Lydia Likes It

Cole slaw, and so much more

If the bag offered "shredded cabbage" in big letters on the front, would you buy it? Doesn't sound very sexy, I know, but that's exactly what you'll get in a bag of cole slaw mix from the supermarket, and it's one of my all-time favorite kitchen timesavers. A combination of green and purple cabbages plus carrots, cole slaw mix resides in the produce section of every grocery store. Add some mayonnaise, dill, Dijon mustard and rice vinegar to turn it into traditional cole slaw, or do what I do and throw it into stir fries with ground beef or turkey, onions, mushrooms, and seasonings like soy sauce, Sriracha or Japanese BBQ sauce. Substitute cole slaw mix cup-for-cup in any recipe that calls for shredded cabbage. How about tofu stir-fry with cabbage and cashews, or nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice), or stir-fried beef and cabbage with spicy peanut sauce? Cabbage contains very few calories and carbs and plenty of good fiber, so you can eat it often, but not many recipes call for a whole head of cabbage. When you want less than a head, try a bag of cole slaw mix instead.

Cucumber ribbon salad

What's now called Boston's Leather District used to be a gritty few blocks of warehouse buildings filled with tanneries and industrial yarn makers, and publishing companies looking for cheap office space.

Forty-five years ago I worked for one of those publishers, in the top floor of a converted loft space with huge Palladian windows on all four sides. The view was tailor-made for those of us "creative" types who liked to stare out the window while pretending to "create"; one bank of windows overlooked the train tracks, another the downtown skyline, a third the hypnotic expressway traffic.

On the fourth side an equally tall building blocked our view of Chinatown, just three blocks away.

Proximity to Chinatown was the best part of my job -- that, and the fact that a co-worker knew all the words to the Groucho Marx song, "Lydia the Tattooed Lady". On my walk home, I shopped at the grocery stores and small markets for fresh vegetables and wonderful Asian pantry items like chili paste with garlic, oyster sauce, and the Japanese rice vinegar called for in this recipe.

Here's an easy and refreshing summer salad with a mild tartness that makes it the perfect accompaniment to rich foods like salmon. If you have a mandoline slicer, now's the time to use it; if not, use a vegetable peeler to make the long, thin ribbons. The salt will draw water out of the cucumber, so make this right before you're ready to eat. Serves 3-4; can be doubled.

Ingredients

1 large, very firm English (seedless) cucumber
1/4 cup Japanese rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 pinch red pepper flakes
black sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions

Trim the ends off the cucumber. Cut the cucumber in half to make two pieces approximately six inches long. Using a mandoline or a vegetable peeler, slice the cucumber lengthwise into thin ribbons, and place in a mixing bowl.

Combine the vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, salt and red pepper flakes in a small glass measuring cup, and stir well to dissolve the sugar. Taste, and adjust seasoning to your liking. Pour over the cucumber ribbons, and toss well, but very gently, to thoroughly coat the cucumber. Place in a serving bowl, and garnish with black sesame seeds.

Adapted from my original post on The Perfect Pantry.

What's now called Boston's Leather District used to be a gritty few blocks of warehouse buildings filled with tanneries and industrial yarn makers, and publishing companies looking for cheap office space.

Forty-five years ago I worked for one of those publishers, in the top floor of a converted loft space with huge Palladian windows on all four sides. The view was tailor-made for those of us "creative" types who liked to stare out the window while pretending to "create"; one bank of windows overlooked the train tracks, another the downtown skyline, a third the hypnotic expressway traffic.

On the fourth side an equally tall building blocked our view of Chinatown, just three blocks away.

Proximity to Chinatown was the best part of my job -- that, and the fact that a co-worker knew all the words to the Groucho Marx song, "Lydia the Tattooed Lady". On my walk home, I shopped at the grocery stores and small markets for fresh vegetables and wonderful Asian pantry items like chili paste with garlic, oyster sauce, and the Japanese rice vinegar called for in this recipe.

South End Deep Root Chili

The only thing better than a great recipe is a great recipe with a backstory. 

Once upon a time, a woman named Mary entered a chili contest, a benefit event for one of her charitable organizations, and she enlisted the help of her sister and two friends to come up with a signature chili.

She'd seen a recipe for a black bean chili in a magazine, and we started from there. (Cat's out of the bag now...I was one of the recruits.) We worked on our recipe, tweaking a bit, having fun, and — in a stroke of genius — adding some pasta at the end, until we all were pleased with it.

On the day of the contest, I prepared a large vat of our concoction, which we named South End Deep Root Chili in honor of the mega-toothache Mary had on the day we first tested our recipe. Off she went to the contest. There were nine other entrants, all of whom had made traditional chili.

The cook at the station next to Mary's came over for a taste. "That's not chili," he proclaimed. "It's going to win, but it's not chili."

And win it did. The prize was a crockpot, which the four of us agreed to share (!). I don't know what became of the crockpot, but the chili has become a house favorite, in my house and in a few other houses I know about.

South End Deep Root Chili 

This recipe, which appeared in my cookbook, South End Cooks: Recipes from a Boston Neighborhood, and then on my food blog, The Perfect Pantry, is unconventional but delicious, and like all chili recipes, proportions are not important. Serves 8-10; can be halved, or doubled.

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups unsweetened apple juice
4 cups diced onion
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
6 Tbsp minced garlic
4 tsp ground cumin
10 tsp chili powder, or to taste
4 cans black beans, drained, rinsed and drained again
28 oz vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
4 tsp lemon honey (or 4 tsp plain honey + 2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice)
1 small dried chili pepper, crushed, or hot sauce to taste
1 28-oz can diced or chopped tomatoes, with juice
1/2 cup orzo (or other tiny pasta)
1/4 tsp salt (taste first if using storebought stock)
Black pepper to taste
Monterey Jack cheese, grated (for garnish)
Avocado, chopped (for garnish)
Sour cream (for garnish)

Directions

Preheat a large heavy pot or Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Add apple juice and bring to a boil. Add onions and sauté, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Add celery, carrots, garlic, cumin and chili powder. Continue stirring for 3 minutes. Add black beans, stock, honey, lemon, chili pepper and tomatoes. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the beans don't stick.

Add orzo, salt and pepper, and continue cooking, covered, stirring frequently, until the orzo is cooked (8-10 minutes).

Serve hot, topped with Monterey Jack cheese and/or sour cream. Can be made ahead; cool, cover and refrigerate.

Once upon a time, a woman named Mary entered a chili contest, a benefit event for one of her charitable organizations, and she enlisted the help of her sister and two friends to come up with a signature chili.

She'd seen a recipe for a black bean chili in a magazine, and we started from there. (Cat's out of the bag now...I was one of the recruits.) We worked on our recipe, tweaking a bit, having fun, and — in a stroke of genius — adding some pasta at the end, until we all were pleased with it.

On the day of the contest, I prepared a large vat of our concoction, which we named South End Deep Root Chili in honor of the mega-toothache Mary had on the day we first tested our recipe. Off she went to the contest. There were nine other entrants, all of whom had made traditional chili.

The cook at the station next to Mary's came over for a taste. "That's not chili," he proclaimed. "It's going to win, but it's not chili."

South End Deep Root Chili 

This recipe, which appeared in my cookbook, South End Cooks: Recipes from a Boston Neighborhood, and then on my food blog, The Perfect Pantry, is unconventional but delicious, and like all chili recipes, proportions are not important. Serves 8-10; can be halved, or doubled.

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups unsweetened apple juice
4 cups diced onion
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
6 Tbsp minced garlic
4 tsp ground cumin
10 tsp chili powder, or to taste
4 cans black beans, drained, rinsed and drained again
28 oz vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
4 tsp lemon honey (or 4 tsp plain honey + 2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice)
1 small dried chili pepper, crushed, or hot sauce to taste
1 28-oz can diced or chopped tomatoes, with juice
1/2 cup orzo (or other tiny pasta)
1/4 tsp salt (taste first if using storebought stock)
Black pepper to taste
Monterey Jack cheese, grated (for garnish)
Avocado, chopped (for garnish)
Sour cream (for garnish)

Directions

Preheat a large heavy pot or Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Add apple juice and bring to a boil. Add onions and sauté, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Add celery, carrots, garlic, cumin and chili powder. Continue stirring for 3 minutes. Add black beans, stock, honey, lemon, chili pepper and tomatoes. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the beans don't stick.

Add orzo, salt and pepper, and continue cooking, covered, stirring frequently, until the orzo is cooked (8-10 minutes).

Serve hot, topped with Monterey Jack cheese and/or sour cream. Can be made ahead; cool, cover and refrigerate.

South End Deep Root Chili 

This recipe, which appeared in my cookbook, South End Cooks: Recipes from a Boston Neighborhood, and then on my food blog, The Perfect Pantry, is unconventional but delicious, and like all chili recipes, proportions are not important. Serves 8-10; can be halved, or doubled.

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups unsweetened apple juice
4 cups diced onion
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
6 Tbsp minced garlic
4 tsp ground cumin
10 tsp chili powder, or to taste
4 cans black beans, drained, rinsed and drained again
28 oz vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
4 tsp lemon honey (or 4 tsp plain honey + 2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice)
1 small dried chili pepper, crushed, or hot sauce to taste
1 28-oz can diced or chopped tomatoes, with juice
1/2 cup orzo (or other tiny pasta)
1/4 tsp salt (taste first if using storebought stock)
Black pepper to taste
Monterey Jack cheese, grated (for garnish)
Avocado, chopped (for garnish)
Sour cream (for garnish)

Directions

Preheat a large heavy pot or Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Add apple juice and bring to a boil. Add onions and sauté, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Add celery, carrots, garlic, cumin and chili powder. Continue stirring for 3 minutes. Add black beans, stock, honey, lemon, chili pepper and tomatoes. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the beans don't stick.

Add orzo, salt and pepper, and continue cooking, covered, stirring frequently, until the orzo is cooked (8-10 minutes).

Serve hot, topped with Monterey Jack cheese and/or sour cream. Can be made ahead; cool, cover and refrigerate.

Turkey and cole slaw stir-fry

Cooking doesn't get any easier than this recipe for a satisfying, and low-carb, stir fry of ground turkey or beef, sliced mushrooms and a bag of cole slaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots -- not the prepared cole slaw with mayo!) from the supermarket. It calls for seasonings you probably have in your refrigerator, and Bachan's Japanese barbecue sauce, which isn't entirely necessary but ups the deliciousness by at least one thousand percent. You can substitute impossible meat, or even tofu, for the meat, and serve it on its own, or over steamed rice or rice noodles. Serves 4.

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey (or beef, or impossible meat, or tofu)
2 tsp oil, any type (if using beef, you don't need oil)
1 small onion, chopped
8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms, any type, or 2 4-oz cans sliced mushrooms, drained
1 14-oz bag cole slaw mix, or equivalent amount of thinly shredded cabbage
3 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp Sriracha
Bachan's Original Japanese BBQ Sauce, or hoisin sauce (optional)
Bachan's Hot and Spicy Japanese BBQ Sauce (optional), or more Sriracha

Directions

Heat a wok or large frying pan. Add the oil (no oil if you're using ground beef), then the turkey. Stir fry the turkey, breaking up any large bits, until it's no longer pink. Add the onion and mushrooms, and continue to stir occasionally for 2 minutes, until onions are translucent and the mushrooms are no longer raw. Then, add the bag of cole slaw mix. Pour in the soy sauce, rice vinegar and Sriracha. Stir, bringing the hot meat up and over the cole slaw until the cabbage wilts. Taste, and add more Sriracha if needed. Serve in individual bowls, and drizzle with Japanese BBQ sauces, to taste.

Let's get saucy

My name is Lydia, and I'm an addict. I admit it; I'm addicted to Japanese barbecue sauce, to this one in particular. If you haven't tried Bachan's, be warned: this is the stuff of which the most yummy dreams are made. Bachan means "granny" in Japanese, and that's the first hint that this is a tried-and-true family recipe. Judy Yokoyama, known as "Bachan", was born in California, sent to an internment camp as a young girl, and worked on an apple farm. Later her family ran a landscaping business, and every year at the holidays, they would brew up a batch of her barbecue sauce and gift it to their customers. By 2019, they turned that sideline into a business, which now sells four sauces: original (salty with lots of umami flavor); hot and spicy (oh yes, it is -- we often mix it 50/50 with the original); yuzu (salty and citrusy); and a gluten-free version of the original recipe. Bachan's contains authentic ingredients, no preservatives, and is non-GMO certified. It's available in Asian markets and some supermarkets, and online, in various sizes. Stock up now; later this month, I'll share a super-easy recipe, using this sauce, that I make every week.