Light Red Cabbage & Carrot Slaw ♥ for Late-Winter Color

Today's easy coleslaw: A quick mix of grated carrot and red cabbage tossed with a super-light dressing. This colorful slaw makes a great side salad but is also wonderful tucked into a taco or sandwich. Low Carb. Low Fat. Weight Watchers Friendly & Freestyle Friendly. Vegetarian Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real. Naturally Gluten Free.

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Oh! The color! I so remember the color!

I wasn't long out of university – though settled into my first apartment, my first grown-girl suits and pumps and even my first first job – when one Friday night, I fell into a string of potent cocktails. Singapore slings, I think they were although unsurprisingly due to time and said-string, my memory's a little fuzzy on the detail. What I do remember is the appeal — the outright seduction — of the bejeweled color of those sweet cocktail concoctions.

Those looooong-ago cocktails popped into my brain as I grated first cabbage and then carrot the other night. Like dazzling jewels! Such lavish brightness!

This is one of those "recipes" that's so more than the sum of its parts, a total keeper for versatility as much as for color. A quick side salad, for sure. With a few bitter greens added, a bed for a poached or soft-boiled egg, absolutely. But also a wintry substitute for tomato and/or lettuce in sandwiches and tacos.

It's not summer at the moment, of course, but this recipe is so quick and easy that I'm adding it to a growing collection of easy summer recipes published all summer long ever since 2009 at Kitchen Parade, my food column. With a free Kitchen Parade e-mail subscription, you'll never miss a one!

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RECIPE for LIGHT RED CABBAGE & CARROT SLAW

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 10 minutes
Makes 3-1/4 cups

Just six ingredients!
2 cups grated red cabbage (225g)
2 cups grated carrot (225g)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Stir together all the ingredients, a few times, make sure the vinegar, especially, has the chance to wet the grated vegetables. Okay, now eat!

MAKE-AHEAD Sure, make this slaw a few hours ahead of time. But it's not necessary, it's quite wonderful on the spot. And after 24 hours, the colors start to muddy.

VARIATIONS Grated cucumber? Sure, it would turn this a little more summer salsa-direction, however. Grated mango? Love that idea! Garnish with fresh orange sections? Very pretty! Toss with fresh herbs, perhaps dill or cilantro or chive? Great idea! For the photo, I topped arugula with the Slaw and added a few slices of avocado: what a totally satisfying, filling lunch.

ALANNA'S TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
HAND GRATER? FOOD PROCESSOR? Either one works but me, I find the and grating, especially for a small volume, quite contemplative – without all the dishes.
BABY CARROTS No baby carrots here, please, they're not even really carrots, more like "carrot material". But no fancy carrots are required either ...
THE MATH How 2+2=3.25? That is, how do two cups each of cabbage and carrot add up to only three cups salad? Once the grated vegetables are wet with vinegar, the salad compacts. Go figure! Ha, literally!

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Half Cup: 29 Calories; 0g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 72mg Sodium; 6g Carb; 1g Fiber; 3g Sugar; 1g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS WW Old Points 0, WW PointsPlus 1, WW SmartPoints 1, WW Freestyle 0 CALORIE COUNTERS 100-calorie serving = 1-3/4 cup (2g protein).

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION Adapted from an old 3x5 recipe card I've ignored since 1993. My notes then say "light, so refreshing" so ... big mistake! The source was an issue of the still much-missed Gourmet magazine.

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White on White Purée Vegan Chickpea Gumbo Mom’s Favorite Leftover Magic Curried Vegetable Bisque Simple Braised Celery Potato & Ridge Gourd Curry Parsnip Fries Candied Fennel Ice Cream Provencal Green Monster Soup Carrot Buttermilk Pancakes Simple Butternut Squash Soup Pepper Sandwiches with Goat Cheese Pepper Spread Kohlrabi & Apple Slaw with Creamy Coleslaw Dressing (<<< this week's favorite!) Spinach Ricotta Gnocchi with Creamy Tomato Sauce Kale Salad To-Go with Avocado & Apple Cajun Dirty Rice with Eggplant Spinach Recipes – Alphabet of Vegetables

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the
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