If you’ve kept up with The Craft Chew at all so far, you may have noticed that we have a slight obsession with cabbage in our house. First off, it’s one of the most versatile veggies you can find. In it’s crunchy, raw form, you can make an endless combination of slaws and salads, ranging from sweet to savory (like this Creamy Dill Coleslaw). Cooked down, the leaves form a subtle sweetness (that farty smell cooks down!) and adding simple flavors like salt & pepper, a salty pork, like bacon, or ground beef and tomatoes, really makes a satisfying, belly warming meal.

My other favorite thing about the cruciferous wonder is the cost! This citrusy slaw uses half a head of finely shredded cabbage that, at $0.25 a pound, ran me about $0.50 total for all of the cabbage in this dish. When combined with the rest of the fixings, this will make a HUGE bowl of greens, with at least 4 large servings or 6-8 side servings. The frugal old lady in me gets way too excited when I think about how cheap it is...

This Citrus Almond Arugula Slaw is the perfect post-holiday meal. It’s light and fresh, but a big ol’ bowl or two will leave you feeling satisfied. With the addition of some spicy arugula, subtly sweet red bell pepper, sliced almonds, red and green onion and some ultra ripe Satsumas, the dish is loaded with flavor. 

The fresh squeezed citrus juice adds a brightness to the slaw. For the dressing and orange segments in the dish, we used the last of our ration of fresh satsumas from my parents house. They have three, very giving, Satsuma trees and it just doesn’t get much better than picking some of nature’s candy right out of your backyard. Thanks for sharing, Mom & Dad! If you don't have satsumas in your area, any variety of orange will work just fine. Mandarin or Cara Cara oranges would work great!

I always start out these salads by mixing the dressing in a large mixing bowl. The bigger the bowl, the better! It’s so much easier to mix up your greens when you have the space to toss. Bowls like these are great for tossin’ up a salad! Aside from your knife and cutting board, your entire meal is contained to one large serving bowl, making for easy clean-up.

Once the dressing is fully combined, add all of the ingredients into the bowl, right on top of the dressing and toss. To really get the best flavor, let the slaw sit for at least 10 minutes, occasionally re-tossing, so that all of your ingredients have a chance to mingle together.  The end result will be a crunchy, bright and flavorful salad, perfect for lunch or dinner! This recipe is especially great if you bring your lunch to work. The cabbage won't lose it's texture like lettuce, so you have a healthy, make-ahead meal that still has the fresh crunch that it did the night before. Perfection! 

Thanks for Chewsing!