By First month at the ISFA. Ames, three days a week. My title: Outreach Coordinator. My job: find beginning farmers, help with grants, sit at kitchen tables and deliver possibilities instead of verdicts. Same tables. Different numbers. The numbers that give instead of take.
First case: a couple outside Nevada, Iowa (Neh-VAY-duh). Vegetable operation, twenty acres, direct-to-consumer. I laid out grants, loans, tax credits. The woman — Sarah, twenty-six — looked at the numbers and said, "We can do this." The hope in the voice. The voice I never heard at insurance tables. I drove home and made dinner and the thing in my chest was purpose.
Meanwhile: planting day in Des Moines. Jack commanding. The Marlene Heart Bed, the garden expansion, berry bushes going in. The greenhouse extending everything. Noah home from ISU for summer, working in the labs. Emma finishing freshman year with grades and titles and a gap-year restlessness that I'm pretending not to see.
That night — after Sarah said “We can do this” and I drove home through the Iowa fields feeling something I hadn’t felt in years — Jack had the back garden turned over and the berry bushes half-planted and the whole yard smelled like dirt and possibility. I didn’t want anything heavy. I wanted something that matched the day: crisp, bright, a little unexpected. Blue Cheese Apple Slaw has been in my back pocket for springs like this one, the kind of spring where everything is starting at once and you just need the food to keep up.
Blue Cheese Apple Slaw
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 4 cups green cabbage, thinly shredded
- 1 cup red cabbage, thinly shredded
- 1 large Granny Smith apple, julienned or coarsely grated
- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/4 cup red onion, very thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, and celery seed until smooth. Season with salt and black pepper. Taste and adjust — it should be tangy, just slightly sweet.
- Prep the slaw base. In a large mixing bowl, combine the shredded green cabbage, red cabbage, and red onion. Toss to distribute evenly.
- Add the apple. Fold in the julienned apple immediately after cutting to prevent browning. The apple brings crunch and a bright tartness that carries the whole dish.
- Dress and toss. Pour the dressing over the slaw and toss well until everything is evenly coated. Start with two-thirds of the dressing and add more as needed — you want it lightly dressed, not heavy.
- Fold in the blue cheese. Gently fold in the crumbled blue cheese, taking care not to break it down too much. You want distinct pockets of it throughout.
- Rest and serve. Let the slaw sit for 5–10 minutes before serving so the flavors meld. Scatter fresh parsley over the top if using. Serve cold as a side dish or piled onto sandwiches.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 165 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 12g | Carbs: 12g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 290mg