A bowl full of Spring

By Shelby Spears

A crunchy and cold cabbage salad could arguably be the best spring side dish.  The unseasonably warm weather in our Pacific Northwest as of late prompted a strong desire in the Spears household for bountiful, spring salads. 

As often is the case, the inspiration for a cabbage creation came after eating at one of our favorite pizza places in Portland, Dove Vivi. The pizza is mouth watering but the salads are even better. After devouring a cabbage, feta and date salad, I knew I had to give that a try. 

It's now a regular snack or meal accompaniment. 

The salad is easy to make, but you'll want to dice your cabbage into fairly small chunks (see above). The easiest way to do this is to make Jonathan do it for you, which is what I do. But if you do not have a Jonathan type partner with great knife skills, the best way to get this right size of cabbage cut is to dice it like an onion.

Pro-tip for cutting big, scary, round vegetables: Cut them in half first so you have a flat surface to work from.

After the date, feta and cabbage salad became a repeat, I decided to find another and came across this Asian Quinoa and Cabbage Salad. It is also scrumptious and the quinoa gives it that extra nutritional oomph.

*As with all our recipes, measurements are a best guest so adjust to your taste.

Date, Cabbage and Feta Salad
Ingredients
1 head of red cabbage
3 T olive oil
Squeeze of one to two limes (to taste/can use lemons)
Salt and paper to taste
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 c. pitted dates (or you can remove the pit) chopped
Feta (about 4 ounces)
Small handful of parsley or cilantro
Dice the cabbage into a rough chop (see first photo). Put the cabbage in a large bowl and coat with olive oil, lime juice, salt, pepper and pepper flakes. Add chopped dates, parsley and feta. Enjoy!

Asian Quinoa and Cabbage Salad
Ingredients
1 c. cooked quinoa
1 c. chopped red cabbage
1 c. shelled and cooked edamame
1/2 c. shredded carrots
Dressing
3 T Braggs Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce or tamari)
1 T sesame oil
2 T rice wine vinegar
2 chopped green onions
1 T sesame seeds
Pinch of grated ginger
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine cooked quinoa, edamame, shredded carrots and red cabbage in a large bowl. Feel free to add more of your favorite veggies in there (peas, peppers, cucumbers, etc...). In a small bowl or ramekin, whisk the dressing ingredients together. Pour over the salad and serve.