Rainbow Winter Salad and Creamy Garlic Dressing

Thanks to a lazy holiday Monday, I had the opportunity to pick up some of the more unusual ingredients in the first few recipes I typed up the other day and make the Rainbow Winter Salad and Creamy Garlic Dressing. 

Perelandra, my local natural and health food store, held the key to deciphering some of my mother's ingredient list. I knew they would have the apple cider vinegar and liquid lecithin, as well as some of the vegetable ingredients. And, since neither of those first few items are terribly common, I had to do a bit of research to figure out exactly what it was I was cooking with.

Apple Cider Vinegar - Apple Cider Vinegar is made by crushing apples and squeezing out the liquid. Yeast is added to the liquid to start the alcoholic fermentation process, which turns the sugars into alcohol. In a second fermentation process, the alcohol is converted by acetic acid-forming bacteria into vinegar. 

Liquid Lecithin - Lecithin is a generic term to designate any group of yellow-brownish fatty substances occurring in animal and plant tissues, and in egg yolk. The liquid lecithin that I purchased, and that I believe my mother used, is plant-based (soy) and besides it's much debated health benefits, it is used as a natural emulsifier. In this case, it allows the oil and water in the salad dressing to blend in a way they can't usually. It also has a consistency much like molasses, making the dressing creamy without the addition of any dairy products. 

What I made is a ever-so-slightly edited version of the original. I've noted all the changes here. (My mother didn't include salt or pepper as ingredients, I'm not sure why. I think it had something to do with her macrobiotic tendencies. I have tried to stay true to her ingredient list - and I only used salt and pepper to season the squash for baking):

Rainbow Winter Salad

1/2 Butternut squash -- cubed, and then roasted in the oven.

5 large purple cabbage leaves sliced thinly

3 carrots, chopped

1 cup sprouts (I used clover, but you could use any)

2 stalks celery, chopped

salt and pepper (to taste)

Toss vegetables together with the Creamy Garlic Dressing

Creamy Garlic Dressing

1/2 cup sunflower oil

2 T cider vinegar

3 small garlic clove, pressed

1 t tamari sauce (aka Soy Sauce)

1 t agave syrup (I didn't have any honey)

6 T water

1 T dried Italian herbs

1 T liquid lecithin

dash of cayenne

Whisk together and use sparingly.

The combination of baked squash and raw vegetables with the garlic based dressing was actually quite lovely.


My mother called the dressing "heavenly" in her write-up, and it really lived up to that claim. Next time, I would add something to the salad for a little more texture, maybe some sunflower seeds or walnuts - and even dried cranberries for added sweetness. For traditionalists, some lettuce would have been a welcome addition as well. The salad dressing would have worked well without the liquid lecithin - so not a needed purchase. As I mentioned above, the lecithin allows the dressing a creamy texture it would not normally possess, but lecithin does nothing for the taste, which is excellent. Together, the creamy garlic dressing, butternut squash and assorted vegetable salad make a fun, easy, colorful meal.