Sesame Cabbage Fritters

Like most humans, I am hungry...our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others. So it happens that when I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it... - M. F. K. Fisher

Thick, paperback, and a little bit intimidating, a large text book sat on my desk when I walked into the office one morning. I immediately remembered a conversation with a co-worker when they said they had a book to lend me (thanks Max!). Food and Culture: A Reader, was the title.

The forward was a quote from M. F. K. Fisher that I absolutely adore (the one I opened this post with).  Of course food and security and love, are intertwined. Every discussion about food is also about your up bringing and your emotions and your heart. Of course. This is why I love the topic: we all have a deep, intrinsic connection to what we make in our kitchens and even what we eat when we are very, very far from our kitchens. There is something there, and it is so much more than food (even when food is the hero of the story). 

Take these cabbage pancakes: I could tell you about how delicious they were, and how they were something new for our table. But that's not the story. The story is about how I have always (always!) struggled to make anything like this: latkes, zucchini pancakes, corn cakes. The few memories I have of latkes (a bat mitzvah, a pot luck)  are positive (who doesn't love potato fried in oil) but they were never something my parents made and I didn't grow up watching them come together. So when I've tried to recreate them in my own kitchen, it's been a battle of Caitlin versus fried patty, and sadly the patties usually win and I put up a white flag. We eat whatever it is as a shredded, fried pile (it's delicious, but totally off the mark). 

With this as my background, I'm not sure what exactly made me think "I will make pancakes out of this head of cabbage that's been wasting away in the fridge" rather than just sautéing it or making slaw. But, that's what I thought. I got out a knife, and shredded the cabbage into thin, papery strips, and as I did it's volume ballooned and filled our largest mixing bowl. This made me nervous, but I made the move that said "There's no turning back" (tossing everything with egg and cassava flour) and then--after thinking for a brief moment What will I do with this pile of sticky battery cabbage if this doesn't work out?- I heated up oil in the pan. 

And? Hallelujah! Finally a fritter I can make. A single battle won, 15 more pancakes to flip. That first pancake gave me the bode of confidence I needed: It didn't matter that I wasn't a life-time latke-making pro. Attempt after attempt of fritter frying, my work had paid off. This win was coming home. (And yes, the stringiness of the cabbage, compared to shredded potato, may have something to do with my success. I'm ok with that for now). 

These were also completely devoured in 5 minutes, if any one asks. But if they do ask, please also tell them it's a story about perseverance. 

Sesame Cabbage Fritters (Gluten-Free and Paleo)

Paleo, Primal, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

Cabbage is fried in a savory pancake and served with a sesame-soy dipping sauce.

Yields: 4   |    Total Time: 30 active minutes

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Ingredients:

• 6 cups shredded cabbage
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup cassava flour (Here is one brand)
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 bunch green onions, roots removed and remaining parts roughly chopped
• Dash salt
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• Coconut oil for cooking

For the dipping sauce:
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha

Directions:

1. Please shredded cabbage in bowl and toss with chopped green onions, 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, dash of salt, and cassava flour. Once cabbage is coated, crack eggs into bowl and add sesame oil and soy sauce. Mix until everything is combined.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once it sizzles, scoop the cabbage mixture into the skillet 1/4 cup at a time. Use a spatula to press the 1/4 cup pile down into a pancake shape and allow to cook for 5-10 minutes, until the cabbage begins to brown. Using the spatula, flip the fritter and cook on the second side for 5-10 more minutes, until browned. (I find I can do 3 fritters at once in my skillet to quicken the cooking process). Place cooked fritters on a plate and repeat until all of the cabbage mixture is used.
3. Make the sauce: combine ingredients for sauce in a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Stir. After 5 minutes, remove from heat. Pour into small bowl.
4. Serve fritters warm with sauce for dipping. Garnish with extra sesame seeds or Sriracha.

Jicama-Pineapple Slaw with Honey Lime Vinaigrette

Are you ever so brain dead after work that you pull into your drive way and realize you just listened to the public radio pledge drive the whole way home? Or worse, a solid 20 minutes of commercials? And by listen, I mean you actually heard every word...you just couldn't think enough to care or change the station? This is me, all the time.

On the other hand, some days I get in the car and hear the news start, and immediately have to just turn it off. No more words, too many words! Peace and quiet is all I can handle on those days.  

These are the days I want to come home to dinner already prepped and ready to go: zero effort, just delicious satisfaction on a plate so that I can do nothing more than relax. 

Lately, we've been getting home pretty late, after we manage to leave the office and hit the gym. Like 8:30pm. When I get home at 8:30pm, the last thing I want to do is cook dinner... By the time 9pm hits, I'd rather be in bed than pulling something from the oven or dishing something onto a plate! 

Anyways, it's made me want to start planning ahead of time, by loading up the slow cooker with Korean Pork or Enchilada Beef in the morning. When I'm doing really well, I'll even prep a side dish while I'm making breakfast or packing lunches--something that will stay fresh if it's stored in the fridge all day. This Jicama-Pineapple Slaw is perfect for these days, because the jicama and carrots stay crisp and fresh long after you put everything together. 

You can eat this slaw as a topping for tacos or taco bowls, but you can also just eat it as a salad. Make a big batch! You'll save yourself chopping and planning the next day. 

Jicama-Pineapple Slaw with Honey Lime Vinaigrette

Paleo, Primal, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

This slaw works as a topping for tacos or as a salad on it’s own.

Serves: 6   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 Jicama (2 cups, chopped into matchsticks)
• 3 large carrots (1 cup chopped into matchsticks)
• 1 mandarin orange or tangerine, cut into wedges
• 1/2 cup pineapple, diced
• 1/2 cup minced cilantro
• 1 small jalapeño (or 1/2 large jalapeño), cut into thin slices
• Juice from 1 lime
• 1 1/2 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Dash paprika
• Dash granulated garlic (garlic powder)
• Salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Toss jicama, carrots, orange wedges, diced pineapple, jalapeño and cilantro in a salad bow.
2. Then, whisk together lime juice, honey, olive oil, paprika, granulated garlic, and a dash each of salt & pepper.
3. Drizzle dressing over vegetables, and took until coated.
4. Store in airtight salad until you are ready to eat! Stays good for 3-5 days in the fridge.

Roasted Asparagus & Crunchy Radish Salad

Early spring always feels like such a tease. For two weeks it was 80°F and the next week we were watching spherical snow fall from the sky and land on the road where it turned instantly into slush. Even though March feels like it should be all spring and flowers and showers, it's usually the snowiest month of the year for us. Whatever accumulates never lasts long this time of year, melting with in a day or two. 

The moment you have yourself convinced it's finally spring and the warm weather is here to stay, Mother Nature takes charge again and drops some white stuff outside your window. It is too warm for soup. Potatoes and winter squash are long gone, but asparagus and spring radish are yet to come. This is the limbo between winter and spring we are in. I desperately crave fresh produce picked from the garden, a dose of vitamin D from the sun, and a late evening where the skies stay light past 6pm.  

Roasted Asparagus & Crunchy Radish Salad

Published March 9, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 3-4   |    Active Time: 25 minutes

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Ingredients:

1 bunch asparagus

1 tablespoon avocado oil (or other neutral cooking oil)

1/2 red onion

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 cups baby spinach

1/2 cup radishes, sliced

2-3 tablespoons parsley, minced

Freshly cracked pepper to taste

For the Vinaigrette:

1 clove garlic, minced

Juice of 1 lemon

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1/4 cup olive oil

Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Chop the thick ends off of the asparagus and discard. Chop remaining asparagus into 3rds and toss in avocado oil. Cut red onion into wedges. Spread in even layer on baking sheet. Place in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until asparagus begins to crisp. Remove asparagus from oven, and allow to cool.
3. Toast pine nuts in oven on a separate baking sheet for 3-5 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly browned.
4. Meanwhile, make vinaigrette: place all ingredients in a jar. Close jar, and shake until combined.
5. Assemble salad: Place spinach and radishes in large salad bowl, and top with asparagus and red onion. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Drizzle vinaigrette over salad and toss to coat, and season to taste with black pepper. Serve.
6. Notes: Crumbles of goat or feta cheese make great additions to this salad, just sprinkle on top at the end.