My other favourite snacky food to keep in the fridge, when I am on my self imposed “Watch the Body”(as opposed to watch your weight) Celi Diet, is the coleslaw. Little bowls of this is so good to snack on and sometimes I think that I could live on muesli and coleslaw quite comfortably if other members of the household did not desperately need variety.
Coleslaw by its very nature is made from calm cool CLEAN food. All fresh and clean. And sits comfortably with the mantra:
- No Flour
- No Sugar
- No Rice
- No Roots
- No CHEATING
We have lots of cabbages in the garden, lovely crinkly green ones and the king of cabbages: the Mighty Red Cabbage. You all know that cabbage is a super food. It is high in Vitamin C and Vitamin K which is the blood and bone vitamin. Cabbage is loaded with antioxidants (more than double in the red cabbage) and has fantastic detox properties. And there are these lovely rumours that it has fat burning abilities, probably all the .. um.. flatulence.
As I walked about the gardens picking the greens for the coleslaw I saw all kinds of colour. 
The bees are having the best time. Though there has been some robbing, I witnessed a grueling bee fight yesterday evening, as one hive of bees attempted to eject the thieves and vagabonds who were out on a pillaging mission from a neighbouring hive. I guess their honey is better!
Coleslaw
Now you all have your own favourite coleslaw, I am sure. So I shall merely list the ingredients in todays. You will all know how much of what to put where. No carrots in this one this is the Celi Diet Version.
- Green cabbage – finely shredded
- Red cabbage- finely shredded
- Red onion – sliced so it is transparent and roughly chopped
- Nuts(or seeds)
- Raisins
- Homemade cheddar cheese- grated
- Stalk of very finely sliced celery
The dressing has been adapted from my mothers recipe. (I am thinking of calling Mums recipes The Retro Recipes, as they are all steeped in the sugary 70’s.)
Heat together:
- 1/4 cup sugar (we are using 2 tablespoons of honey)
- 1/2 cup white vinegar (we will use cider)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Then add
- 1/3 cup salad oil (Peanut oil )
- herbs of choice we are using 1tsp fresh thyme, parsley and 1 tsp fresh celeriac finely chopped
Whisk cool oil into hot vinegar and pour over coleslaw while still warm, toss and serve when chilled.
Mum usually made a big batch because she swore that this dressing made it last longer in the fridge. However this theory was never tested because we were massive eaters of coleslaw as kids.
We are still having the most gorgeous evenings and as the light is fading I have brought the candles out.
I took this shot yesterday because that Borage is such a good Do-er. It flowers early and just keeps on going. The lavender is starting to flower again too. The bees are having a blast with all of these flowers. 
c
The Kitchen's Garden 
79 responses to “Celi Diet: Fall Coleslaw on a Gypsy Summer day”
Your garden looks just lovely, my little balcony pales in comparison. I’m very intrigued by your dressing, my ‘slaw has always been covered in mayo. This way looks much healthier!
I am sure you grow all kinds of lovely stuff on your balcony, and yes I am very partial to mayo too but it is such a trial to make sometimes,(no processed food in little jars remember) so the oil is a lovely alternative esp with the honey! c
holy cow I’m glad you commented on my blog which made me come over here to your blog. I now want to make everything I’ve seen your past several posts! I don’t have a garden, but that’s not going to stop me… yum!
Thank you melissa and welcome, no reason why we can’t eat well is there! c
What do you do with the borage. In the past, it seems to have been a panacea: “borage for courage”—it cured unhappiness and “dullness”, gave you energy and got you out of your doldrums!
I use the tiny young leaves in salads and the flowers i freeze into blocks of ice to decorate drinks in the summer and they certainly are not dull. Interesting that it will cure the doldrums, maybe I should make a tea next time i feel weepy and see what happens! c
I’m with the others here suffering from Borage Envy. I’ve been longing for the riotous growth of that rangy plant with the bluest of starry flowers and the wonderful cucumber-y taste, but can’t find them anywhere around here. I suspect it IS the heat that they can’t take. But I’m seriously thinking of finding some seeds online and trying to grow it indoors, because it’s such a favorite.
Oh do Kathyrn, and sow some outdoors as well you never know, it may just need an area that is not too hot though frankly we sit around a hundred for weeks and it does not fade at all..it will grow in the cracks in the paths!. I had to order the seeds online. c
Beautiful images. Dining at your table appears a lovely visual experience as much as a tasty one.
Thank you Audrey. There is no excuse for ugly food! c
Lovely photos as always – we are picking little bits of veggies still from our back garden and enjoying them with our meals, though they won’t last much longer now the days are getting shorter. 🙂
In know Joanna .. i can still drag a meal out of the garden but we really are getting down to the last of it. c
I think this is a fabulous recipe (and from all the comments, so does everyone else). Love the photos and I think serving it in those beautiful glasses must have made it taste even better…if that was possible 🙂
Great pictures, great recipe. We use olive oil, mustard, horseradish and rice vinegar for our cole-slaw dressing (no sugar) and add sunflower seeds, artichoke hearts, onions, flax seeds and sometimes julienned carrots. Cole slaw makes a great snack and red cabbage is so healthy!
Hi there. You are right about the red cabbage it is even more of a superfood that regular cabbage! artichoke hearts sound like a great addition i will try that.. c
I love using red cabbage as well in coleslaw, they are nice for presentation.
This is a great recipe…sounds delicious and will add it to my book of good things to do with cabbage…no, that’s not the title and the book is just collected recipes…but, come to think of it, that would be a good title! Ha!Ha!
that would be a great title.. you have a BOOK in the making! c
Celi, I am beginning to think that your could make anything look delicious. The only cole slaw in my past is the mayo soaked stuff that Delis use as side dishes. Thanks for the real kind that is nutritious and a bunch of other good “ishes.”