This, that and a side of slaw

Before I forget, I wanted to pass along a couple of tips I've been meaning to share with you. As I'm sure many of you do, when I find a dish I like, I tend to make it a few times. And when I find one I love, I make it a lot!

I just love those Banana Chocolate Chip muffins, and last Saturday seemed like the perfect morning for them. We were all headed out of the house early to get to the biggest parade in Portland, The Grand Floral Parade. Seth rode on a bike-powered float, and the Jasper and I joined a few friends to watch the marching bands, horses and floats rolls by. It was fun, surprisingly sunny and warm, and an overall good time. But what I want to tell you was this:

• I replaced one cup of all-purpose flour in this recipe with whole wheat pastry flour. I actually liked the texture a little better than the two cups of all purpose. I should also mention that I added two ripe bananas that were pulled from the freezer and thawed. That meant they were very juicy. I absolutely think the added moisture helped.

The second thing I wanted to tell you has to do with Dina's delicious beer bread, another recipe I've played with a lot in the past few months.

• Again, I have substituted half of the all-purpose flour, but in this recipe, I used regular whole wheat flour. The results seemed equally tasty.
  
• Also, I usually bake this in one large loaf pan. I tried dividing it up into two smaller loaf pans and freezing one after it cooled. This worked just fine. I do have to say that I like the larger slices, but that, of course, has nothing to do with taste. If you want quick, handy slices, slice after cooled and freeze sliced loaf. Then, pull one out at a time, and pop it in the toaster. Yum.
  
• I cubed some of this yummy bread and made croutons with them. These were so good floating in a tomato-based soup. Needless to say, don't throw out the stale beer bread. Here's a crouton how-to.

As for a new recipe, I'll share one that was just a little something I pulled together on a whim to take to a neighborhood potluck. I called it Strawberry Coleslaw. It, like any good salad, made the best of limited quantities of a lot of ingredients. Coleslaw is very simple, and cheap for the budget-weary, to prepare, even for a crowd.



Here's how it was prepared. Get creative with your own version and add whatever fruits or veggies you have on hand.

I tossed together:
One head of green cabbage, shredded or thinly sliced
A couple of carrots, grated
An apple, grated
A mango, grated
A handful of strawberries, sliced

Then I mixed in a small bowl:
About 1/4 cup mayo
About 1/4 apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper
About a cup of strawberries, pureed (I just plopped the whole berries in my dressing and used the immersion blender)
Enough sugar to balance out the sweetness (add by the teaspoon and taste)

Then combine the cabbage mixture with the dressing and allow to sit at least an hour before serving. Top with a few additional sliced strawberries.

* Many coleslaw recipes call for the cabbage to be soaked in salt water and thoroughly drained before preparing. This step helps keep the cabbage crisp if it will be held for a long period of time. I usually skip this step because I can't plan far enough ahead to do it.