Alert, Cabbage Lovers: Cabbage & Beer Soup and Asian Slaw

What to do with a head of cabbage. After almost every cabbage recipe you've got half of the damn thing left over. How about this plan: cabbage soup and a cabbage salad? What if I told you the cabbage soup has beer in it and the cabbage salad has wasabi powder? Now you're pretty excited, right? I have to say that this is one of my favorite soups and one of my favorite salads. Together, they make a great meal and a quick one at that!

Cabbage & Beer Soup - serves 8

1 half of a large head of cabbage, cored and shredded or thinly sliced
2 large carrots, peeled and shredded
6 cups vegetable broth
1 can (12 ounces) pilsner beer (I use Miller Lite, because I know it's vegan)
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
2 cups french fried onions, divided
1 pkg vegan kielbasa (optional)
vegetable spray

1. Coat stock pot with nonstick cooking spray and saute the kielbasa (if using) over medium high for 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.

2. Spray the stock pot again and saute cabbage/carrot until translucent and tender about 10 minutes.

2. Add broth, beer, seeds, and one cup of fried onions. Bring to a boil then reduce to low and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Spoon soup into bowls, add vegan kielbasa, and top with remaining onions.



Asian Slaw
I took my grandma MeMe's cole slaw dressing recipe and put an Asian spin on it.

INGREDIENTS

Dressing
1 cup Vegenaise (or other vegan mayo substitute)
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbs rice whine vinegar (white vinegar is ok, too)
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs sesame oil
1-2 tbs wasabi paste or 1/2 -1 tsp. wasabi powder

Slaw
1 half of a large head of cabbage, cored and shredded or thinly sliced
1 cup shredded carrots

Topping
2 cups toasted slivered almonds, cashews or sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix the first 6 dressing ingredients together in a large bowl and blend well. Add 1 tbs. of wasabi paste or 1/2 tsp. wasabi powder and blend well. Add more wasabi to taste, depending upon how spicy you want it.

2. Once the dressing is done, add the carrots and the shredded cabbage to the dressing. Add some and then stir to make sure you don't add too much cabbage (salad will be dry then). Keep adding cabbage until you like the consistency (I found that 16 ounces of shredded cabbage was just right for me).

3. Top with either slivered almonds, chopped cashews, or toasted sesame seeds.

NOTES

You can add marinated (in soy) firm tofu to this to make it a complete meal.

Make sure to add the nuts as a topping and not mixed into the salad. If you have to refrigerate leftovers and leave the nuts in there, they'll become soggy.