Chicken sliders with spicy slaw

Bake these chicken sliders topped with crunchy, spicy slaw for an easy weeknight meal or grill them as a fun addition to a backyard BBQ.

Even thought it's summertime, I still like to use my oven for weeknight meals. While the grill is great (largely because it gets Mr. Ninj involved in preparing the meal!), sometimes it's easier for me to throw dinner in the oven and not have to monitor it as closely as when we grill outdoors.

One thing I love about these cute chicken sliders with spicy slaw is that they are perfect for either cooking method, baking or grilling, based largely on the little bit of mayo that's part of the burger mixture to ensure they stay nice and moist while cooking.

But whichever way you prefer to prepare them, please don't skip the spicy slaw on top.

Slaw on burgers: is this new to you? Since I love creamy chopped coleslaw on a pulled pork sandwich, I figured adding slaw to a chicken slider isn't much different. Maybe a little messy (definitely a recipe I would add to my "Don't Eat on a First Date or Job Interview" list), but I love the extra crunch that the slaw adds.

Plus, putting the slaw on rather than next to the chicken sliders means no additional condiments are necessary, keeping it a little bit lighter.

And we're all about lighter around here.

Easy cabbage tabbouleh

Add some healthy whole grains to your summer meal salads with this easy, no-cook recipe for cabbage tabbouleh, a riff on the traditional Middle Eastern favorite.

With the onset of the summer heat, we all start looking for cool, no-cook dinner recipes, don't we? You bet we do: Just take a look at your favorite food boards on Pinterest and you'll see what I mean.

Yet "no-cook" often turns into shorthand for "salad." So we end up eating lots of salads, which, let's face it, can get pretty boring. I like to incorporate more filling meal salads like this cabbage tabbouleh into my summertime repertoire.

Tabbouleh is an traditional Middle Eastern dish, composed largely of tomatoes, parsley, mint and onion, often with a grain mixed in, and finished with a lemony oil dressing. To be honest, I don't really like traditional tabbouleh. Something about the amount of parsley in it is just a bit overwhelming for me.  A little too earthy, too tart ... oh, I don't know, a little too something.

But I do like the idea of tabbouleh -- a simple, easy grain and veg salad, cool and quick to prepare.

Since I've been expanding my whole grain horizons (I no longer immediately think of the rhyme "bulgur is vulgar" when I see a bag of it), I decided to give tabbouleh another chance when I came across this recipe that substitutes cabbage for all that too-something-something parsley. Heck yeah!

Cabbage and grape leaves: 9 recipes (CSA Share Ninja Rescue 2014)

By request, enjoy these five healthy recipes for cabbage and four unique recipes for grape leaves (yes, you can eat them in dishes other than stuffed dolmas!).

Yo yo yo! It's Week 2 of the 2014 edition of the CSA Share Ninja Rescue, a weekly summertime feature in which you tell me via blog comments on Fridays what veg you received (or will be receiving) in your CSA share box or found at the farmers' market that you don't know what to do with and I'll give you a whole bunch of recipe ideas on the following Tuesday.

By request, we've got two less popular leafy greens to tackle this week: cabbage (very ubiquitous) and grape leaves (less ubiquitous) -- and, specifically, recipes for grape leaves OTHER THAN stuffed grape leaves.

Asian pork burgers with quick pickled cucumbers

There's been a lot of talk about veg around here lately, so I thought I probably owed you a nice, meaty post.

So of course I shall focus on pork (not quite bacon, but damned close).

I've been trying out some pork burger recipes over the past few months, looking for some alternatives to straight-up beef burgers -- although there is nothing wrong with a nice, locally raised grass-fed beef burger, my friends, nothing at all.

I came across a recipe for "triple pork burgers" in a recent issue of Food and Wine. Triple pork? You know The Ninj's interest was piqued. And it also included cabbage. Yep, cabbage -- in the burger. Very stealthy indeed.

But, as is often the case, I felt the recipe was way too involved and included some spice that would require a special trip to an ethnic grocery store in another town.

Not happening.

Not to mention that "triple pork" was misleading: that simply meant three burgers per bun. Come on: sometimes more pork is simply too much pork. (Can you believe I just wrote that?) 

So, being all stealthy like I am, I gave the recipe a ninja-style modification to make it more realistic, less unhealthy and faster to prepare.

CSA Share Ninja Rescue 2013: kohlrabi (6 ways)

Photo by Michael and Christa Richert via the stock.xchng

Welcome to another installment of the 2013 edition of CSA Share Ninja Rescue, a weekly feature in which you tell me on Fridays what veg you got in your CSA share box (or found at the farmers' market) that you don't know what to do with and I'll give you a whole slew of recipe ideas on the following Monday.

Recipes by request: how cool and easy is that?

This week, my readers are looking for help with kohlrabi. You might not even know what it is -- but it's that alien-looking veg you see in the photo above. Freaky, no? 

Kohlrabi is a root vegetable, either green or purple, that is in the same family as cabbage (and even tastes a bit like it), so, when shredded, it makes a great substitute for cabbage. It is has historically been widely popular throughout eastern Europe, due to its cold-hardiness. I also learned recently that is sometimes referred to as "German turnip."

Ready to get creative with kohlrabi? Here are six ways:

1. Potato-kohlrabi puree: a great alternative to mashed potatoes (you could throw a little celeriac in here, too)
2. Roasted kohlrabi: simple and delicious side dish
3. Quick kohlrabi pickles: pickling non-traditional veg yields some fun, interesting results 
4. Kohlrabi soup: this would be a unique (and easy!) starter for your next big family dinner
5. Sweet and spicy slaw: simply substitute kohlrabi for the cabbage -- lovely with burgers
6. Nouveau colcannon: again, substitute kohlrabi for the greens -- it will add a nice touch of crunchiness

Now, with what veg can I give you a little help next Monday? Leave a comment -- The Ninj wants to know.

Sweet and spicy slaw: a recipe

Sweet and spicy slaw

Yesterday I posted a whole bunch of recipe suggestions for how to use up all the cabbage that shows up in your CSA box.

I rediscovered cabbage a few years ago by using it raw. I did the same with kale and it really opened up new possibilities (try using a leaf of raw kale on your turkey sandwich instead of lettuce -- awesome crunch and better flavor).

But, to empathize better with my readers (since I pretty much am my own CSA this year), I decided to try out a new slaw recipe. And they had already requested that it not be an Asian-style slaw (apparently a lot of recipes sites think that's all you can do with Napa cabbage).

The inspiration recipe was for a honey-mustard dressing but I thought it would be better with a little more kick, a little less predictable taste.

Zowee. Much better!

CSA Share Ninja Rescue: cabbage

Cabbage conundrum.

At least, that's what I'm hearing from you. You want new and interesting things to with cabbage.

And, specifically, no more recipes for Asian-style slaw!

If, like me, you grew up on stewed red cabbage, you, too, may immediately think, "Eeew ... cabbage!" But never fear: as with pork chops, once you figure out there are alternatives to the way it was prepared in the 1970s, you'll become a fan.

Note: some of these recipes aren't chilly and summery, but they definitely are seasonal, given the cabbagey emphasis.

And I couldn't entirely ignore slaw, as it is one of the finest vehicles for raw cabbage, but I promise this one isn't Asian.

Cabbage, ham and mushroom galette: a recipe

Cabbage, ham and mushroom galette with horseradish cream

Not a big fan of cabbage? Neither am I.

For years, my association with cabbage has been the overcooked corned beef and cabbage dinner served in bulk at the annual St. Patrick's Day dinner and fete that our local church held (and that my parents forced me attend, even as a sullen teenager) while I was growing up.

I'm not sure which was worse, the soggy brown cabbage or the band of non-Irish locals in plaid pants playing "Danny Boy". (I believe the pipes were calling those pants back home, stat.)

Yeah, you would have bad cabbage flashbacks, too.

CSA Share Ninja Rescue: cabbage, kale and peas

Courtesy of Lousam of the NHL team via stock.xchng

Welcome to the first installment of the CSA Share Ninja Rescue, where you tell me what items in your CSA share are making you scratch your head or lose your patience and I provide you with some help in the form of recipes or ideas.

Commenters from last week were looking for recipe ideas for cabbage, kale and peas.

Peas:
If you have not received any peas in your share, just substitute frozen peas.

• Pea-camole from Simple Bites: Think guacamole but more like a veggie dip!
• Pea soup from Dorie Greenspan: Dorie makes this one as a winter soup with frozen peas, but it would be lovely with fresh peas as well. This is not sickly green like a split-pea soup but bright and fresh.
• Ham and cheese mac with peas from Cooking Light: A sing-songy name and a taste even your picky kid eaters will love.