I know summer is not far off when I begin thinking about making coleslaw. Once I make it, I'm doomed. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Come to think of it, I have. And as a snack in between. There's something about the combination of fresh crisp cabbage, sweet carrots and this incredible buttermilk dressing that I can't seem to get enough of.
The inspiration for the dressing comes from Kalyn's Buttermilk Dressing that she used on her coleslaw last summer. I've made a few changes to suit my whimsy, but the credit really goes to Kalyn.
Confetti Coleslaw
Inspired by Kalyn's Buttermilk Dressing
Ingredients:
Slaw
1 medium head green cabbage
1 medium head red cabbage
6 carrots
1 cup (heaping) frozen peas per bowl of slaw
1 cup lightly toasted pecan pieces
Dressing
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups Vegenaise
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon wasabi powder
3/4 teaspoon celery salt
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch kosher salt
1 packet Splenda
Preparation:
For the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a large glass measuring cup and whisk until blended. Taste and adjust seasonings and refrigerate until ready to use. This will keep in the fridge for several days, covered.
For the slaw, remove any limp outer leaves from the cabbages, slice them in half and cut out the core. Cut the coreless cabbages into wedges small enough to fit through the feed tube of a food processor. Fit the food processor with a slicing blade and process all the cabbage, emptying the contents into a large bowl when necessary.
Peel the carrots and snip the ends. Fit the grating blade into the food processor and push the carrots through the feed tube until they've all been grated.
Combine the carrots and the cabbages and mix well.
This makes a lot of slaw so I package about half of it into a gallon-size zip top bag and put it in the crisper of the fridge to use later. It will keep this way for about 4 days.
Toss about 1 1/2 cups of the dressing with 1/2 of the cole slaw. Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours in a sealed container, turning it from time to time to evenly distribute the dressing. About 1/2 hour before serving, add a cupful of frozen peas and toss well to mix. The peas will have defrosted by the time the salad is served. Lightly toasted pecans, added just before serving adds a nutty crunch factor. Too bad my pecan container was empty this time!
Cook's Notes:
Vegenaise. Bless the Follow Your Heart people for coming up with a mayonnaise substitute that tastes wonderful! Made without eggs, you'd think it would taste just awful but it doesn't. I prefer it to mayonnaise now and am delighted that it's full of good omega 3's. Check their site out for yourself.
