8/1/11

Pass the Book Winner!


Hello, Olga! You are the winner of the pass the book contest! Your name was chosen at random (I put names in a hat) so I will be sending you A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg, a memoir/cookbook by the creator of the blog Organgette.

When I received the book from Deb, I was going to make banana bread, but then I remembered that the Finnegans really do not need more delicious carbs, so I can became Mean Mommy and made Cabbage Salad with Lemon and Black Pepper instead. Naturally, my unworthy dining companions were unimpressed and refused to be in the same room with it, but I'm beginning to see this as the real advantage of making food outside their comfort zone.

The fact that no one in my family would eat the cabbage salad should be your clue that is actually delicious. In fact, as Wizenberg herself notes, it's strangely addictive. And it is so simple to make! Wizenberg uses red cabbage, but Trader Joe's only had shredded green cabbage, so I used that. It probably isn't as pretty, but it was still yummy.

Here is my modified version:

2 T olive oil
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 clove pressed garlic
1/8 t salt
Shredded cabbage
Finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Freshly ground black pepper

Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt in a small bowl. Whisk. Take as much cabbage as you think you need and then add dressing to your liking. Add the Parmigano-Reggiano and pepper to taste.

Hint: I had some extra dressing and put it on some leftover broccoli the next day and had a little broccoli salad. It, too, was delicious and very effective at scaring away teenagers! So bonus!

(Olga: email me your address at margaret@margaretfinnegan.com and I'll send you the book! Hooray for you!)

17 comments:

Tony Van Helsing said...

How about a Cabbage Salad in Banana bread sandwich?

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

Congrats to Olga! And thanks for posting this recipe...I remember seeing this in the book and wanting to try it but passed the book before copying it. Glad you enjoyed it! :o)

Desiree said...

Hurray to Olga!

Watson said...

Congratulations Olga.

Margaret, I mix green and purple/red cabbage. add some grated carrot and radishes. lots of colour and taste. Oh, and I add raisins or dried cranberries and walnuts! Bet the kids would like that! ;-)

Susan Campisi said...

Such a lovely photo of your cabbage salad. It sounds yummy. Congrats to Olga!

Sian said...

Hi Margaret! I would love it if you posted a little pointer to my Pass The Book page on my blog so that Olga can see how it works and join in properly. It's here:

http://fromhighinthesky.blogspot.com/p/pass-book.html

Thanks! And congrats Olga. I hope you enjoy it

Tony Van Helsing said...

Do you cook the cabbage first?

Shell Sherree said...

Congrats to Olga, and your salad looks both healthy and tasty. I could eat dessert after that and still pat myself on the back.

Olga said...

Woohoo! I won something!!
Me. me, I'm the winner. The slaw sounds delicious. I will be cooking up a storm before i pass this along. Thanks, Margaret.

Pasadena Adjacent said...

I adore cabbage. Red cabbage especially. Although, when I have brought my cabbage salad to pot lucks, it's been avoided like the plague (and i put dates in for gawds sake!O

congratulations Olga

Star said...

Everything fresh, that's the key to great eating, and it doesn't have to be hard and time-consuming, either, as I've learned here in northern Italy, where they don't put a gazillion herbs in their sauces (they prefer to savor one herb at a time), and they don't simmer things forever (long simmering does mature flavors, but we're on the go, here, folks!). A drizzle of great extra virgin olive oil and great red wine vinegar (keep your next Chianti flask, pour some great red wine vinegar into it, then just keep topping it up with your good red wine that has been opened for a few days, and is past its prime...that is...IF there's any left)...absolutely heavenly, and no need for those calorie-full and expensive store bought dressings.

Margaret said...

Tony, Tony, Tony: Do not cook the cabbage, and don't you dare put it in a banana bread salad. You are not helping the reputation of English cuisine.

Deb: Thanks you you, all of this is possible.

Daisy: Alas, my unworthy dining companions will not even eat raisins or dried cranberries. They are really quite something.

Olga: You! You! You are the winner!

PA: I would not look down on your salad. Promise.

Sian: Will do!

Cafe Pasadena said...

I don't recall a book contest. But congrats to Olga!

Petrea Burchard said...

Congratulations, Olga!

Lindsay N. Currie said...

Oh yum. This looks fantastic:) Award for you on my blog FYI:)

Anonymous said...

It's mean mommy's anniversary? Congratulations! I demand you celebrate with something other than cole slaw.

Margaret said...

Mean mommy doesn't even get coleslaw. Her charming husband is in Maine on business. The undeserving dining companions will commemorate this special day, however, by needling each other incessantly and then telling me how unfair their lives are.