Ethiopian Cole Slaw

ETHIOPIAN COLE SLAW

1# Cabbage

1 small Red Onion

1-2 Jalapeno Pepper

12 oz Shredded Carrot

3 Granny Smith Apple

1# Sauteed Portabella Mushrooms Minced Garlic

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Lemon Juice

Salt and Pepper

Saute Mushrooms w/ some Olive Oil and Garlic, allow to cool.

Mix all vegetables together to taste.

Add Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar & Lemon Juice, taste and add more if needed.

Add Salt and Pepper, taste

Chill and serve

This is a really fresh, crisp salad that would make a great side dish, lunch or light dinner.  

I added the carrots, mushrooms and apples to the recipe I got from a friend.  You could add any fresh seasonal vegetable that you like.  Even some raisins or craisins and some nuts would be fabulous.  I'm going to try that next time.

I first had this at a pot luck luncheon at work, thanks to my co-worker SG.  I've wanted to share it with others, but only got the opportunity this past week at a lovely dinner / house concert.  Everyone really enjoyed it; but because cabbage seems to multiply exponentially, I had plenty of left overs.  So, what do you do when you have a large container of salad and only two people in the house?  You take it to work!  In the morning I was worried that by the end of the day I would still have this huge container of quickly degrading vegetable and be forced to consume it in large amounts over the weekend!  AAHHHH!  But Lo and behold, when you place a full container of food in the kitchen, complete with a sign, cups and forks, you end up with an almost empty container that is now manageable for you to finish in the next day or so.  Happy me!  I also met some co-workers that I had not met yet (this being a fairly new job for me), and struck up some conversations starting with "The  salad was wonderful!".  The power of food!

"This dish is “Ethiopian” for one reason: I first had it at Enat, a wonderful Ethiopian restaurant in Alexandria, Va. The owner has no Amharic name for it, and he began serving it with his vegetarian combo platter after an Ethiopian woman in his neighborhood made it and he liked it. But perhaps there’s another reason it’s Ethiopian: karya (jalapeño peppers). Ethiopians love this vegetable and use it liberally."   Ethiopian Food * Mesob Across America