Winter Salad!

Friday, January 09, 2009

Happy New Year, Farm to Philly readers! I realize I am over a week late with that wish, but I am just getting settled back into my kitchen here in Philly after a few weeks of enjoying family, friends and food in Connecticut, New York and San Francisco/Berkeley. I tell you, eating local in the Bay Area is a dream. The amount of fresh, ripe, local avocados I ate while out there brings tears to my eyes. But there is no effort and nearly everyone has easy access to good local produce, which means that often the awareness and connection to the food system are lacking. I appreciate the consciousness and even education that comes with making an effort to eat locally and to connect with local farms. That’s not saying I am not itching to go back and eat more local avocados and pick lemons off the street….

Back in Philly, my friend picked up my CSA share for me before I returned, so that I might return to a fridge full of fresh, local, organic goodies. I am participating in the Keystone Farm Winter Share (I have the vegetarian half share) and each week (weather permitting) I pick up at Clark Park half a dozen organic eggs, a locally produced cheese, homemade granola and an assortment of organic produce (lots of apples, potatoes, turnips, beets, cabbage, etc…it’s winter). This week (and by that I mean last Saturday) I got half a dozen each of potatoes, turnips, winesap apples, a large acorn squash, three knobs of garlic and a small head of red cabbage.

The cabbage beckoned to participate in our January “cabbage and kale challenge,” and I decided to make a crunchy winter cabbage salad:

Winter Salad

1/2 small head of red cabbage, sliced
1/2 cup of julienned carrots
1/2 crisp, tart apple, sliced thinly (I used a local granny smith I bought at the co-op)
1/2 small red onion, either sliced thinly or diced (I diced out of habit, forgetting I wanted to slice it!)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

dressing:
red wine vinegar
olive oil
dijon mustard
honey
salt
pepper
(I prefer my dressings sour, so I’ll leave the proportions up to you!)

After mixing the dressing, pour it over the veggies and toss until evenly coated.