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| Tennessee Steve and his better half, Dorothy Rahn |
LUCY BURDETTE: During the high season in Key West, our fabulous kitchen store and bakery (The Restaurant Store) sponsors an artisan market. I'm there sometimes in the Key West Writers Guild booth, and there are lots of local artists, craft beers, music, and delicious food. But our must-stop is Tennessee Steve's BBQ rib booth. Oh my the ribs are tasty! And I would not even attempt to make them. But I can and do make the healthy and delicious cole slaw that we serve along with the ribs.
I have started buying Fresh Express packages of super kale salad in the supermarket. It comes with packets of pumpkin seeds and cranberries, along with a poppyseed dressing that I don’t use because of sodium content.
Since I always like to try to have extra vegetables on hand, especially during the holiday treat indulgence period, I decided to make a big pile of this coleslaw that I could eat for lunches and dinners all week, in addition to a rib side dish. The "recipe" is very flexible, so you could add carrots or peppers or onions or various herbs as you choose. The secret is to prepare the vegetables ahead of time, and then take them out and dress them as needed. I suppose you could even add them to soups and stews if the whim hits you.
Ingredients
1/2 cabbage
8 to 10 Brussel sprouts
Two broccoli stalks
Large handful of kale
1/3 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1/3 cup dried cranberries, raisins, or cherries
For the dressing2 tablespoons good mayonnaise
1/8 cup or more cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Fresh black pepper
Either chop, or even better, put the vegetables through your Cuisinart so they are all shredded. Mix.
Stir the mayonnaise with the vinegar, celery seed, salt and sugar, and then whip in the olive oil. Taste to be sure it’s seasoned to your liking.
An hour or two before serving, mix the dressing with the vegetables, then fold in the pepitas and cherries. You could even add a sprinkle of goat cheese if the mood struck you!
We served this with Tennessee Steve’s ribs and baked beans Yum! (Recipe for beans to come...)
Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mysteries--find them wherever books are sold! Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest--Instagram too...
