Alchemy in the Kitchen

Sometime after Thanksgiving I thought I should bake the Tofurky that had been in my freezer for nearly a year. I had purchased it out of curiosity, and because I had a coupon. I didn't think much of it, gave some to my housemates, and used the rest in sandwiches. The Tofurky gravy, purchased separately, was especially not to my liking.

I eventually smuggled the gravy into my daughter-in-law Tracy's chili recipe, and it blended right in. This recipe, in my opinion, is more of a vegetable bean soup than a chili, containing celery, carrots, bell peppers, black & kidney beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, and corn. I'm quite fond of it and make it often.
I became enamored of red cabbage after visiting my son George a year or two ago. He served me a cabbage-onion stir fry seasoned with herbes de provence. I tried making it when I returned home but quickly decided I didn't really like lavender and that I preferred red cabbage as a slaw.

To make my slaw, I take a half head of cabbage plus two to four carrots and run them through my Cuisinart using a shredding disk, tossing the shredded vegetables with my favorite bottled salad dressing, Brianna's Poppy Seed.

I like this sweet dressing because it reminds me of one my mother occasionally made by thinning Miracle Whip with a little orange juice.

My cabbage was unusually big this last time and I was afraid the slaw would spoil before I could finish it. So I decided to turn it into an Asian soup. I sauteed some onions and garlic in olive oil, added roasted sesame oil, some soy sauce, the slaw, and water to cover. I also added a can of adzuki beans (drained & rinsed), as well as a package of mung bean threads that I'd had forever. I brought the pot to a boil, then down to a simmer, and cooked it another 10 minutes.

This resulted in a subtly flavored dish, perfect for a cold winter's day, with the bean threads turning a lovely translucent pink. But definitely not a soup, so I made some rice to go with it.