Apple Cole Slaw

Despite the fact that many barbecue lovers would claim that good ribs can stand alone, I determined that at least one vegetable dish must be provided as an accompaniment to my previously-posted braised ribs. This assertion in combination with the head of cabbage sitting in my refrigerator produced the idea of one of my favorite vegetable dishes of my younger years: cole slaw.

Having never actually scrapped together my own version of the stuff, I decided that some research was in order. I drew inspiration from this recipe as well as several sources at FoodTV.com before finally settling on an amalgamation of all that I had found. Since I wanted a sweeter slaw, the apples (which I happened to also have in the fridge) would work perfectly for my meal with only slight modifications.

Ingredients:
1 medium head green cabbage, shredded (note: I picked a smallish one, as the smaller heads tend to be sweeter)
2 red delicious apples, diced
1/2 c mayonnaise
1/6 c brown sugar
1/6 c white sugar
2 tbsp lime juice (I didn't have any lemon on hand)
1 medium carrot, shredded (optional)
1 small onion, sliced into half-rings (optional)

Hardware:
1 medium mixing bowl

After chopping up all my ingredients in a flurry of frantic sweeps of a knife (with only minor cuts to myself, I might add), I swept them all aside to mix the sauce. (I used 1 of the tablespoons of lime juice on the diced apples to prevent browning before starting the sauce. While this step isn't necessary for the flavor, it certainly looks prettier).

Note: Before starting the sauce, I put the shredded cabbage into a colander and sprinkled it lightly with salt to help drain some of the moisture out. After 20-30 minutes, the cabbage still looks great, but has lost a fair amount of liquid. In my experience, this results in a less juicy slaw, but this step can be skipped for those who are in a hurry. As a bonus, this meant that I didn't have to add any salt to the recipe itself.

In the mixing bowl, dump the mayo, sugars, and remaining lime juice in and stir it up until you have a relatively uniform beige paste in the bowl. Drop the paste on top of the veggies and mix thoroughly (I used my hands for this step, but for the more squeamish about making a mess, a spatula works just as well). Cover and refrigerate for an hour or more before serving.

Lessons learned:
Hard to say; this recipe turned out fairly tasty, as far as I'm concerned. Next time I might increase the ratio of apples to cabbage; the apples were somewhat sparse as far as I'm concerned. Otherwise, a quick and easy recipe that I'd highly recommend.