Gut-friendly French grated carrot salad and the firemen’s calendar

We currently have a guest staying who is particularly enamoured with the horses. Also the trees. She spends quite a lot of time with them (both trees and horses) for their therapeutic value, and yesterday she reported that one of the horses had told her they love it here so much because there’s absolutely no hierarchy: the humans aren’t dominant. I would even argue that, if we’re talking pecking order, the humans would end up beneath both the horses and the dogs, because we’re certainly not the ones to rule the roost!

The firemen’s calendar

At this time of year in France, the firemen stop by to sell their calendar; buying their calendar is a way of thanking them for their service over the past year. Our pompier rang the doorbell yesterday and, while we were chatting, insisted, to my great embarrassment, on listing all the times we’d had to call on them since moving here. I kept saying ‘yes we’re such idiots’ in the vain hope he’d shut the fuck up, but no, the list went on and on:

‘Do you remember the time you were thrown into that ditch by your horses?’ (err yes I remember because I broke my back!) ‘It took us well over an hour to haul you out!’ (was the word ‘haul’ strictly necessary?) ‘And then there was the time Luc set fire to the forest in his tractor and we had to send eight fire engines. And the time your cat was chased up a tree by a stone marten and couldn’t get back down. Then when you called in a total panic because your neighbour broke her leg in half falling off her horse on your cross-country course! And the time during lockdown when you thought you had Covid (I didn’t) and had a panic attack’

I love the firemen, I really do (and as you can see, we’re very familiar, and very grateful), but their annual visits give me PTSD.

I love this salad so much that I sometimes pinch the horses’ carrots to make it, if we have none of our own left!

Carrots for overall health, and particularly gut health

Carrots offer a wide range of health benefits thanks to their rich supply of vitamins, fibre, and antioxidants. They are an excellent source of beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A to support vision, immune function, and healthy skin. Carrots also contain antioxidants such as lutein and polyphenols, which help protect cells from oxidative stress and support, amongst other things, eye and heart health.

Carrots are also a rich source of prebiotic compounds that support overall gut health. The RG1 contained in carrots can help fuel microbes involved in maintaining gut barrier integrity and reducing inflammation. It acts as a prebiotic, feeding beneficial gut bacteria and supporting the production of short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate.

The apple cider vinegar in this salad is also particularly gut-friendly, and the ginger and curcumin are anti-inflammatory.

Recipe for French grated carrot salad (serves 4)

• 450g carrots, peeled
• 2 tablespoons walnut oil
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon curcumin
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 8 walnut kernels, chopped
• 1 shallot, peeled and chopped
• Fresh parsley, chopped

Grate the carrots and add to a mixing bowl. Combine the walnut oil, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper, curcumin, ginger and honey and add to the carrots, mixing well. Then add the chopped walnut kernels, shallot and fresh parsley and serve! Delicious as a side-dish or standalone starter.