Spicy Peanut Salad

Its been way too long since I've posted any recipes and to be frankly honest I really haven't been making anything new. Actually I haven't really been cooking much at all. Its been too hot. When its hot the last thing I want to do is heat up the stove or the oven. It just makes things worse! I have a bunch of old recipes I want to share, but was kind of waiting until I made it to take pictures, but I think I'm gonna have to just post some.

In the mean time, here's a recipe I actually picked up at Trader Joes. For those of you who've never stepped foot into a T.J.'s (poor souls!), they have a corner in their store where they always have some product you can test. Yesterday they made this cabbage salad to test out their Asian-style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette. It was surprisingly tasty. I'm not a fan of peanuts. I like Thai peanut sauce with noodles, but thats about it...no peanuts, no peanut butter, no peanut butter cookies. These went great with TJ's Coconut Curry Chicken Stix (they're like Asian taquitos). This is a semi-homemade recipe...nothing much to it, but its tasty. I think it tastes best when you let it sit a little bit so the cabbage and carrots can soak up the dressing and soften up a bit.

• Shredded cabbage
• Shredded carrots
• Salted blister peanuts (I don't like peanuts, so I left this out...cashews might work too)
• Seedless raisins (or I used craisins...dried cherries would work too)
• Asian-Style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette (from Trader Joes...I'm sure there is an equivilant at your nearest grocery or Asian food store)

Combine cabbage, carrots, peanuts, and raisins in a large bowl, mixing all ingredients. Add Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette to taste, tossing well to combine (I like to let it sit for a little bit so the cabbage can soften up a bit and soak some of the vinaigrette). Serve and enjoy!