Roasted Red Pepper & Red Cabbage Salad Recipe

Last night for dinner I (yet again) made a roasted red pepper & red cabbage salad. It's fairly quick and easy and brings back some fond memories of a friend I had years ago who first made it for me.

When I sent a picture of the salad to a family member last night she told me she thought that would go over well in her household and asked me how to make it. This morning when posting a great friend of mine from high school seemed to feel the same way.

I began to post the recipe on Facebook and then realized it was long enough that I may as well blog it.

On to the recipe!


What you will need:
1 head of red cabbage
at least 1 red pepper (it's up to you how many you will want)
Olive Oil
1 container of honey (agave is also acceptable but beware it will be very runny on this)
1 bottle of red wine vinegar (if you don't have red wine vinegar I've made this using Caesar dressing & honey and not been unhappy)
1 cookie sheet (if you don't have one a meatloaf or bread pan should be fine)


Prepping the red cabbage:
It's up to you if you choose to prep your cabbage first, last, or while you work on the red peppers.

Take your red cabbage.
Pull off the outer leaves that look yucky from the store.
Take your chefs knife and begin slicing it however thin or thick you like.
Once you have as much as you want.
Cut the sliced pieces the other direction as well so the slices are more manageable for you to eat.
I probably do that around 4 or 5 times depending on the original size of the cabbage.
Rinse the cabbage in the sink.


To roast your red pepper:
If using only one red pepper like I did last night, I just rub it down with some olive oil, when using multiples I drizzle the olive oil over all of them insuring that enough of the skins are coated with oil.
Once you've coated your red pepper(s) place it/them on a cookie sheet (last night I used a small bread pan and all was still just fine) in the oven at 350 and wait for the skin to pucker.
Once the skin has puckered. (At this point your pepper should no longer be remotely "solid" - it should be squishy. You can usually be pretty sure when your pepper is squishy when you look in and see it's sunken in a bit.)
Remove the pepper from the oven.
Turn off the oven (bc I forgot to last night) and let the pepper cool a little bit.
It doesn't need to get cold just manageable enough for you to hold in your hand.
Take your pepper over to the sink and the first thing I do is pull out the stem. WATCH OUT FOR HOT OIL!!!! It tends to pour right out at this point and I've gotten a hand of hot oil a couple of times.
Gently peel away the skin of the pepper. If you're too rough you can take chunks of pepper with it. This can also happen if the skin is not puckered enough all over the body of the pepper.
Once you've skinned the pepper. Lay it out on a cutting board and slice as thin or thick as you like lengthwise.

Preparing the salad:
Place your red cabbage in a bowl or on a plate.
Arrange your red pepper on top (peppers can be hot or cold - that's your call).
Drizzle with however much red wine vinegar you like.
Drizzle with honey.

Et voila! Salad noms!

The Weekend Report

I mentioned the other day there's been a change in schedule around my house that I am now adjusting to. Which really, is almost cruel, because in another two months, this new schedule (I'm sure) will be shot into the stars while I adjust to baby nom.

My weekends are now no longer on the actual weekend. They are Monday evening to Thursday evening. I plan to do my best to adjust and keep bringing you foods news, pics, and nonsense at as regular an interval as possible (the bulk of which is most easily viewed on the Facebook fan page) and not totally forsake you during "the weekend."

Sick Day

We're having a sick day here at Chez Nom. Some of you may have read that last night the boy came home looking and feeling a lot like death. Today he is feeling very slightly better but is definitely still not up to his regularly scheduled state of function.

He's taken great care in making sure not to possibly get me sick just in case whatever he has in contagious.

Perfect has been a bit sick as well as of late, something seems to have given her a bit of tummy trouble.

As for myself, last night I took on a little more I could handle with the cold walk back to my car that was nowhere near last nights basketball game at the Schottenstein Center. My night was spent unable to roll over and a couple of charlie horses that lead to me screaming for a few minutes. So my messy kitchen is just going to have to wait.

Christmas Gifts

Obviously with my recent trip home* I did not spend the Christmas holiday with my family here in Ohio. Upon our arrival back into the state there was a bit of Christmas waiting here for us (as well as our dog who was more than thrilled we were finally back).

A few years ago the boys grandma offered to make me a quilt and in making it wanted to know what sort of things I liked so that she could try to incorporate them into it. I believe my response was "food, books, and wine."

After a lot of effort finding the appropriate scraps of material to make this quilt a reality I finally have it and it was of course worth the wait.

Recently I made a brief post via the Facebook fan page with the promise of more/better photos.


Not to worry everyone. Grandma got Perfect a Christmas present too. And she LOVES it.

*In the hyperlink video I am seen wearing the shawl I gave to my mother as a Christmas gift. This is her in her gift. To let her keep a modicum of privacy I've blurred her face, don't worry, my mother's face doesn't look like that in person. It's a perfectly lovely face, no blurs about it.

Nacho Challenge Pt. 1*

As promised via Facebook here are some more pictures of food.

Let me tell you I am beyond thankful that this time I was able to see one of my oldest and dearest friend from childhood.

What started out as a excuse for me to get some fresh air and her to get a cup of coffee turned into my feeling pretty compelled to eat once more (and soon!)

We headed out to what before it becomes a local watering hole to us locals, is where high-school kids can get relatively cheap noms. My favourite was always the nachos grande so that's what I ordered.

They were alright but of course some things can't live up to what you remember and in other cases you've just learned more about food to eat some things from some people and feel the same way about them.

Of course, this was one pregnant lady who wasn't complaining too much.

Obviously I was able to "choke them down."

Despite how long friends have known you and how big they feel your mouth is or has always been - it seems they can always be surprised at what you can shovel into your face.

H. and I definitely turned into the 12 year-old versions of ourselves. Which can lead people to a bad case of "monkey see, monkey do."

Whatever the boys excuse is - you'd have to get from him.

Being a picky eater, what has been dubbed "the nacho challenge" was not for him. But tortilla chips are. Of course they need to be properly stacked and counted (there were 13) first.

*I chose to call this "nacho challenge pt. 1" because I can't see how this won't happen again somehow.

A Post For Sock Knitters

Usually I try to post you something slightly more Pro-Portional Designs related, but this morning I read a particularly enjoyable tip list from Knitting Daily in my e-mail and have chosen to share it.

10 Tips for Longer-Lasting Socks

1. Don't wind your yarn into a cake until you're ready to knit. Winding a skein into a cake pulls fibers taught and over months the yarn could lose its ability to spring back into shape.

2. Choose the right yarn for the project; 100% cotton yarn isn't necessarily appropriate for socks because they will quickly bag and lose their shape when worn. Wool and wool/nylon blends are popular for socks because of their innate elasticity.

3. Choose high-quality sock yarn—inexpensive sock yarn tends have short fibers, which pill and wear out more quickly than longer fibers. If your budget is tight, you can find great deals in sale sections.

4. Go down one needle size (or more) when knitting the feet. If a label calls for a US 2 needle, knit the foot of the sock on a US 1, or even a US 0 so you get a dense fabric that holds up to wear.

5. Knit the right size socks. Too-big socks slip around more on the foot and cause more wear as they move around in your shoes.

6. Rinse socks separately before washing with other items. While dye shouldn't run, super-saturated colors might and you don't want your other socks to be affected.

7. Turn socks inside-out when washing. That way the inside of the sock gets a fuzzy halo over time, and not the outside.

8. Consider washing your finished socks in a small mesh bag in the machine so they don't catch on zippers.

9. Don't wash socks in hot water. Even socks labeled "superwash" could felt or shrink a bit.

10. Lay socks flat to dry. Over time, machine drying will lessen stitch definition and make socks look worn. The intense heat of drying might also break down fibers.

For the entire/original article you can go here.

Winter Message from Om Nom Nom Studios

For those of you who have this winter season starting to or already hitting you we hope you're staying warm!