10/11 Seasonal Slaw with Caramelized Honey Crisp Apples
One of the important aspects of helping to share vegan dishes with friends and family is to create flavor and food experiences that are similar to their non-vegan counterparts. Even if the flavor or texture is a bit different from what someone might typically recognize, I believe that getting them close enough to a known dish is a good method of making the experience easier to share with others who may be a bit shy about trying vegan food.
There are many such recipes on Exploits, from comfort food favorites like chick’n pot pie to a creamy coleslaw that you would be served in any typical diner. Foods like these are like friends, comfortable, reminiscent and reliable. I enjoy turning them into vegan dishes, so I don’t feel as though I’m going without, but also to make sure that sometimes our friends and family can identify with our food. I also like to add a little added flair at times, taking an old friend food and giving it a great new accessory.
One such dish was this seasonal slaw with caramelized Honey Crisp apples on top. It is a coleslaw of a different variation, a vinegar based version instead of the creamy style. Sandy whipped some up to go with our first Meatless Monday meals to go last week and I added a finishing touch. It is so simple and is a great salad for company.
Photo By: S. Duquet
Seasonal Slaw with Caramelized Honey Crisp Apples
By S. Boulton and S. Duquet
Slaw Ingredients:
4 C shredded green cabbage
2 C shredded red cabbage
3/4 C apple cider vinegar
4 Tbsp + maple syrup (or agave, or brown rice syrup)
Fresh ground pepper to taste
Caramelized Honey Crisp apple ingredients
One sliced apple (I used Honey Crisp because is is a hard apple that is both tart and sweet).
Make it Happen:
Place the shredded cabbage in a large bowl. Drain any excess water if necessary. In a separate small bowl, mix together the vinegar, maple syrup and pepper. Taste and add more syrup if it suits your palate to do so. Mix the dressing into the cabbage blend, adding as much as you choose, I used a little more than half the amount the recipe made. Add some ground pepper at this phase if you are so inclined.
Cover and let chill for several hours or overnight.
Photo By: S. Duquet
You will want to make your apple topping right before serving your slaw, but give them enough time to cool thoroughly before you top your slaw with them.
Serve to friends and share your super simple recipe
Kale Trail Update
Last Friday afternoon we set out to do our long run. We packed a picnic to enjoy after, drove to the Metropark and began our warm up walk. It was a beautiful day, very unseasonably warm. As we were walking through the parking lot, not yet in the thick of the trails or the woods….Sandy was swarmed with bugs, kind of in an apocalyptic way. In an instant we realize they are mosquitoes and they are all over me as well. They are latching on and biting us in droves. We freak out, turn around and haul ass to the van. I am not kidding…it was otherworldly. In a matter of seconds I was covered in swollen itchy welts. Had the hungry villains waited to attack before we had gotten into the park…we could have been eaten alive, literally. It was like the oddly warm weather produced mutant newborn mosquitoes.
So, now what….we still have eight miles to run and I just want to scratch my epidermis off and get a wine buzz. We decide to go home and string together a few smaller neighborhood runs to get to our eight miles. Because of the series of strange and unavoidable events, we are now running in the pitch black. I am tired. We are finally running toward home through our quiet neighborhood when all of a sudden we run up on a buxom black cat. Just as I am about to say, “aaww a kitty,” I see the white stripe down its back and it clicks. I scream…SKUNK as I am grabbing the back of Sandy’s wicking tank top with the urgency of a fireman yanking her out of a burning building. It was absolutely ridiculous. We were shaking our sweaty heads all the way home.
Every run has not been my favorite run, but more importantly, I have done every run. I have continued to try even when I wanted to go home. This experience of training and learning how to push myself has helped me to realize that I deserve to feel successful. I deserve to feel strong and at home in my body…even on days when it requires significantly more effort to just show up and run. Not having the most enjoyable workout does not mean that you didn’t rock it. It simply means that you had to work a little harder and that is admirable. Putting on your workout gear is struggle enough sometimes. Get out there, try your best and then congratulate yourself for whatever you were able to do that day. You are worthy of your own praise.
Have a delicious day.
Mosquito image courtesy of ecosalon.com
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Tags: 30 day challenge, compassionate eating, dairy free, going veg, Kale Trail update, Meatless Monday recipe, plant based diet, plant strong, seasonal recipe, seasonal slaw with caramelized Honey Crisp Apples, trying vegan, trying vegetarian, vegan challenge, vegan experience, Vegan MoFo, vegan MoFo recipe, vegan recipe, vegan side dish, vegetarian side dish
