Meatless Monday - Red Cabbage and Walnut Winter Coleslaw

Although I call this a winter coleslaw, I often make this in the warmer weather as well. Red cabbage makes wonderful coleslaw, although it is sadly often overlooked in favour of its greener cousins. The fact that red cabbage is often served overcooked or pickled has led many folks to believe that it is bitter, but properly prepared nothing could be further from the truth. Nutritionally, it is an absolute powerhouse, high in protective phytonutrients that detoxify, nourish and protect against disease, particularly when served raw. It is also a powerful anti-inflammatory and high in vitamins A and C.

You need to make this salad in advance but this is something I almost always find a benefit, particularly when I am entertaining. It is best to make it the afternoon or evening before the day you wish to serve it to allow the flavours to blend together and for the cabbage to become tender crisp in the dressing. You can shred the onion and cabbage in a food processor if you like, but I often find it is quicker just to slice them finely with a knife than having to wash all the paraphernalia that goes along with the food processor!

half a red onion, finely sliced in half moons

1 red cabbage, cored and finely sliced or shredded

¾ to 1 cup walnut halves

2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley (or 2 teaspoons dried parsley)

4 tablespoons olive oil (Extra Virgin if possible)

3 tablespoons good balsamic vinegar

(I use Apple Balsamic Vinegar when I can get it, but any good balsamic vinegar is absolutely fine.)

1 tablespoon sugar or honey

2 teaspoons wholegrain Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon salt and one eighth of a teaspoon pepper (or to taste)

Place the onions and cabbage in a bowl. Add the walnuts and 1 tablespoon of the fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon of the dried) and stir to mix.

In a shaker or clean jar, mix the oil, vinegar, sugar or honey, wholegrain mustard and salt and pepper. Shake until well mixed and pour over the salad. Toss thoroughly.

Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight. Before serving, toss the salad again. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if you feel it needs it. Garnish with the remaining parsley and serve.

The Best Waldorf Salad in New York City

Admittedly I have not tried every Waldorf Salad in New York, so this title is just a tiny bit subjective. It should in fact read, The Best Waldorf Salad I Have Tasted So Far in New York City. But this sounds pretty cumbersome, and considering I have visited New York several times, and eaten a great deal of Waldorf Salad in a number of places, I think I am qualified to bestow my own little award. The funny thing is, my favourite Waldorf Salad hails from a rather unusual place.

As many people already know, the Waldorf Salad was invented by Oscar Tschirky, the maitre d'hotel at the Waldorf Hotel (the first incarnation of the iconic Waldorf Astoria Hotel) sometime in the late 1800's. It originally consisted of celery, apples, grapes and sometimes even pineapple dressed with mayonnaise. Walnuts did not form a part of it until sometime later. Although we stay at The Waldorf Astoria quite regularly and I have tasted the wonderful Waldorf Salad at Oscar's restaurant, named in honour of this salad's inventor, many times, I don't think it is the best in New York City. I do love the candied walnuts they use in their version of this salad entirely too much and it is absolutely scrumptious, but on the whole, I cannot bestow it with the title of favourite.

In fact, I believe that the best Waldorf Salad you can get in New York City hails from a restaurant on the 5th floor of a department store that has been around even longer than the Waldorf Astoria - Lord and Taylor, at 5th Avenue and 39th Street.  Founded in 1826, it was the first major store on 5th Avenue. Sarabeth's Kitchen opened a branch of their restaurant there in 1998, and it is there that I believe you can find the very best Waldorf Salad in New York City. I am so convinced of this, I go back there every time we visit New York without fail for a taste of my favourite.

The apples in the Waldorf Salad at Sarabeth's in Lord and Taylor are just a garnish, and the salad is composed of much more lettuce - the light Bibb variety - than the original version was said to be. It also contains thinly sliced celery, and lots of grapes, alongside a healthy serving of walnuts and bite size pieces of tender chicken breast. Instead of traditional mayonnaise, the dressing is a creamy chive variety which gives the salad a lovely light flavour. It is ambrosial.

I've not yet tried to replicate Sarabeth's Waldorf Salad at home, but when I do I will definitely share the recipe. In the meantime, Sarabeth's are very generous about sharing many of their other delicious recipes on their website, so do click here to go and have a look.



The 21st Century Housewife has not been paid for this post. 

The 21st Century Housewife's© Banana Walnut Muffins

The cold and rainy autumn weather always makes me want to bake muffins and fruit loaves. They are delicious for breakfast or a snack, and the ones that involve fruit and nuts do actually qualify as pretty nutritious, although they are fairly high in sugar.

This is a really easy recipe to throw together, and is a great way to use up over-ripe bananas. It may seem odd to have both buttermilk and milk in a recipe, but trial and error has led me to the discovery that in the case of banana muffins, using all buttermilk can make the flavour slightly too rich. Having said that, buttermilk really adds something to muffins so I didn’t want to leave it out entirely - hence my compromise of half and half.

I love the spicing in these muffins, and the smell of them when they are baking makes them hard to resist. Try to use freshly grated nutmeg if you can - it really does make a huge difference to the flavour. Another tip - use the ready chopped walnut pieces that you can buy in most grocery stores. They are cheaper than walnut halves and it saves time and mess if you don’t have to do the chopping yourself.

My recipe makes a big batch of 24 large muffins, but that is no problem as they freeze very easily once cooled. If you really don’t want 24 muffins, just pour half the mixture into a loaf tin and make a banana walnut loaf instead of all muffins. You just have to remember to bake it for longer - about 50 to 60 minutes, instead of the 20 to 25 minutes the muffins take.

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts
3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup oil
(sunflower or mild olive oil works well, but not extra virgin olive oil)
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup milk

Measure the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and walnuts into a large bowl and stir to mix.

Place the mashed bananas in a medium bowl and add the sugars, eggs, oil, buttermilk and milk. Mix thoroughly.

Add the banana and sugar mixture to the flour mixture and stir thoroughly until well blended, but don’t beat. Divide the mixture between 24 large lined (or greased and floured) muffin cups.

Bake at about 350℉ or 170℃ for 20 to 25 minutes or until a piece of dry spaghetti inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean (ie. with no batter clinging to it). Keep an eye on these in the last five minutes or so of cooking or they will over-brown.

Take the muffin pans out of the oven. Remove the muffins from the pan and cool on wire racks. I feel obliged to mention here that these are delicious warm from the oven with a nice hot cup of tea!

Once cooled, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator if possible. (Bring to room temperature or warm in the microwave before eating.) To freeze, wait until completely cool and then seal in freezer bags or containers before freezing.