When Southern Oregon College professor Angus Bowmer first proposed a Shakespeare festival to run over the 1935 Fourth of July weekend, Ashland city officials were concerned it would be a bust. To boost ticket sales they insisted that boxing matches be held during the intermissions.
Twenty-six years later, my mother took a similar tack when she tried to talk my dad, my brother, and me into making the eight hour drive from the San Francisco Bay Area to Ashland (“SHAKE-spear? Yuck!”). After the plays, she promised, we’d spend the rest of our vacation at Diamond Lake.
But on that warm August night in that little town, I sat transfixed as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” gently and oh-so-magically unfolded before my 10-year-old eyes. The stars above the open-air theater glittered as the players cast their golden spell. Titania, Queen of the Fairies, and the mischievous Puck had captured our hearts, and Mom knew that fishing trips would no longer be a necessary lure.
That week we prowled the charming streets of this wonderful little town; poking our noses into dusty little museums and antique shops by day, sipping exotically flavored sodas at 60’s style coffee houses after the evening performances.
In one of the quaint little bistros I sampled a cabbage salad that was like none I had ever had before. Not that my knowledge of such salads was extensive, by any means. Mom made a decent cabbage and pineapple mixture, but that was the sum total of my coleslaw awareness. This offering wasn’t creamy and it wasn’t sweet. And there were toasted sesame seeds in it. How exquisite.
The restaurant where I experienced my cabbage salad awakening is long gone, as are the boxing matches. But I’ve had a hankering for Shakespeare and really fine cabbage salads ever since that pivotal summer. Here — just in time to take advantage of our fresh fall crop of cabbage — are two of my favorites. Any one of them would compliment your summer-into-fall barbeques. For a real zesty-yet-richly-flavored experience, don’t overlook the Grand Vines Thai Salad. My cousin Maggie Crawford, co-owner of this popular downtown Salem wine shop and bistro, gave me permission to share their wonderful house specialty. I order it every time I drop in.
Cabbage salad with green peppers
6 cups finely shredded green cabbage
1 large green sweet pepper, shredded to measure about 1 cup
2 carrots, shredded to measure about 1 cup
Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Freshly ground black pepper
Note: This salad is my adaptation of a favorite I used to enjoy in a San Francisco Bay Area Mexican food restaurant called Celia’s. It’s very basic, but very tasty. A simple side dish to spicy Southwest cuisine.
Combine cabbage with pepper and carrots. Toss with some of the vinaigrette, add freshly ground black pepper, toss again and adjust seasonings. Refrigerate salad for at least 30 minutes to develop flavors. May be made up to 24 hours ahead. Yields about 6 cups salad, enough for 12 side servings.
For the vinaigrette, in medium-size bowl, blend together 1/2 cup rice vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 11/4 teaspoon granulated sugar with wire whip. Continue beating as you add 1/3 cup salad oil; adjust seasonings. Yields about 3/4 cup dressing.
Grand Vines thai salad
1 head of green cabbage, shredded (yields about 9 to 10 cups)
6 medium-sized carrots, peeled and then pared into thin strips (just keep whittling each carrot with the carrot peeler until there’s no more to whittle)
1 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dried cilantro
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon chile-garlic paste
1 teaspoon lime powder (see note below)
2 cups roasted peanuts (unsalted or lightly salted)
In a large bowl, combine the cabbage and carrots; refrigerate until ready to combine with the dressing.
To prepare the dressing: whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, cilantro, sesame oil and lime powder. Drizzle most of it over the cabbage mixture, tossing and stirring to evenly coat the cabbage and carrots. Add additional dressing as necessary.
Note: You may have trouble finding this unique and delightful seasoning. Start your search in a well-stocked spices and seasonings aisle of your supermarket. What I actually use these days is Key Lime Pepper blend by The Spice Hunter. It adds an extra level of pepperiness, which isn’t a bad thing, let me tell you.
Notes: At least 12 servings. My cousin Maggie Crawford, co-owner of a popular downtown Salem wine shop and bistro gave me permission to share their wonderful salad. I order it every time I drop in.
Sesame-Ginger coleslaw
6 cups shredded green cabbage
3 cups shredded peeled carrots
2/3 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons shredded fresh ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
This is about as close as I’ve come to the first sesame coleslaw that I fell in love with in Ashland as a little girl. Combine cabbage and carrots in a large bowl; refrigerate until ready to combine with the dressing.
To prepare the dressing: whisk together the rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, ginger and soy sauce. Drizzle most of it over the cabbage mixture, tossing and stirring to evenly coat the cabbage and carrots. Add additional dressing as necessary.
Add the sesame seeds and toss again. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Makes 8 servings.
Wildwood’s coleslaw
This is a great salad to bring to a crab feed, and is one of Portland chef Cory Schreiber’s house specialties at Wildwood.
1 small head Savoy cabbage (Napa cabbage is a decent substitute)
2 carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
1 small red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced lengthwise
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, toasted and coarsely ground (see note below)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Halve the cabbage lengthwise and cut out the core. Cut the cabbage into thin crosswise slices.
In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots, onion, and parsley. In a small bowl, blend the mayonnaise, vinegar, fennel seeds, salt, and pepper. Add to the cabbage mixture and toss. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. The salad will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Serves 6.
Note: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Put the desired amount of seeds in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes, or until they begin to darken in color, occasionally shaking the pan so the seeds will toast evenly. Remove the seeds from the oven and pour them onto a cool pan. To coarsely grind, put them in a spice mill and grind just until broken up and barely turning to powder.
Recipe from “Wildwood, Cooking from the Source in the Pacific Northwest,” by Cory Schreiber.
Roasted hazelnut slaw
Makes servings for 4
A warm and savory melange of tender-crunchy cabbage, smokey bacon and roasted hazelnuts. I love this dish! It’s a wonderful accompaniment to fresh Dungeness crab. Likewise, it’s delightful alongside grilled albacore, pork tenderloins, and so much more. In truth, it’s a dynamite dish all on its own.
8 slices thick-cut smoked pepper bacon, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3/4 cup Rogue Toasted Hazelnut Brown Nectar (or another amber or brown nut ale)
About one-half head green cabbage, shredded to measure 5 to 6 cups
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 cup chopped roasted and skinned hazelnuts
Salt
Black pepper
Place the bacon in a medium saute pan and cook over medium heat until crispy, about 3 minutes, then transfer to a paper towel to drain. Add the garlic and onion to the pan and saute in the bacon grease over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add the sherry and cook until reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook just until wilted, but still slightly crunchy, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add the sherry vinegar, olive oil, thyme, and walnuts and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss in the reserved bacon (crumble it first) and keep warm until ready to use.
Slaw bernoise
6 cups shredded green cabbage
2 cups finely chopped celery
1/2 pound (about 2 cups) Emmenthal or other fine-quality Swiss cheese, cut into julienne strips small clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 smashed and finely minced cloves of fresh garlic
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and quartered lengthwise
In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, celery and cheese.
In small bowl,whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, and garlic until well blended.
Whisk in the oil then pour the dressing over the salad mixture, tossing well to completely coat
the ingredients with the dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chill well before serving. To serve, garnish with quartered hard-cooked eggs. Yields about 6 cups salad, enough for about 12 side servings.
Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis food writer, artist, and author of “Oregon Hazelnut Country, the Food, the Drink, the Spirit,” and four other cookbooks. Readers can contact her by email at janrd@proaxis.com, or obtain additional recipes and food tips on her blog at www.janrd.com.
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