Salad dressings are so easy to put together. 

You can whisk in a bowl, puree in a blender or shake in a jar. Any of

these methods can be done in 5 minutes or less and you have a

homemade preservative free dressing, great for a salad, marinade or

sauce.

 

Traditional salad dressing ratio:

Many salad dressings use an oil and vinegar base.

• 3 parts oil or fat

• 1 part vinegar or lemon juice

To that base you can add sweeteners, emulsifiers and add-ins for flavor.

 

Sweeteners

There  are so many sweeteners you can use in a salad dressing. We use maple syrup here. Variations include: maple syrup, honey, agave, Stevia, brown sugar and jam.

 

Emulsifers

Emulsifiers make your salad dressing creamy and keep it from separating. While mustard is a very traditional and delicious one, here are a few variations (and you know we love variations!!!):  humus, avocado, soaked nuts and mayonnaise.

 

Add-ins

Herbs, spices and other seasonings create distinctive salad dressings. Minced garlic, ginger, and all kinds of herbs, depending on your dressing and individual liking, may be added to taste.  Salt, black pepper, cayenne, soy sauce and sesame oil are just a few that help season the dressing. Herbs from the garden add a special taste.

 

Avocado-Lemon Dressing

This is delicious! Instead of oil, we add an avocado. Keep the pit!  When you shake the ingredients in a jar, the pit help mix everything easily.

 

1 avocado, diced plus the pit (helps shake things up)

Juice of a lemon

Maple syrup or sweetener to taste

Pinch of salt and pepper to taste

1/4-1/2 cup water to dressing consistency

 

Add everything to a mason jar and shake.

 

Asian Flavor

To give a great Asian taste, add to recipe:

A little soy sauce, sesame oil and black sesame seeds. Shake to mix.