Slaw Mouth

Well, it’s back to the summer grind. The mountains were wonderful. My back is feeling a good bit better. And tomorrow we get another share from our CSA.

After the big vacation, I was too tired to make it out to the Madison Pour House for the remarkable event on Saturday, which was a bummer. But I did get to catch up on a little homemaking. It’s hard coming back from a trip, because your refrigerator is empty, and you’re out of your routines.

Except our refrigerator wasn’t entirely empty. There was a fair bit of produce that needed to get cleared out before Tuesday. So I did the only thing I know how to do in order to turn a large quantity of vegetables into a small quantity of vegetables. I broke out the food processor and got ready to make some funky slaw.

Should you bump into me over the next few days, that strange smell is coming from my mouth. Sorry. Toothpaste is powerless against it. Flossing can’t stop it. That slaw mouth is persistent stuff.

Here’s what I shredded to make this bracing, but delicious, raw summer salad:
– A head of cabbage
– A large bunch of turnips
– A bunch of small radishes
– Three carrots
– Two new onions

And to season it, I added:
– Five cloves of garlic
– An inch of ginger
– A dash of dried galangal
– A heavy dusting of cayenne pepper
– A bunch of cilantro
– Fish sauce
– Soy sauce
– Peanut oil
– Rice vinegar
– Apple cider vinegar
– A little bit of brown sugar

Man, I love this stuff. I love it so much. I love how it is redolent of all kinds of Southeast Asian flavors. I love mixing a tablespoon of peanut butter into a cup of it and making a more substantial snack. I love how this concoction will wake me up with a jolt first thing in the morning. I love how it focuses my attention late at night. And I love having it for between meal snacks.

I even love drinking the sweet, hot, vinegary brine.

There’s something about this salad that feels super healthy to me too. Maybe it’s how it magically works to clean out my system. The hot peppers literally make me sweat. And even if there weren’t any spicy elements, thinking how much fiber was in a cup of this slaw might also get my heart racing on its own.

I love it so much that it doesn’t feel like penance to eat hefty servings of raw vegetables twice or three times a day. But I also think it’s great to kick myself in the ass after eating all of those donuts.

Speaking of which, I don’t regret that last eclair. Man, it was good. But I did come home a couple pounds heavier than I left. So more slaw for me. I have to get down to eating weight in time for Saturday’s Hoot! at Empire Farm in Copake. I hear there’s going to be fried chicken, and dammit, I’m not passing up on a chance to eat fried chicken on the farm.