Kenwood Coleslaw

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I can hardly believe summer is wrapping up and next weekend is Labor Day! I just got home from a trip to Pittsburgh to visit family and am looking forward to a quiet Labor Day this year, hopefully spent mostly around the house cooking with my hubby who I was missing big time on this trip! But I can’t help but think about the many recent Labor Day’s Jason and I have spent with my in laws in Half Moon Bay and know that I will be missing this tradition when the weekend hits. Travel plans have them on the opposite side of the coast this year, but looking back at these pics from our trip last year has me thinking I’ll be making a batch of my mother-in-laws delicious coleslaw and hoping to plan ahead for another sailing adventure soon. Fortunately we are expecting a pretty mild Labor Day in Petaluma weather wise, because I remember quite clearly that this weekend away was off the charts hot at home and only coast side temps could be tolerated!

This trip has been a long time tradition for Phil and Debra and a group of friends, and this was not the first time we have been able to join in the fun. The first time I went was before we were married and I sailed both ways that time, with pretty rough seas on the way home. But this time Jason and his dad got some quality time fishing for salmon on the sail down, which can be really rocky, and Debra and I drove down the coast which was a lot smoother sailing for me!

After settling onto the boat we decided to head into town for a bite to eat. We took the dinghy over to the Half Moon Bay Yacht Club’s dinghy dock and rode their epic ferry from there to shore, which is truly an experience! I’ll let the video below show how this movable dock comes to pick you up from the dinghy dock, but there are no photos of the required jumping onto the sand while avoiding waves once you get to shore.

I was able to talk Jason into waiting for a table at Barbara’s Fish Trap, which took a while with the crowds who had driven in to beat the heat. I had my first steamed clams there when Jason and I were dating and they are still just as delicious. The waitress told me the secret is lots of garlic, butter, white wine, lemon, and Italian seasoning, clearly you can’t go wrong especially with fresh clams!

Dinner was fresh BBQ salmon caught with an American Express card since the fish weren’t biting on the sail down (that’s why they call it fishing, not catching!), and an array of salads, including Debra’s Kenwood Coleslaw. Debra has been making this for as long as I’ve known her, and it is really different from most coleslaw as it has an Asian twist. She shared the recipe with me at our engagement party 25 years ago, along with a beautiful wooden salad bowl. It will be fun to make it in that same bowl this weekend and I know it will compliment whatever we choose to BBQ, I’ve had it with chicken and tri-tip as well as fish.

Although Souverain has a very nice galley, nobody cooking on a yacht would be very excited about chopping multiple heads of cabbage, so she opted for a few bags of prepared cabbage this time. She and I both agreed it’s better when you chop it yourself, but do try to stick with the recipe’s instructions for both purple and green cabbage. It makes such a pretty salad! We also used a combo of nonfat Greek yogurt and Best Foods mayonnaise when mixing up this batch, which worked fine and cut a few calories as well. I have made it truly low-cal with only yogurt, but I prefer the taste when there is at least some mayonnaise in it. Whether you use mayo, yogurt, or a combo, this is not an overly creamy coleslaw. Use just enough to hold it together and let the saltiness of the sunflower seeds and soy sauce shine!

This was such a fun trip and I know making this coleslaw will be a fun way to honor the tradition even on a skipped year. Whatever your Labor Day plans I’m wishing you lots of fun with family and friends!