Easy, delicious, beautiful, healthy 'chinese' cabbage salad

I've been thinking about the recent article in the nytimes that seems to be circulating around alot - The 11 foods you should be eating or something to that effect. Basically, ive been trying to incorporate them into my diet in fun & new ways as much as I can. I was somewhat inspired by the photo of red cabbage slaw/salad they featured, but thought I could do a little better. This salad, which can be a stand alone meal, is super yummy, colorful, cheap to make and very healthy. my boyfriend summed it up by saying, 'you feel like you're killing all the cancerous cells in your body when you eat this.' Let's hope so!

Here's what you need (adjust to how much you want to make)

Red cabbage - chopped
Carrots - julienned
Daikon (japanese radish) - julienned
Green onion - chopped finely
Ginger root - chopped finely
Pumpkin seeds
Almond slivers
1 package of instant ramen - crushed into bitesized pieces
Cooked chicken (optional)

Dressing:
Sesame seed oil/salad oil/olive oil
Fish sauce or soy sauce or both!
1/2 of the seasoning package from the instant ramen

Instructions:
Simply chop all of the vegetables and mix them in a big bowl. If you are in a hurry, you can just crush the ramen noodles and add straight to the salad. Another interesting twist is to fry them for a few minutes with some butter until they are golden brown. For the dressing, I felt that 100% sesame would be too strong, so I used about 80% salad oil and 20% sesame. Then add just a few drops of fish sauce if you have it and a few drops of soy sauce. If you dont have fish sauce, I would totally invest in it - it's great to add to curries, stir fries and salads like this. it has a much richer taste than soy and you don't need nearly as much. I also added about 1/2 of the seasoning packet to the dressing for a kick.

This meal is great - from 1 head of cabbage, 3 carrots and 3/4 of a daikon, I've been able to make 8 meals! Yeahhh!

Potato Salad?

I was perusing NYtimes.com (a common work day ritual) when I found what looks to be a delicious recipe for potato salad, with goat cheese. Here is the link and I will copy the recipe below). Personally, I LOVE potatoes and most things made with them. A personal favorite is potato salad and I am curious if anyone who reads this blog might want to share their favorite potato salad recipe? Thanks so much!

You can use Yukon golds, fingerlings or red bliss potatoes for this warm, creamy salad. The goat cheese melts into the dressing when you toss it with the hot potatoes.

Warm Potato Salad With Goat Cheese

For the dressing:

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 small or medium garlic clove, minced or pureed
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, or for a low-fat dressing use 1/4 cup low-fat yogurt or buttermilk and 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For the salad:

1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold, fingerling or red bliss potatoes
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 to 4 tablespoons finely chopped red onion (to taste), rinsed with cold water and drained
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 ounces soft goat cheese
2 to 3 sage leaves, cut in thin slivers (optional)

1. Make the dressing. Whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic. Whisk in the olive oil or the yogurt and olive oil. Taste and adjust seasonings, Set aside.

2. Scrub the potatoes and cut into 3/4-inch dice if large. If using fingerlings cut in 3/4 inch slices. Steam above 1 inch of boiling water until tender but not mushy, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and toss while hot in a bowl with salt and pepper to taste, the onions, parsley, goat cheese, and the dressing. Sprinkle the sage over the top and serve.

Yield: Serves 6

Advance preparation: You can make the dressing several hours before making the salad.