Three Crunchy Slaws for Summer
Plus, Five Real Life Dinners
Hi!
I’m jumping right into the recipes today, because honestly, I’m feeling tired and not very creative and the six men loudly clomping around on my roof right now are making it hard to focus.
The last two unusually rainy winters in LA made it very clear that our house really needed a new and less leaky roof. I’m relieved we’re finally getting it done, but wow! Installing a new roof is very loud and expensive and not a very exciting upgrade to a house.
All of the hammering up there does remind me that I promised a book update when I finished Mercury by Amy Jo Burns, a novel about a family that owns a roofing company and all of the hidden secrets, regrets and longings that exist between them. Roofing plays a fairly major role in the story, but not in a boring way. I liked Mercury, mostly because I really liked the main character, Marley. A few of the other characters weren’t fleshed out enough and not knowing or understanding them fully left me feeling frustrated at times. There are a lot of twists and turns to keep the plot moving though, and overall this story about a messy, imperfect family was an enjoyable read.
Now, let’s get to the recipes!
Three Crunchy Slaws for Summer
I’ve got three go-to coleslaw recipes to get you through the summer! One is light and crunchy, one has a creamy dressing made from Greek yogurt and the third is very close to a traditional mayo coleslaw, with miso paste added for extra flavor.
Simple Crunchy Slaw
This basic cabbage slaw is a cinch to make. Simple, crunchy and colorful it's the perfect slaw for tacos and pulled pork. This recipe uses a combination of fresh lime juice and red wine vinegar to give the coleslaw its tangy flavor. Recipe here.
Broccoli Slaw with Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing
The original recipe for this crunchy slaw is made from store-bought broccoli slaw + chopped broccolini, red onion and honey mustard yogurt dressing. However, you can use the creamy honey mustard dressing on any type of coleslaw. Recipe here.
Miso Slaw
This creamy miso dressing is tangy and lightly sweetened with honey. A touch of mayonnaise makes the dressing very similar to classic coleslaw dressing. Miso paste adds salty, rich flavor so your coleslaw will never be bland and under-seasoned again! Recipe here.
5 Dinners in Real Life
I’m always curious about what other families are eating. Aren’t you? I hope that my week of real life dinners will provide a few helpful recipes & cooking ideas for your family. Here’s what my crew ate last week:
Monday: There wasn’t really a plan for dinner…I roasted cauliflower and some mushrooms that needed to be used up. Sorin and I turned the roasted veggies into a salad and the kids ended up eating black bean quesadillas.
Tuesday: I tried a recipe for spaghetti with sweet corn pesto in Cooking in Real Life by Lidy Heuck, which was good but not a favorite. The recipe is meant to be eaten right after it’s made, but that didn’t work for my schedule. I had to make dinner early in the day and serve it hours later which made the corn “pesto” too thick and lumpy.
Wednesday: I made miso coleslaw and grilled burgers, which I thought would be an easy dinner until I realized how dirty my grill is. Ugh. I’ve now added “ wash grill grates” to my long list of things to do before summer officially starts.
Thursday: I relied on a back-pocket dinner that I can make quickly: marinated tofu that I saute in a non-stick skillet, white rice, sliced cucumbers and Trader Joe’s egg rolls.
Friday: The night before I used my Mediterranean marinade to season boneless, skinless chicken thighs and on Friday I roasted the chicken thighs in the oven. I served the chicken with sliced polenta warmed in a skillet and Sorin roasted cauliflower florets with olive and salt.
That’s it for this week! What do you have planned for the weekend?
This weekend will be more of the same for us, kid activities + work around the house. Switching bedrooms around in our house has had a domino affect on re-organizing and cleaning. It feels like every room in our house is turned a little bit upside down right now. I’m glad we’ve been forced to chase out all of the dust bunnies and deal with things that have been stuffed under beds and into closets, but right now it’s getting worse before it gets better!
xo
Jenny
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I never think of adding brocoli to a slaw. I'm going to give it a try. Thanks.