Mexican Cabbage Slaw with Jalapeño Dressing

So, I really enjoy celebrating different holidays with food.  Heck, I enjoy celebrating anything with food!  And when I get my act together, I can actually make something and blog about it.

I love Mexican style food and I really LOVE salad.  My biggest beef when making a Mexican meal though is that I never had a good salad to go with it.  I would sometimes make a simple cabbage slaw like the one in this post, but for Cinco de Mayo this year, I wanted something a little more. So I started with my basic slaw and threw in some extra stuff, made a simple spicy dressing and it hit the spot for me.

Cabbage salads are one of my favorites, not only because of the flavor but because they have a lot to offer nutritionally as well.  If you love salad as much as I do, you need to try this one!

Mexican Cabbage Slaw with Jalapeño Dressing
1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
1/4 head purple cabbage, shredded
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
5-6 radishes, thinly sliced
1 can black black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
diced avocado, for topping

Jalepeño Dressing:
1 jalapeño, finely diced
1 shallot, finely diced
juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Prepare all vegetables and toss together in a large salad bowl.  In a small glass jar with a tight fitting lid, add all dressing ingredients.  Shake well to combine.

To serve, toss individual salads with dressing, as desired, and top with fresh chopped avocado.  


SOURCE: Dressing from Bakers Royale

Buttermilk Banana Bread

Growing up I learned to cook from my mom, mostly desserts, on Sunday afternoons.  As I grew older I branched out.  Once I got on my own, I still loved to make brownies and cookies but banana bread became an absolute favorite of mine!  Still dessert-y I guess if you add all that sugar.

Many years ago I found this recipe that I have stood by and loved. Then I fell upon this recipe a while back looking for ways to use my my extra buttermilk.  Not that we ever have much leftover due to all the pancakes and waffles we consume in this house...but sometimes.  And WOW, that one little extra ingredient makes good banana bread amazingly delicious banana bread. I have cut back the sugar and added in whole wheat flour to make it a bit healthier and it's still super moist and absolutely delicious!

We all go bananas for this bread.


Buttermilk Banana Bread
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed banana
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. baking soda


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and set aside.
 
In a mixing bowl, whisk together butter, sugar and bananas.  Add eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and whisk together.  Add in dry ingredients and stir batter until moistened and just combined.

Pour batter into greased loaf pan and bake 50-60 minutes, or until toothpick  inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and cool completely.


SOURCE: Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe