sear the first side of the fish. For cooking steaks an inch and a quarter thick, 3 minutes the first side and 2 minutes the second should be about perfect. Baste it with the marinade right before you flip it. Because tuna changes color as it cooks, you can watch the fish to get the timing correct — watch the cooking up the side and flip it when it’s cooked about 1/4 of the way through. Then take it off when it’s 1/4 of the way through the other side. The center of your fish should be warm, but pink. That is perfect tuna.

Add the tuna to the salad, sprinkle the salad with pumpkin seeds, and drizzle on the dressing.

Enjoy!

October 26, 2015

Caramelized Onion & Balsamic Dressing over White Beans, Mushrooms, and Spinach Salad

I am not a big eater of salads. Mostly, that’s because “salad” to me equals lettuce, and I don’t eat lettuce. I don’t like it that much and my body hates digesting it. But the thing is, salad doesn’t need to be lettuce at all. I love chopped salads, and I’ve been experimenting lately with meal salads that are spinach (which I do like) with something warm and cooked over top. Putting something hot on spinach slightly wilts the spinach, which I love, and somehow makes the salad seem more like a hearty meal. This salad is one of those.

Actually, this salad is several of those. The point of this salad is the dressing, which I originally whipped up to go over a grilled steak salad. But as I was getting ready to make it again for better photos, I really didn’t feel like steak. So I made a white bean, dill, and mushroom saute, instead, and it was really good. Again, the point is the dressing. Make that, and then put it over whatever you think will taste good with caramelized onions on it (so, basically, anything up to dessert). The salad is the vehicle for the dressing. It keeps in the fridge overnight, but I’ve never had it around longer than that.

Overall, this recipe makes 2-4 servings, depending on how hungry you are. It’s about 2 servings for me.

Caramelized Onion Balsamic Dressing

3 Tablespoons olive oil (cooking quality, not finish quality — you’re heating this)
1 cup of onions, halved, then quarter each half and slice thinly. This is about one baseball-sized onion
1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon salt (how salty do you like your dressing? I like the high end of this range, but to just get good flavor, 1/2 teaspoon is enough)
1 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic (about one largish clove)
1-2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar (again, adjust for your preferred tanginess)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon faux tamari, or 1/2 Tablespoon tamari and 1 teaspoon maple syrup or other liquid sweetener

Place a large skillet (I always use my cast iron) over medium heat. When hot, add olive oil and let it heat until shimmering.

Add onions, and stir well. Cook until translucent, stirring frequently.

Add salt. Stir well, and turn heat to medium low. Cook until caramelization begins (golden browning), stirring infrequently, knowing that this will take up to 45 minutes. It’s worth it.

When the browning has begun across the pan of onions, add the garlic, Dijon, balsamic, and tamari, stirring well after each addition. Stir this over the heat until everything has really incorporated (2-4 minutes), and then remove from heat.

Bonus Salad Recipe: Mushrooms, White Beans, and Dill over Spinach

2 -3 teaspoons of oil
1 package (8 oz) mushrooms, washed and chopped roughly
1 can (15 oz) small white beans, drained and rinsed
1 packed Tablespoon of fresh dill, chopped
5 oz of spinach, washed and torn (if big)

Heat a large skillet over medium heat — since you’re combining everything, feel free to use the skillet you made the dressing in without washing it. When hot, add the mushrooms and oil. I always add these two together since I “measure” the oil by adding just a little to the pan, adding the mushrooms, and stirring well. I keep adding little bits of oil while stirring until the mushrooms are all lightly coated. This is probably less than you’d imagine, or less than you would start out with, so it keeps the mushrooms from sticking but also keeps them from being greasy.

Cook over medium heat as the mushrooms release their liquid. Stir frequently. When they’ve shrunk and look cooked, add the beans. Stir well, and add the dill. Cook another 2-3 minutes, until all the beans are hot.

Place the spinach in a large bowl. Pour beans and mushrooms over spinach, then dressing. Let sit for about 5 minutes to wilt the spinach, then toss. Let it sit again, if you like, for further wilting, and then serve.

July 20, 2015

Chopped Cobbish Salad in a Jar, gluten-free, allergy-friendly

This recipe comes from two sources. First, a salad I read about on a menu and was really excited to try — until I was informed by our knowledgeable server that all the sauces and dressings at the restaurant were unsafe for me. How is it possible that not a single sauce was allergy-friendly? I don’t know. I was grateful to be steered away from food that would make me ill, and I ate my boring but properly cooked plain food instead. But I was still thinking about it, and figured I could absolutely whip up an awesome chopped salad. Secondly, after all the ingredients were chopped, it was so gorgeous that I thought I could use the “salads in mason jars” technique that is all over the food internets to make a) better photos, and b) lunch.

Keeping salad in a mason jar allows you to put the dressing on the bottom and layer the ingredients so they do not get smushed or soggy. Layer something that won’t absorb the dressing and get soggy on the bottom — I put the chicken down there. Carrots, celery, corn, bacon on top of that. Avocado under tomato (so the acid would keep the avocado green), a sprinkle of Daiya cheddar shreds (absolutely optional), and some sprouts on top. Instead of croutons, I’ve used roasted fingerling potato slices. I served it all over spinach, but use whatever greens you prefer. The dressing in this case is a super simple cilantro-lime vinaigrette, using frozen chopped cilantro (but use fresh if you’ve got it!).

Chop everything up. Add or replace ingredients as you choose — go for color. Think about your layers a bit, but layer it into jars and go to town. Lunch for days, in the time for one meal prep. It’s color, freshness, and portable flavor. This recipe makes about 4 pint jar salads (with the greens kept separate). You will likely have leftover potatoes and chicken.

Chopped Cobbish Salad, in a jar, gluten-free, allergy-friendly

4 teaspoons chopped cilantro (thawed, if previously frozen)
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
4 Tablespoons lime juice
6 Tablespoons best-quality olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

olive oil to coat
seasoned salt or spice mix of your choice
fingerling or other small potatoes, sliced thin or chopped small
chicken breast
mixed herb seasoning of your choice
6 slices bacon, cooked

3 carrots, peeled and chopped small, or shredded
3 stalks celery
1 ear corn, cooked and removed from cob, or 1/2 cup defrosted
grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 avocado, cubed
sprouts
spinach or other greens

Can you see why this needed to be layered into a jar?

First, cook your cooked ingredients.

Roasted potatoes for “croutons”: Pre-heat oven to 425°F. Wash and slice. Toss potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoned salt or other spice of your choice. Bake 20 minutes or until crispy. I can’t tell you how many of these to make — I always make a full pan because they make great snacks.

Cook your chicken breasts. I prefer to grill them on my little electric grill, but you can always use this method.

Cook your bacon until crispy, drain and crumble.

Okay. Now on to the vegetables. You’re looking for about 1/2 a cup of each vegetable, divided up into 4 servings. Given that the corn and tomatoes are sort of pre-sized, aim to get everything else between those two sizes.

Now mix up your dressing — whisk or put all the ingredients in a jar and shake. Add about 1-2 Tablespoons of dressing to each jar, depending on how much dressing you like (and remember you’ll be putting this over additional greens). Then layer in the rest of the food. I put the sprouts on top so I could pack them in. Cap it, put it in the fridge, and look forward to your next meal. When ready to serve, I tipped the jars over and shook them a little. Put the greens down on a plate and pour over the rest of the goodies. I pulled the sprouts aside so that I could use them to swipe the rest of the dressing out of the jar.

The longest I’ve kept a jar salad around was 2 days — they might last a bit more, but I haven’t tried it yet.

Jars flipped upside down to let the dressing mix in

June 8, 2015

Moveable Feast — the week-long salad

This summer hasn’t been brilliant for me and cooking. Let’s be honest — it was brutally hot and often humid, and I’ve been busy. But hey, since when is that just a summer thing? Here’s a second “idea” recipe of the summer — the “idea” part being that you can change up almost all of the ingredients and the concept will still work. Actually, that’s also the whole point of this recipe.

You know those weeks where you have a lot of random leftovers around? Or ingredients you didn’t use quite all of? Last week, that was me — a fridge full of random, and a planned long weekend vacation at the end of the week. So I shopped strategically and left my empty fridge alone over the weekend.

With half a bag of shredded carrots, most of a cucumber, some broccoli, leftover brown rice pasta, half an avocado, and a packet of tuna, I managed four meals by adding one key ingredient — ranch dressing (check out our cashew-based recipe, but you can also try the Earth Balance mayo version). I know that you likely come here for new and fresh recipes, and this isn’t exactly a recipe. But occasionally, I need a reminder that good, healthy, tasty food is not hard and does not need to take forever to make.

This kind of salad is one of my favorite things to eat for lunches, but I make a few, get a bit tired of them, and then seem to forget that they exist. Does anyone else do that?

Meal The First

4 stalks celery, chopped

1 cucumber, sliced in half and thinly sliced

1/2 bag of shredded carrots

2 cups of broccoli florets, broken into smaller florets

1/4 cup slivered almonds

Cashew ranch, to your level of dressing needs

Feeds two or makes two meals, with leftovers, so plate and then put the dressing on your servings

Meal the Second

To the leftover vegetables, and with the leftover ranch, add:

1 packet of tuna, drained

1/2 avocado, cubed

1 small tomato, sliced

1 cup of leftover pasta

Again, feeds two or makes two meals

Other Possible Additions

Leftover chicken/canned chicken

Canned beans

Any other vegetables you may have around

Leftover rice or other grains

Do you make salads like this? If so, what would you add? Any good ideas for exciting or unexpected ingredients?

August 26, 2013

Not Quite Mom’s Coleslaw

Reinvention of Mom's Coleslaw — Not Quite Mom’s Coleslaw

It’s summer still, although there’s been a fall-like chill in the air lately. So there’s still opportunities for cookouts and potlucks and all sorts of communal eating, and sometimes you need coleslaw. And with a dairy and egg allergy that can be challenging. Especially if one is anti-coleslaw with vinegar and oil dressing. As far as I’m concerned, coleslaw with vinegar and oil dressing is a salad with cabbage, it’s not coleslaw. Am I the only one with deeply held beliefs on coleslaw? (Yeah, probably.) In any case, my mom used to make this coleslaw dressing with Miracle Whip with a bit of milk, orange juice, and sugar that was the right sort of tangy, creamy and sweet all at the same time. And my mom doesn’t really cook, but seriously this dressing was perfect. I could eat buckets of this coleslaw back in the day before food allergies reared their ugly heads.

Now that Earth Balance has a vegan mayo that’s really good, I’ve been able to recreate my mom’s coleslaw dressing (see our review here). And it’s good and pretty close to the original.

Not Quite Mom’s Coleslaw

6 cups of chopped cabbage
2 grated carrots
1/2 cup of Earth Balance Mindful Mayo Original
3 Tablespoons of orange juice (or lemon or lime if you like your dressing more tart)
1 teaspoon of sugar

Chop your cabbage however you like cabbage to be in coleslaw, but I like mine to be diced, about a half inch by a half inch.

Once you have six cups of chopped cabbage, peel your carrots and use a large grater to grate them.

Then place your Earth Balance Mindful Mayo Original, the orange juice and the sugar into a small bowl and whisk the ingredients together until smooth.

Combine cabbage, carrots and dressing in a large bowl and mix together well. The orange color to the dressing doesn’t actually come from the orange juice, it comes from the grated carrots.

Dressing, Carrots, and Cabbage combined.

Serve and enjoy!

August 19, 2013

Category: Salads

Tuna Steak Salad

Caramelized Onion Balsamic Dressing

Bonus Salad Recipe: Mushrooms, White Beans, and Dill over Spinach

Chopped Cobbish Salad, in a jar, gluten-free, allergy-friendly