Homemade Coleslaw

Thought of the Day…Food is an important part of a balanced diet. ~Fran Lebowitz

Cast of characters

Cabbage, carrots (in this case I used baby carrots), white vinegar, celery salt, black pepper, sugar or Splenda (as you can see I used Splenda), mayonnaise (I love Kraft’s reduced fat mayonnaise made with olive oil* – if you haven’t used it… go out and get it now — well, I supposed you could wait until you’re finished reading this post)

I (oops, We) received an Oster mixer/blender/food processor as a wedding gift, but after 22 years the slicer/shedder part was broken, food processor part worked, but not so great and the mixer part was acting up.

Costco had the KitchenAid* Professional HD mixer on sale just after Thanksgiving in 2008, I begged (OK, didn’t really beg) for it…

Hubby said, “Now, I don’t want to have it thrown back in my face that I bought you a kitchen appliance for Christmas.”

I replied, “Nope, never! Won’t do it… I’m asking for it. Remember, I never complained about getting my Cuisinart pots and pans for an anniversary gift. I ASKED for them!”

So, we decided on grey (we have a stainless dishwasher and fridge so it works with the rest of the appliances – but I really wanted red)..

I fell in love. Can a human be in love with a kitchen appliance? I’m weird, I know (Rafael and Chris, no snide comments ya hear me?) Still after all this time, I don’t know how to adjust my recipes though… we’ll discuss that another time…

…I used to use the Salad Shooter that Nana and Papa (what The Offspring calls Hubby’s folks) gave me. It is great for salads, but not so great for coleslaw. So when I made coleslaw, I reverted to hand cutting or shredding and when super lazy (yep, it happens) I would buy pre-shredded in bags at the grocery store.

Amazon had a sale going on that Christmas… I was able to get the food grinder, the slicer/shredder and the fruit/vegetable strainer with their discounted price and rebate rebate with what ended up being 75% off! I was in kitchen appliance heaven!

The slicer/shredder is GREAT. If you don’t have this attachment set… RUN, don’t walk, and get it… WAIT… let’s finish this recipe first!

Here, you see the shredder in action… Finely grate/shred the cabbage

…Yeah, this doesn’t look “finely grated”… I messed up and didn’t use the right attachment blade… Forgive me, please!

Finely grate/shred carrots; OK, again, not so “finely grated”… like I said, I messed up…

In medium bowl add the following to make the dressing:

Mayonnaise

Vinegar

Celery salt

Pepper (wow… I was messy)

Splenda (you can use sugar, but I use Splenda for sugar-reducing dietary needs)

It starts out looking nasty… really nasty now that I’m looking at it again while writing this… keep wisking…

…but after several swishes of the whisk…

… you get a nice smooth dressing…

In large bowl, combine cabbage, carrots and dressing. Mix well.

Slaw will appear dry at first, but continue mixing scraping sides of bowl. When you think it is done, keep going. You will likely find more dressing that needs to be mixed in.

Continue until all the cabbage is coated and looks “wet”.

Place slaw in refrigerator for at least an hour, overnight if possible. This will enhance flavor. It is best served cold, especially since it contains mayonnaise.

…Now for the dreaded clean-up…

…Slicing/shredding carrots STAIN… I nearly freaked the first time I saw this… my beautiful white attachment was stained ORANGE! UGH!

…Well, KitchenAid had a very useful hint… add a drop (or several in this case… I poured too much) of olive oil to stain…

…with your fingers, rub stain completely…

…then wash with warm/hot soapy water… and…

VOILIA! It’s white again!

This hint works well with the Pampered Chef scrappers, too! 🙂

How do you make coleslaw? Post a link to your process in the comment section.

As for my recipe… a printable recipe can be found here. (If link fails it is because the recipe post is still pending approval)

Cole Slaw made with Splenda (or sugar)

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Serving Size: 16

Ingredients:

32 ounces cabbage, grated

12 whole baby carrots, grated

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/3 cup Splenda, pourable (not baking) OR sugar

2 cups mayonnaise

Directions:

1. Finely grate/shred cabbage.

2. Finely grate/shred carrots.

3. In medium bowl add the following to make dressing: mayonnaise, vinegar, celery salt, pepper, Splenda (or sugar). Mix until smooth.

4. In large bowl, combine cabbage, carrots and dressing. Mix well. Slaw will appear dry at first, but continue mixing scraping sides of bowl. When you think it is done, keep going. You will likely find more dressing that needs to be mixed in. Continue until all the cabbage is coated and looks “wet”.

5. Place slaw in refrigerator for at least an hour, overnight if possible. This will enhance flavor.

6. Best served cold, especially since it contains mayonnaise.

NUTRITION FACTS from MacGourmet:

MADE WITH SPLENDA

Servings: 16

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 108

Total Fat: 8.05g

Cholesterol: 8mg

Sodium: 245mg

Total Carbs: 8.27g

Dietary Fiber: 1.75g

Sugars: 4.36g

Protein: 0.80g

MADE WITH SUGAR

Servings: 16

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 125

Total Fat: 8.05g

Cholesterol: 8mg

Sodium: 245mg

Total Carbs: 12.44g

Dietary Fiber: 1.75g

Sugars: 8.53g

Protein: 0.80g

*Not a paid endorsement; just the product(s) I use.