Wanda's Coleslaw

If you read my post on potato salad you already know that I have a strong aversion to mayonnaise.  I am not sure why exactly, but one thing that always comes to mind is a particular incident with my best friend Dee when we were in high school.  She read in some magazine that it was good for your hair to put mayonnaise in it (kind of like an oil treatment).  I don't know if she put too much, or if she let it set for too long, but it took her a looooonnnggg time to get it all out!!  I remember her hair smelling like mayo for at least a week, if not longer!  It was disgusting.....I think it left scars in my mind on the thought of ever eating mayonnaise.  

It really wasn't until about 8 years ago that I would even consider making anything with mayonnaise in it.  And it is only in the last few years that I have succumbed to taking bites of my husbands sandwiches despite the amount of mayo on it.  Anyway, my husband likes coleslaw and asked me to make some.  Since he knows of my dislike for mayonnaise, he managed to get his mother's recipe for me to use.  He claimed I would like it and that it uses little mayonnaise.  

His mother, Wanda, was a wonderful cook and made everything from scratch (according to my husband).  I never had the opportunity to try any of her cooking because by the time I entered the family, and after raising 13 kids, she is no longer able to get around very well and so cooking has become a thing of the past for her.  I have heard several people rave about her cooking over the years, so I was excited to have and try her coleslaw recipe.

Needless to say, in my eyes, it is the perfect coleslaw.  Very light on the mayo, and overall it is a refreshing change from other coleslaws I've seen and tried in the past.  Her recipe did not include raisins or pineapple (and I'm not sure whose idea it was to add it), but we have come to prefer it with the fruit in it.  I hope you will give it a try and enjoy this recipe as much as we do!

Wands's Coleslaw

2 cups shredded cabbage (or packaged coleslaw mix)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp celery seed
2 tbspn fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt & pepper
1/2 cup raisins (or 1/2 cup shredded pineapple, or a little of both)

Add the cabbage to a large bowl and set aside.   Place the rest of the ingredients (except the raisins) into a smaller bowl and whisk until well blended.  Pour over the cabbage and toss to combine.  Add the raisins and stir them in.  Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.  It may seem like there is not enough dressing at first, but after it sets for a while you will find that there is plenty.