I first came into the idea of semi-homemade when my mother
acquired a Cake Doctor cookbook. We always had a couple boxes of cake mix
around the house for last minute baking needs and the Cake Doctor made those
boxes of shockingly golden yellow “homestyle” cake that much better. Often, it
was just an extra tbs of extract, some mini-chips, or the addition of sour cream
making up short bits of “doctoring”, but they always went a long way. Now, in
my own kitchen, I keep a box of cake mix around because I am simply not that
organized when it comes to keeping a real baking pantry of flours, sugars,
baking soda, power, extracts stocked. I am always good around the holidays, or
if I commit to making something for a birthday, but if I get a strange urge to
bake or make a flakey baking commitment, Duncan Heinz to the rescue.
In addition to baking, the semi-homemade style has infiltrated
other parts of my diet. Trader Joe’s is one of my favorite resources for
finding products that eliminate huge chunks of cooking and meal preparation. I
love the turkey meatballs for the occasional meatball hoagie, jarred sauces for
a quick curry, mire-poix to get soup started, precooked lentils and beets for
a salad, frozen chopped fruits and veggies for juices--- I could go on and
on. They also have some fresh, non-shelf
stable items in the semi-homemade line up including cooked chunks of turkey and
salmon, yogurt sauces, fresh pizza dough, and lots of chopped and washed vegetables
in the produce section. In general, I’m not a big fan of their produce, but I
always pick up a bag of their broccoli slaw.
I buy it with the intention of making some elaborate coleslaw
as a side salad for the week, or stuffing it into wraps, but half the time I
eat a couple portions as a side with a bit of vinaigrette and I find the bag
slimy and rotted in the crisper a week later. I was headed down this path recently, about
2/3 of a bag about to meet its doomsday in the following 48 hours, when I found
myself responsible for preparing a salad for a Rosh Hashanah celebration.
I had googled Rosh Hashanah menus and recipes earlier in the
day and decided to keep it light and simple, anticipating plates of brisket and
kugel that would follow the salad course.
I was feeling fall-ish, as well, and while not on the pumpkin train
quite yet, I knew crisp chunks of apple would add sweetness in addition crisp
and texture. I was also sort of
hung-over, craving Vietnamese food, thinking about the chopped peanuts that I
love so much on top of the grape leaves. Chopped peanuts weren't quite it for
this salad, but walnuts would certainly do!
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| Don't skip toasting them. |
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| I think Pink Ladies are best. |
For the vinaigrette, I used Sesame Oil, orange marmalade, Dijon
mustard, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice.
I added the lemon juice to help keep the apple from browning, although
vinegar apparently will help prevent that as well. I really did not keep track of how much of
anything I added, so the recipe below is rough estimates, add more of less of
everything to taste. I chopped and toasted the walnuts and then chopped the
apple into roughly ½ in chunks. I threw the slaw, cooled walnuts, and apple
into a bowl, tossed that, then added the dressing, and tossed some more.
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| toss away, tossers! |
Sesame-Orange
Vinagrette
½ cup sesame oil
1 tbs Dijon mustard
2 tbs orange marmalade
Juice one lemon
2 tbs red wine vinegar
Stir together the mustard, marmalade, lemon juice, and red
wine vinegar. Gradually add the sesame
oil, whisking the oil and the other ingredient together from a slow
stream. Season to taste with salt and
pepper.
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| Sorry, haven't unpacked my measuring spoons. |
In large bowl, toss the broccoli slaw, chopped apple (I used
1 medium pink lady, my favorite), and cooled walnuts. Add the vinaigrette and
toss. Refrigerate for a couple hours before serving.
This would probably taste good in a wrap, perhaps with some
goat cheese, or with some turkey. You could also toss it with greens, something
sturdy like spinach, for a hearty green salad.
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| l'shana tova! |
