Cabbage Slaw

This summer, I'm trying to do a better job at hosting friends over to grill in the garden. It takes a bit of planning to figure out which friends to invite together and reserve the grills if it's going to be a large enough group. And of course, there is the menu.

For summertime, my go-to grilling main is brats and similar sausages. They're straightforward and usually precooked all the way through, so I don't fret about not cooking them enough in the middle. (I'm getting better at grilling but still learning!) Veggies from the CSA or other seasonal produce go on the grill, too. Many of my vegetarian (and some omnivorous) friends like Beyond Meat, so I'll pick up Beyond Brats, too.

I like slaw on my brats, and it makes a good side for others. Earlier this summer, I searched through my cookbooks looking for the type of slaw I was remembering from my childhood. Not the mayonnaise one. The other, vinegary one. Struck out in More-with-Less. Didn't find it in Jane Brody. Eventually pulled out the Whitmire Memorial Library cookbook, and voila, there were multiple recipes that fit the bill. This recipe is modified from Twenty-Four Hour Slaw by Peggy Bullard and Cabbage Slaw by Pam Alexander.

Cabbage Slaw

Grate the following (a food processor is your friend here):

• Half a small cabbage
• One carrot (or two if small)
• One small white onion

Heat together until the sugar dissolves:

• 1/3 c apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1/3 c sugar
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• mustard seeds
• celery seeds

In a bowl, mix the grated ingredients to distribute. Pour the sauce mixture over the cabbage. Mix. Cool in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.

 Note: if you shred more than needed, then you've got a base for okonomiyaki ready to go.

Pecan Pie

Every Thanksgiving, I look up a bunch of pecan pie recipes. I look in church cookbooks; google for recommendations; check blogs that I trust. I even look at the pecan pie recipe on the corn syrup bottle. And every year, I end up making a recipe that’s a combination of several of the above, but I never record what I did. So this year, I’m writing it down. Not necessarily to repeat, but such that I remember what I’ve tried before.

Crust (Based on Julia’s)

2/3 cup white flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp cold butter
2 Tbsp shortening
3 Tbsp cold water

Make crust. Refrigerate.

Filling*

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup + enough molasses to get up to a scant half cup
1 1/4 cup good quality pecans
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs beaten
6 Tbsp butter

Heat the butter, sugar, and syrup on the stovetop until boiling. (Roll out crust while waiting to heat up. Stick 9in pie plate back in fridge once prepped.) Take off heat. Stir in vanilla, eggs, and pecans. Pour into the prepared crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 45ish minutes. Let cool at room temperature for 2 hours+ before cutting.

*After designing this from a hodge podge of recipes, I noticed the pie recipe on the pecan bag is remarkably similar.