Pieces, and a slaw

Yesterday at lunch, my two sweet girls had a big go-round and then there was A Consequence that resulted in hysterical crying (I warned them!) and, I declare, my eardrums got shot.

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When the relatives were here, they introduced us to this website: the kid should see this. Lots of fun science-y and general interest video clips. We’re hooked.

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The other night I couldn’t find a good read aloud book for the older two kids (we finally finished Watership Down), so, disregarding my husband’s cries of They’re not ready! I picked up Hamlet and plunged in head first. Two scenes in and the kids are entranced and I am giddy from having entirely too much fun.

The library book I placed on hold, The Reading Promise, finally came available after a long (two month?) wait. But now I hesitate to crack the spine because then it will be all over and I’ll have to find something else to read and I hate having to find something else to read. People, tell me what to read! Please? (Also, I’m taking suggestions for good read alouds. Hamlet will be dead before the first snow falls.) (A word of bookworm happiness: my desperate and unsuccessful search for books that my son will enjoy has finally ended with the discovery of this blog post. Currently, his nose is glued to the pages of Erec Rex.)

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I can’t get this cabbage slaw out of my mind.


I read about it several weeks ago and then had to roast a couple chickens and buy some slaw mix (which made me feel cosmopolitan) and then wait for a chicken to lay an egg so I could make a homemade mayonnaise for the dressing.


We ate it up super fast (thus the photos of leftovers). Even the kids liked the salad and slaw is decidedly not their thing. I did not get my fill, so now there’s a cabbage head rolling around in the refrigerator drawer waiting to go under my knife. Kitchen life is so exciting.


Thousand Island Slaw with Roast Chicken
Adapted from Dinner with Julie

If going for the cosmo emos, sub one bag of coleslaw mix for the cabbage and carrot. Also, a bit of thinly sliced green pepper would be pretty.

5 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup minced onion
1 small red pepper, thinly sliced
2 cups shredded roast chicken
1 cup mayonnaise (homemade!)
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon vinegar, either rice or cider
2 tablespoons minced sweet pickle or relish

In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage, carrot, onion, pepper, and chicken. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, ketchup, vinegar, and sweet pickle. Drizzle the dressing over the slaw (you might not need all of it) and season with salt and black pepper to taste.

11 Comments

  • Margo

    hey – a readaloud for the kids: George Speaks by Dick King Smith. It's one of those deceptively simple books that is very funny for both kids and adults. My 5 year old is SO PLEASED that she gets the joke too.
    ok, I'll stop with the books now. I just love books.

  • Anonymous

    We read all of those books in high school. The Chosen I think would be appropriate, if I remember right. Asher Lev, come to think of it, would probably be a bit heavy for now. All of his books are a great, fast read.

    Have you ever read them the old classics like Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew? 🙂

  • Jennifer Jo

    Mama Pea, I've read The Education of Little Tree to them, but not the other. I'll put it on my list.

    Kate and Margo, this is excellent and so very helpful. I will be referring back to this post before my next library trip.

    Anonymous, These books would be for me, not the kids, right? Aren't they pretty heavy? (I think I've read a couple, but probably not until I was in college.)

  • Anonymous

    Have you read any Chaim Potok yet? The Chosen, The Promise, My Name is Asher Lev, etc. These were some of my favorites growing up.

    Those "brownies" are happening tonight!!

  • Margo

    ok, well written fun, fast reads (these are all older books, should be in the library – maybe you've read them already!):

    I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

    anything by Laurie Colwin

    Cold Comfort Farm by Jan Struther

    anything by Margery Sharp

    So Big by Edna Ferber

    ooh, a newish one: Tolstoi Lied by Rachel Kadish

    anything by Georgette Heyer

    I'm making the slaw for dinner tomorrow – probably with buttered noodles 😉

  • Kate

    Book suggestion: GP got us the book "Moon Over Manifest" (this year's Newberry medalist) Historical fiction set in 1918 and 1936. It is structured kind of like "The Guersey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" so it unfolds from a variety of sources. The kids keep begging me to read it which is always a sign of a good book.

  • Mama Pea

    For read aloud books for the kids I would suggest "The Education of Little Tree" by Forrest Carter and "The Thanksgiving Visitor" by Truman Capote.

  • Jennifer Jo

    Margo, I read The Namesake and liked it. (It set me off on an Indian food kick, too.) I'm looking for well-written, fun, fast reads. No dying children. Just good old literary entertainment. Books like The Poisonwood Bible and Life of Pi and To Kill a Mockingbird.

    About the salad: yes, I use it as a main dish. Serve it with bread, applesauce/fruit salad, some baked beans, baked corn, etc.

  • Margo

    I've got a cabbage the size of a baby in my fridge – was bored with my tried and true cabbage recipes – thanks!

    I am reading Jhumpa Lahiri right now – the novel is called The Namesake. It's really good and she's a fantastic writer. She also has a collection of short stories that I've been told is even better.

    What kind of reading do you want? I'm a voracious reader and I keep a notebook of recommendations and finished books because I'm worried about running about too. I take your problem seriously 🙂 and I can send you recommendations.

  • Anonymous

    I am excited about the children listening to "Hamlet". Watch out. They'll be looking for swords, Elizabethan collars and all of the other props that go with the play. -B

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