Mrs. Jackson's Roasted corn salad

June 26, 2020

Mrs. Jackson was an old woman who lived directly across the street from us in Hollis, Queens. Like many of our neighbors she had come to Hollis by way of Harlem by way of the South.

I can still hear her reply of “Hey baby” whenever someone greeted her while she was working on her garden.

Recently, I found myself craving the coleslaw she would make in the summer, sometimes giving a batch to my mother.

Mrs. Jackson is long gone, but I reached out to her granddaughter to see if there was a recipe and was pleasantly surprised when she responded in minutes with a photo of an old faded recipe for “Memphis Style Cole Slaw” that called for cabbage, carrots and diced onions in a sauce of mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, cider vinegar, celery seeds, black pepper and other spices. Today, I didn’t have any cabbage on hand so I subbed roasted corn and red peppers. To make the salad vegan, I used a vegan mayo and agave. To my surprise, the essence of the original was definitely there.

So much of food is about memory. It’s important that anyone trying to be vegan finds ways of making a nod towards flavors and textures that evoke the deepest memories of who we are and the people we came from.

Ingredients

1 medium size head of green cabbage, tough leaves removed: cored and shredded

2 medium size carrots, peeled and grated

1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and finely diced

2 tablespoons grated onion

2 cups prepared mayonaise

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons celery seeds

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

Preparation

1. Place the cabbage, carrots, pepper and onion in a large bowl. Set aside.

2. In another bowl, mix together all the remaining ingedients. Pour over the vegetables and toss well to combine.

3. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours for the flavors to meld.

Steven Thurston Oliver is a Contemplative Scholar and Food Writer exploring plant based foodways and contemplative practice as a dual strategy for health and well being. Follow @zenvegansteven.