Made-at-Home Creamy Crunchy Coleslaw

By: Sarah

 

What’s better than cabbage? Cabbage is a versatile vegetable that you can find in stores all-year-round. Me, I buy cabbage only when I crave for Nilagang Baka, Pochero with plantains and Corned Beef and Cabbage on St. Patty’s Day. I am liking this “really inexpensive compared to most veggies” cabbage even more as I google the health benefits. Those consuming cabbage regularly have the least risk for developing diabetes — that’s certainly is a Google surprise to me! Wished I learned that important piece of information much early huh. Wished my doctor mentioned about it in one of my visits. Wished we had Google in our lives in the 60s, 70s, 80s — I would have eaten cabbage everyday, seriously. Consider these health benefits. This one is really wonderful news: Cabbage helps skin looking healthy, beautiful and glowing, is rich in antioxidants (hallelu!), and great for weight loss. It helps fill you up, you eat less. That purple, sometimes labeled red, cabbage (I usually ignore this cabbage, sorry!) even has properties that protect against cholesterol from clogging the arteries, lower inflammation, prevent heart disease and yes, protect against cancer. Wow, am in, am on team cabbage now. But wait, one more piece of information, too much cabbage can cause gas or bloating, you may want to avoid crowds LOL.

The summer barbecue season is really here. And what goes fantastically with Brat, Pulled-Pork, Falling-off-the-bone BBQ Ribs, and Burgers, yes Fried chicken too — COLESLAW. I love the delicious creamy version and I rather make my recipe that heading to the stores or deli and pick up a tub, a pound of coleslaw. Stores versions are usually not that creamy, not much sweetness, and more tart. And raisins are absent! Last night, I paired my coleslaw with Beef Picadillo and hubby Glenn gave it 2 thumbs-up, yey, winner! So let’s do a big batch of my Creamy Crunchy Coleslaw, it will last for a few good days for just family consumption, or a welcome treat for potlucks, picnics, or sharing with friends, neighbors, or other family members. What do we need to have? Cabbage, Carrots, Fuji Apples, Canned Sliced Pineapple, Raisins, Mayo, Sourcream, Sugar, Salt and Pepper, and yes, Condensed Milk.

Let’s talk more about the star ingredient — cabbage. Use a medium cabbage, or half of Large green cabbage. Remove the green firm leaves to reveal the shiny interiors. Those make the maximum crunch. You can do a combination of green and purple cabbage for a more colorful coleslaw. You don’t need extra tools, just slice cabbage as thinly as possible with a sharp knife. I stay away from mandoline, it makes cutting evenly, but nope. Ok, you don’t have the knife skills or you hate doing a lot of prepworks. Solution: buy bagged, pre-cut, coleslaw veggies from stores. There’s that other issue Made-at-Home Creamy Crunchy Coleslaw of preventing a watery coleslaw. There’s a lot of water inside the cabbage and the salting process gets the water out of the cabbage first, softening it, seasoning it too.

MADE-AT-HOME CREAMY CRUNCHY COLESLAW

Better than store-bought, better than KFC. It’s the best, quick and easy, plenty of crunch and delicioso oh la la! This is a big batch! Ingredients:

1 medium RAW green cabbage, thinly sliced into strips
3 medium carrots, coarsely grated
1 tablespoon of salt
1 can Sliced Pineapple, drained well and cut into tidbits size
2 Fuji apples, peeled, cored and cut into cubes
2 cups raisins
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups sourcream
2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds (optional)
2-4 tablespoons Thousand Island
Dressing (optional)
4-6 tablespoons Sweetened
Condensed Milk.

Procedure:

Place prepared cabbage strips and grated carrots in a large bow. Add salt and mix it all up well. Transfer to a colander set over a large bowl. Put weight on top of the veggies, like another bowl with canned soups. Allow to stand 1 hour to drain excess liquid, so you don’t end up with soggy salad.

Transfer the cabbage and carrot mixture into a very big bowl to accommodate other ingredients. Add pineapples, apples, raisins; toss well.

Make the creamy sauce. In another bowl, combine, and whisk well, mayonnaise, sour cream, sugar, black pepper, celery seeds, Thousand Island Dressing and Sweetened Condensed Milk. Taste and adjust sweetness.

Add dressing to the veggies and fruits. Stir everything together until thoroughly combined. Cover with cling wrap and let flavors come together in the fridge (at least 2 hours) before serving. Enjoy!

Notes:

Feel free to experiment with this recipe. Add dried cranberries, toasted almonds, sliced onions and celery.

That darn summer fruitflies — how do you get rid of ’em. Fill a glass jar with about an inch of vinegar. Put cling wrap on the top of the jar and prick with fork a few times. The flies mistake vinegar for rotting fruits or veggies, drown in vinegar and bye-bye.

Here’s welcoming Melvin to the Family (thanks to the pasalubong) — he made it and Direk Gerry’s been smiling ear to ear. Now, enjoy your summer — summer means happy times and good sunshine. Summertime and the livin’ is easy, yes yes!