"Costa Rica" Slaw or Cabbage Salad

In Costa Rica, the typical plate of food is called a casado.  It consists of rice, beans (duh), salad, fried plantains and some sort of meat (chicken, pork, fish... etc.)  Here's a beautiful pic of one... but this was actually in Nicaragua:

Sometimes the plantains aren't sliced so deliciously thin, and sometimes the salad looks a little more exciting, but this is it.  Please note Santa Claus table cloth.

I've had good ones and bad ones, but either way they are always filling and always cheap.  In Costa Rica, this would run you about 2,000 colones (about $4) but in Nicaragua, it was probably closer to $3.

Anyways, I love that cabbage salad - it's cheap, it's easy to make, and with the right vinegar, oil and spices it can be SO flavorful.  I've tweaked a few recipes and made a pretty tasty one the other night.  I'm not sure if this is inherently Costa Rican or anything, but it's a crowd pleaser in my apartment with Anthony & Lauren and it only gets better with time.

First off, if you haven't found out already, I'm a fan of color in my food so I got some green AND purple cabbage.  Groundbreaking, I know.

So I've got green & purple cabbage, red pepper, tomato, cilantro. For the marinade I've got some rice vinegar, olive oil, salt, sugar & pepper.  Not pictured is honey, which I added to the marinade after because it didn't have the sweetness that I wanted just yet.

* it helps to put salad in ice cream containers, because then it tastes better

Not much to this one folks, chop it up, pour some dressing over, shake it up and let it chill for as long as you can.  I use about equal parts vinegar & olive oil (maybe 1/4 c each) and a few teaspoons of salt & sugar.  Pinch of ground pepper and CHOO CHOOOOOO this train is boarding to flavor town.  (Thanks to my roommate Lauren for that wonderful saying.)

We breaded & fried some tilapia as well, heated up some beans from the other day, a little bit o dat natilla & avocado and we've got ourselves one of my favorite meals.

Next day, this salad looks and smells AMAZING - it is BY FAR better after a night in the fridge, and Anthony is impressed.