When all else in your CSA box fails, make slaw

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

1 Tbsp. agave nectar, honey or sugar

2 tsp. chili garlic sauce (can use sriracha or other Asian-style hot sauce)

2 Tbsp. canola or peanut oil

For the slaw:

1 head cabbage, cored and shredded (can be red, green, napa, or any combination; you’ll need about 6 cups cabbage in all)

2-3 carrots, cut into matchsticks or shredded

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion

1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped cilantro

Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

3/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk together the dressing ingredients and reserve.

Place the shredded cabbage, carrots, peanuts, green onion and cilantro in a bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper and toss. Add dressing and mix thoroughly to combine. Let slaw rest for an hour so that some of the liquid from the cabbage releases. Toss again and add peanuts just before serving.

— Addie Broyles

Pistachio Apple Salad

Nom Nom Paleo bloggers Melissa Tam and Henry Fong call this endive-based slaw a salad in their new book, "Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans" (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $35), but it has all the signs of a slaw in my book: thinly sliced primary ingredients tossed with a salty sweet dressing and something to add even more crunch. They suggest serving it with sausages, grilled pork or barbecued meats.

3 medium endive heads, thinly sliced crosswise (about 3 packed cups)

2 medium Gala, Fuji, or Honeycrisp apples, peeled, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced

1/4 cup Honey Mustard Dressing (see recipe below)

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup roasted and salted pistachio nuts, shelled and chopped

Combine the endive and apple slices in a large bowl. Add enough dressing to suit your tastes, and gently toss the salad together with your fingers. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and divide among plates or bowls. Top with the chopped pistachio nuts before serving. Serves 4.

Honey Mustard Dressing

This recipe for honey mustard dressing will make more than you need for the pistachio apple slaw; reserve the rest for other salads or slaws.

3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp. honey

2 tsp. Dijon-style mustard

1/4 tsp. Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, thoroughly whisk the vinegar, olive oil, honey, mustard and salt until combined. Season to taste with pepper. Use the dressing immediately or refrigerate in a sealed jar for up to three days. Shake well before serving.

— From "Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans" by Melissa Tam and Henry Fong (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $35)

Carrot Slaw with Greek Yogurt, Lemon and Coriander

Carrot tops are often too bitter to eat on their own, but they complement their better-known halves in this cabbage-free slaw from “Root-to-Stalk Cooking,” an excellent book for cooks who like to use lesser-known vegetables and vegetable parts. The Greek yogurt dressing is also a good model for other mayo-free slaws.

1/4 cup plain Greek or other thick yogurt

3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp. honey

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

5 cups coarsely grated carrots (about 6 medium carrots)

1/3 cup finely chopped carrot tops (optional)

1/4 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds

In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice and olive oil. Add honey, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper, and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the carrots, carrot tops (if using) and raisins. Add dressing and toss gently, adding more salt and pepper if needed. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Garnish with almonds before serving. Serves 4 to 6.

— Adapted from a recipe in "Root-to-Stalk Cooking: The Art of Using the Whole Vegetable" by Tara Duggan (Ten Speed Press, $22)

Christmas Slaw with Slivered Pears, Cranberries and Pecans

With lots of green and little red flecks of cranberries, this slaw is Christmas in name only. Instead of using mayonnaise for the dressing, Susie Middleton, the former editor-in-chief of Fine Cooking magazine, uses sour cream, a nice twist that adds a little tangy flavor without weighing down the rest of the dish.

8 cups very finely sliced green cabbage

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. finely minced fresh ginger

1 tsp. freshly grated lime zest

Kosher salt

2 large Bartlett pears

1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions

1/2 cup very finely chopped dried cranberries

1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/3 cup very finely chopped toasted pecans

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cabbage, lime juice, sugar, ginger, lime zest and 1 tsp. salt. Let sit, tossing occasionally, until softened but still somewhat crunchy, 30 to 40 minutes.

Peel the pears, cut them in half, and scoop out the cores and stems. Lay the halves cut side down on a cutting board and slice them very thinly lengthwise. Cut the slices lengthwise again into thin sticks.

Add the sour cream to the cabbage mixture and toss. Add the pears, scallions, cranberries, most of the chopped parsley, and most of the chopped pecans. Toss again. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with the remaining parsley and chopped pecans. Serve right away.

— From "Fresh From the Farm: A Year of Recipes and Stories" by Susie Middleton (Taunton Press, $28)

Old-Time Cabbage Slaw

Dripping Springs resident Melinda West Seifert shares this super simple slaw recipe in her new cookbook from her behavioral engagement wellness company, LoneStart Wellness. The book, "Food for Fuel, Food for Taste, Food for Health, Food for Thought" ($19.99), is available on Amazon.com and includes dozens of health-conscious recipes, many of which were inspired from her own garden. She likes to serve this slaw with fish or anything she throws on the grill.

1 head cabbage, julienned in food processor or very thinly sliced

4 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Pinch of celery seed and dill weed to taste

Julienned or thinly sliced carrots, for garnish

Place the julienned or sliced cabbage in a large bowl. Add the vinegar, olive oil and seasonings and toss well. Allow to marinate for 2 hours at room temperature (this will soften the cabbage) and then refrigerate. Top with carrots and serve chilled. Serves 12.

— From "Food for Fuel, Food for Taste, Food for Health, Food for Thought" ($19.99, Amazon.com) by Melinda West Seifert

Lemony Cabbage Slaw

This mayonnaise-free slaw calls for radishes, red onions and lemon zest, a trio of ingredients you don’t usually find in typical picnic coleslaw. Cookbook author Bobby Deen says that you can prepare the dressing and slaw separately and combine about 30 minutes before serving.

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. salt, plus more to taste

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

1 small head green cabbage (about 1½ pounds), cored and finely shredded

2 large carrots, shredded

1 small bunch radishes (about 5 ounces), thinly sliced

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced into half-moons

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley, plus more for serving

In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper. Add the cabbage, carrots, radishes, onion, and parsley. Toss to coat, and adjust the salt and pepper to taste. Serve garnished with more parsley. Serves 8.

— From "Bobby Deen's Everyday Eats: 120 All-New Recipes, All Under 350 Calories, All Under 30 Minutes" by Bobby Deen (Ballantine Books, $22)

About this story

From the Field is a new monthly series from Statesman food writer Addie Broyles that covers seasonal cooking that uses ingredients from farmers markets, farm stands and Addie’s community-supported agriculture box and backyard garden. She’ll also post on the subject on her blog, austin360.com/relishaustin.

Cabbages and carrots are two vegetables that I’m happy to let someone else grow.

I’ve tried in years past to grow my own, but both items take too long to get very large and take up a little too much space in my not-so-big square-foot beds.

In the cold weather months, I prefer growing other foods that we eat frequently, such as spinach, lettuce greens, chard, kale and cilantro, which are also all plants that I can cut leaves off and will keep on growing for multiple harvests.

All this is to say that I’ve been happy to see lots of carrots and cabbage in my recent community supported agriculture boxes, but after three straight weeks of both, I was running out of ways to roast and braise them.

We tend to think of coleslaw as a summer picnic dish, but the truth is, cabbages and carrots are best when the weather is nice and cool, like it has been this winter.

In grocery stores, both are inexpensive no matter what time of year you buy them, but local organic carrots are exceptionally crisp and sweet right now and come in a rainbow of colors.

In fact, the first winter slaw I made this year was all carrots and no cabbage. Tossed with a few thinly sliced red onions and a stark olive oil-and-vinegar dressing, the carrot slaw added a perfect crunch to a taco that I made from — I kid you not — leftover fish sticks from my kids’ lunch one weekend afternoon.

That carrot slaw revived the years-long conversation I’ve been having with anyone who will listen about the nuanced differences between a salad and a slaw. Sometimes, the line is so thin, I can’t tell them apart myself.

Some will say that using a leafy lettuce or spinach is the primary difference, but not all lettuce-free salads, like one made with tuna, potato or pasta, are slaws.

Thin, uniformly cut and dressed slices are a key indicator of a slaw, which is also why they can take a little more time to put together than a salad, which can be comprised of chunky, roughly chopped ingredients and dressed at the end.

And this brings us to cabbage. Red, green, napa, savory or any other branch off the Brassica tree, including Brussels sprouts and broccoli, are ideal for standing up to tangy, vinegar-based dressings. Just how sweet and creamy said dressing has to be is entirely up to you, and some of us prefer oil-and-vinegar slaw over the mayonnaise-laden ones found at fast food restaurants and in the prepared food aisle of the grocery store.

The best part about making slaws at home is that you can suit your tastes, which means if you’re not a fan of mayonnaise, you can still make a creamy slaw with Greek yogurt or sour cream. Don’t like cabbage at all? Experiment with other hearty vegetables, such as radishes, broccoli (including the stalks), fennel or Brussels sprouts or even something totally unexpected, like endive.

The addition of fruit and nuts to any savory dish can polarize a crowd, but apples, pears, bell peppers, dried fruit and/or toasted nuts can really brighten up an otherwise too monotonous side dish.

A few additional tips on making your slaw spectacular: