Gut Healing Salad

As September makes itself known and we prepare for the wonderful and melancholy decay of autumn, we can make double batches of bright, fresh, colorful dishes and set some aside for the colder months.

Do this with any dish by freezing half of it.

Alternately, you can also prepare a vegetable-rich shredded salad and lacto-ferment half of it by placing it in a mason jar and covering it with saltwater brine.

LACTO-FERMENTED SALAD

You will need:

• 1 bunch of scallions, chopped

• 2 cups Napa or Savoy cabbage, shredded

• 2 carrots, shredded

• 1 inch daikon radish, shredded

• 3 large stalks celery, thinly sliced

Double these quantities and set half aside for fermenting.

I like to use the shredding blades on my food processor to make quick shredded vegetables.

Then, toss with the dressing below and serve over cooked quinoa as a hearty lunch.

For the dressing:

• 3 teaspoons sunflower or olive oil

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 1 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons tahini

• one generous handful cilantro, chopped

• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I like walnuts or almonds)

To ferment the vegetables above, just stuff them into a quart-sized mason jar.

Fill another mason jar with 1/4 cup water and 2 tablespoons salt.

Pour over vegetables and mash down with a wooden spoon continuously until the veggies generate enough juice to cover themselves.

You can step away from pounding and tend to other tasks in the kitchen, too.

Cover with a cloth and press down once a day for a week.

Then, refrigerate and save for up to 2 months.