Subject: The Best Creamy Coleslaw
From: Unicorn (unicorn@indenial.com)
Date: Tue Jul 31 2001 - 02:28:55 EDT
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F O O D F U N N Y
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It's pretty clear from the votes I have received so far that "Five
Ingredients or Less" is the winner in the election to select the next
theme for the Pen-Pal Forum. With a lead of about 3 to 2 over the
runner-up ("Back to School - Lunch Box Treats") I feel it is safe to
close the polls and declare the winner.
Before you start sending your submissions in, let's agree on the
specifics of this theme. "Five Ingredients or Less" would be rather
limiting if we were to include salt, pepper, and water in the count,
so let's agree that they don't count. I should call the theme "Five
Ingredients or Less Not Counting Salt, Pepper, and Water," but I think
you'll all agree that's a little bit wordy, so "Five Ingredients or
Less" is the official title.
I will open the Forum to new submissions in a day or two, so start
getting yours ready to send. Meanwhile, please take a look at the new
and revised Pen-Pal Guidelines, paying particular attention to items
1, 2, and 13.
GUIDELINES FOR PEN-PAL RECIPES
1. In order to qualify for publication, recipes must emphasize fresh
ingredients. Most canned or frozen ingredients are acceptable, such
as beans, tomatoes, green peas, and other items which may be
difficult to purchase in their fresh state. Under no circumstances
will I publish recipes calling for canned condensed soups, artificial
whipped toppings, processed cheese foods, or similar misguided
efforts of food scientists.
2. I will not publish recipes that call for name-brand ingredients.
If the manufacturers of those products wish to advertise in my little
ezine, they are welcome to do so for a fee, but I will no longer
advertise them for free. Hey, a guy's gotta make a living, ya know?
If your recipe calls for a product from a specific manufacturer,
please replace it with the generic equivalent, such as "Louisiana hot
sauce" instead of you-know-what.
3. Please keep your description of yourself, your family, your pets,
and your likes and dislikes brief. Three or four sentences ought to
be enough. You can tell your pen-pals as much as you like about
yourself once they have made contact, but as far as the Pen-Pal Forum
is concerned, less is more.
4. Recipes written in all upper case will be discarded. My readers
have been very vocal about this, and I agree that it makes them
difficult to read.
5. All overt statements regarding your religion, race, and sexual
orientation will be deleted by the editor (that's me). Many people
find such statements divisive and offensive, and they don't have
anything to do with the food theme. Statements such as "I enjoy Bible
study" and "I have been married to the same wonderful man for twenty
years" are acceptable. Statements such as "I am a Christian", "I am
an African-American", and "I am a Lesbian" will be deleted.
Exceptions to this rule will be made as appropriate, and at the sole
discretion of the editor (me again). For example, if a Lithuanian
person sends a Lithuanian recipe, then it seems to me that the
person's ethnic heritage is relevant to the recipe, and reference to
it will be permitted.
6. When using canned or packaged ingredients, please specify the size
of the can or package. A recipe calling for a "package of frozen
spinach" or a "can of tomato paste" is imprecise at best, and
downright mystifying to readers in other countries.
7. Please state how many servings your recipe makes. All cookbooks
do it, I do it, and you need to do it too.
8. Try to remember that not everyone in the world shops at the same
supermarket you do. Recipes that call for "Mrs. Fudpucker's
Chocolate Swirl" and "Brumblee's Toasted Oat Clusters" will not make
you any friends in the farther reaches of the globe.
9. Please give the recipe a title, even if you have to make one up.
10. Please list the ingredients in a list, rather than including them
in the text of the procedure.
11. Please be precise with regard to the sizes of baking dishes,
length of cooking times, and oven temperatures.
12. Send one, and only one recipe. If you send more than one, I
will discard all of them.
13. Finally, please review these guidelines before sending your
recipe to make sure it will pass my strict and somewhat arbitrary
scrutiny.
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T O D A Y ' S R E C I P E
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The problem with many cole slaw recipes, as you probably know, it that
after sitting for a while, a sloppy puddle of liquid forms in the bottom
of
the bowl. According to the food scientists at Cook's Illustrated
magazine,
this is the result of water leaching out of the sliced cabbage, and they
devised the following method to eliminate the problem.
All recipes this week are adapted from "The Best Recipe" by the
editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine (Boston Common Press, 1999)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0936184388/worldwiderecipes
The Best Creamy Coleslaw
1/2 medium head (about 1 lb, 450 g) red or green
cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
2 tsp (10 ml) salt
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup (125 ml) mayonnaise
2 Tbs (30 ml) rice wine vinegar
2 tsp (10 ml) caraway seeds (optional)
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Toss the cabbage, carrot, and salt in a colander and let drain in the
sink for 1 to 4 hours. Rinse thoroughly with water, press gently to
drain, and pat dry with paper towels. Toss with the remaining
ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serves 4 to 6.
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