Our favorite winter salad

I guess technically, this is a "slaw", but who really knows the difference between salad and slaw?

Not I.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the greens are cabbage rather than lettuce, but I'll tell you that it does NOT include mayo, which in my mind is what makes something slaw-like.

And I don't enjoy mayo in my salad. Just no.

But I do enjoy cabbage! And apples! And cilantro! And wouldn't you just know that it's winter in NorCal and we have these things in abundance all at the same time.

Handy, that.

Which is one reason that this recipe for our favorite winter salad, adapted from an old recipe out of Real Simple magazine, has made a lot of winter appearances over the last oh four years.

I think it's hit the table one night a week from November through April for the last four winters. And not just because we have cabbage coming out of our eye sockets, but because it's fabulous, fast and easy to make, and gives us something to tell our moms so that they can be proud of their kids.

"Look mom! I'm eating my roughage instead of, like, Cheetos or something!"

Yeah, I can hear their chests swelling with pride right now.

Anyway, for the fast, easy, tasty, chest-swellingly prideful favorite winter salad recipe, then...

Cabbage Apple Slaw

Recipe adapted from Real Simple

Our changes in bold

Print this recipe below with the PRINT button. Yeah. That's easy enough.

Ingredients

3 T extra virgin olive oil - the good stuff

3 T apple cider vinegar or champagne vinegar  

1 T local honey 

1 cabbage - Napa, green, savoy, red - whatever you have is fine, chopped small

1 sweet and tart apple - we like Pink Lady, sliced thin-ish

1 bunch of cilantro,  washed really well and chopped

1 small bunch of chives or green onions, chopped

Sea salt

Cracked pepper 

To make

In a large bowl, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper into a frenzy or whatever you call "emulsified" in your house. 

Throw in your chopped cabbage, apple, cilantro and onion and toss well. Continue tossing every few minutes until all of the dressing has magically disappeared into the salad - sorry SLAW. 

If you have the time, let it sort of rest for about 15 minutes and then serve with whatever main dish you have going or just eat it by itself and then call your mom to tell her that you ate one of the healthiest vegetables for dinner in great quantity and she can stop worrying that you've ruined your life with junk food.