4th of July Coleslaw

I am staying at my friend Liz's apartment in Brooklyn and she asked me to pick up her farm share vegetable box.  Since I have been eating out so much in NY (great food, but not the same as home made), I was thrilled to do the favor for her.  There is nothing more centering for me than being around freshly picked vegetables: collard greens, dill, summer squash, carrots, and cabbage!  I was instantly inspired to make some 4th of July coleslaw.  I have many fond childhood memories of chowing down on crispy coleslaw at my my favorite seafood restaurant near Rockport, MA.  We often went there on the 4th of July to see the fireworks over the ocean.  Even though I was a scrawny little child, I would always order the fisherman's platter, just like my father.  The platter was a mountain of fried shrimp, scallops, cod, calamari, full-bellied clams with french fries and coleslaw!  My father and I would both finish our platters.  I inherited my father's love of unique flavors and foods, like the creamy green stuff in lobster, grapefruit and tonic water, and rich uni nigiri.  He is also the king of BBQ.  My father will BBQ outside, in the middle of winter (in Boston) just because he loves his steak grilled.  His terriyaki chicken is still the best I have ever had.  Growing up, our family usually bought our coleslaw from Stop and Shop to have at our BBQ's, but below is my recipe for a traditional coleslaw (that is wheat/sugar/dairy free!)

Coleslaw 

Ingredients

• 1 head of cabbage
• 6 carrots
• 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise (Spectrum has sugar free kind, or use Vegannaise if you don't eat eggs)
• 1 tablespoon of celery seed
• 1 tablespoon of honey or agave
• The juice of one big lemon
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1.  Cut and shred the cabbage as thinly as possible.
2.  Grate carrots.
3.  Mix cabbage, carrots and mayo in a large bowl.
4.  Mix in the celery seed, honey/agave, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.
5.  Best if you let it "marinate" for an hour or more in the fridge!