sunday dinner: red cabbage with lingonberry vinaigrette, green apples & walnuts

delicious food. weird black frame.

It's starting to get just a little chillier out there in ye olde NYC which means it's time for me to start pretending we live in Scandinavia - a fantasy of unknown origin that usually manifests itself in the simple donning of a heavy sweater and making a meal fit for temperatures below zero following a long brisk walk. And hey, New York Harbor could be a fjord. If you squint really hard and pretend all the new high-rises are cliffs. Am I right? Anyone?

7 miles clocked today and 13 miles yesterday, I was in a fierce mood for some simulated Nordic fare. Plus, on Sunday I love to get my cooking and baking-on as a way to ease gently into the week. A little Miles Davis playing, sun setting in that way that signals autumn is really and truly no fooling here, laundry and cleaning done, it was time to get down to bid-ness (as they say in Norway...no they don't).

I pulled out a recipe from the NY Times from 2009 for this delicious and healthy salad. I made a few adaptations - using olive oil instead of walnut oil, apple cider vinegar instead of sherry vinegar, and no added salt. As I am not yet a quality food pornographer, all you're getting from me is sort-of blown out food stylin' that looks more like something out of Family Circle magazine in the early 1980s than sexy modern eats. But while you're pretending that NY Harbor is fjord, go ahead and pretend this looks good. Because it tastes good. REALLY good. The sweet tart of the lingonberry jam goes perfectly with the bite of the cabbage and the tartness of the apple. No need to serve with walnuts (though it is suggested and gives you a nice little dose of omegas). I also served this with some wild caught sardines (calcium and more omega 3s) and a Smuttynose Baltic Porter which, of course, you also do not have to do though I think it contributes to the Nordic-ness. Ikke?

red cabbage, lingonberry vinaigrette, green apples & walnuts (Adapted from the NY Times December 2009 adaptation of a Kurt Gutenbrunner recipe)
3 tblsps olive oil
2 tblsps apple cider vinegar
6 tblsps lingonberry preserves
1 small red cabbage, shredded
1-2 green apples, chopped or sliced thinly
1/4 cup walnuts (optional)

First, whisk together vinaigrette using first 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Add shredded cabbage and stir thoroughly to coat evenly. Add green apple and stir to combine or leave separate. Add walnuts if using or leave separate.
Serve alone or with fish - smoked or otherwise. The original recipe suggests cheese and brown bread which I am not suggesting for reasons beyond allergies. Serving carbohydrates or dairy with any cruciferous vegetable (cabbage, broccoli, and others) can contribute to bloating, cramping, and stomach pain. Best to serve alone or with a neutral protein such as fish but NOT beans or legumes. Don't say I didn't warn you.