ArcaMax

Editor's Note: Please enjoy this previously published Zola classic for today!

I was just a tidbit over two years old when Buddy Holly died in the plane crash. As I grew up, I knew of the musician with the wild black glasses. I knew he was talented and had a lot of hits. I just didn’t know really how many. I didn’t pay that much attention, and it was easy for me to mix him up with some of the other popular singers of the day. I was more into the Beatles than Buddy Holly and the Crickets.

This weekend I had the opportunity to see the play called ‘Buddy. The Buddy Holly Story’. It was delightful.

The play was a combination of a history lesson and a concert. The people playing the various parts were also musicians; talented musicians for sure.

There was one guy who played The Big Bopper. Another one played Ritchie Valens. (For those of you unfamiliar, those two talented musicians died in the same plane crash that took place outside of Clear Lake, Iowa on a very cold February evening).

They were all playing at a concert venue called The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake. The buses they were touring in were freezing cold and everyone was complaining about the weather and the bad conditions so these three guys ended up in a small, private plane that was to take them to Moorehead, Minnesota for their next performance. The plane never made it.

I learned a lot about the history of Buddy’s rise to fame and all the crazy things that happen in the life of a young rock and roll talent. In those days of pony tails and poodle skirts, rock and roll was just beginning and it turns out Buddy Holly was a major influence in how it all developed.

I’ve been to Clear Lake, Iowa. I’ve been to the Surf Ballroom. I have spoken on the very stage that Buddy Holly performed on before his death on that cold winter night.

I feel especially privileged now to have shared the same stage, (even over 50 years later) with a young legend of rock and roll.

Classic Coleslaw (SUPER easy)

The only trick to coleslaw is to make it ahead. The flavors need some time to develop. A few hours is enough, and it will keep well in the fridge for days afterwards, if you have leftovers.

Most coleslaw dressing you find in the store is chock-full of sugar. This one is just about as easy to make as the other stuff is to pour out of the jar. And healthier.

1 bag of shredded cabbage. (about 4 – 5 cups). Some bags will have some shredded carrots in there for color too.
1 packet of Truvia (1 tsp)
3 Tbl of apple cider vinegar
1 large shallot minced (or half cup of minced onion)
1 – 2 tsp of celery salt
1 – 1.5 cups of mayonnaise. I use mayo made with olive oil rather than the stuff made with canola or soybean oil.
Grated black pepper to taste.

Put all of the ingredients in a large bowl and stir until mixed. The amount of celery salt you use will be based on your taste. I like the two teaspoons for myself. The same goes for the mayo. The creamier you like your slaw the more mayo you’ll put in. I like a lot of grated black pepper in coleslaw too. I literally want to see the black bits.

You don’t see me eating a lot of French fries anymore. I have grown to love this with a burger, a brat or a hotdog.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola