do you make your own salad dressing?

wow! it is going to be 75 degrees in napa today...yes today...january 14th....middle of winter and all that. we have broken records all week...and, let me tell you, i am not complaining a bit. regular readers know i am truly a sun girl...a typical southern california native. i can take it a bit cold...as long as the sun is shining...but weeks and weeks of rain (which is normal for winter in napa) can get me down. so i am looking at this unusual weather as a gift...cause i know it will not last...and i know we do need the rain. the weather people say it will cool down this weekend so i am going to enjoy it while it lasts...coffee on the porch...lots of walks with mose...rose pruning...even had a pedicure so i can wear flip-flops for a couple of days before the ugg boots make a reappearance.

the terrific weather has me thinking about my favorite foods...and my favorite way to cook...find the best quality...freshest...organic if possible ingredients...and then don't mess them up with overly complicated recipes. i love salads...eat them all year...and live by the mantra of "only in season...only local"...produce. (of course, i am so very fortunate to live in california where this is easy as we have terrific items growing year round). one of my pet peeves is when people buy truly great salad ingredients...and then dress them with horrible dressings filled with inferior ingredients and preservatives...when was the last time you read the label of most bottled dressings? so...here is one of my 2009 objectives...convince each reader of this blog to eliminate bottled salad dressing from their pantries and only use homemade versions! (o.k. not comparable with a goal of attaining world peace but a girls gotta start somewhere...right?)

i have been writing this blog for almost a year now (where has the time gone?) and one of my favorite benefits is receiving all of the amazing emails from readers with comments, questions and/or information.... (for example...thank you to jenifer and leslie for your very kind emails today).... i often get questions about making homemade salad dressing because i have included numerous recipes for salads in past posts. many of my friends have told me they think it is "too hard" or "too complicated" to make their own vinaigrette..so i decided to give this topic its own story to encourage everyone to start creating their own dressing recipes...but here's the thing...the "technique" for making dressings and vinaigrette is so incredibly easy that it only requires 4 steps...so...here are my instructions.....

1. put your favorite vinaigrette ingredients in a mason jar

2. screw on lid and shake away

3. add to salad

4. eat and enjoy

it really is that easy...buy a mason jar at the market...even better and "greener"...reuse a jam/jelly or any other screw top jar. plan to make small quantities...just enough to use that night...or keep in the fridge a couple of days...no longer, you want it to be as fresh as possible...keep the best-quality-you-can find/afford extra virgin olive oils, vinegars, mustard and seasonings in your pantry...and experiment with your oil to vinegar ratios. there really is no "wrong" way...it is just a matter of personal preference. for example, most recipes call for 3-4 times oil to vinegar. i adore vinegar so my recipes are more 2-1..(for evoo and balsamic vinegar vinaigrette i use 50-50!) but that is me. the simplest recipe and the one i use the most is simply equal parts evoo and balsamic vinegar, with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste. if i have a bit more time i use the following recipe..and i have a huge collection of vinegars so i sometime switch out the balsamic with red wine, champagne, sherry, rice or apple cider vinegar. i will continue to post different salad and dressing recipes in future blog stories..but..to get you started..here are a couple of super easy options.

balsamic & mustard vinaigrette1/3 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
place all vinaigrette ingredients in a mason jar. cover tightly and shake until well blended. store remaining vinaigrette in refrigerator. bring to room temperature before using to allow oil to mix with other ingredients.

meyer lemon vinaigrette

1/2 c extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup champagne vinegar or sparkling wine vinegar

1 tsp meyer lemon zest

1 tbsp freshly squeezed meyer lemon juice

sea salt

freshly cracked pepper

try these on your favorite salads...dress lightly..toss..season..enjoy! and eat more salad....

do you already make your own salad dressings? if so, please share your recipes in the comments section of this post...and for those of you currently in the midwest or east coast of the usa (or any other place where temperatures are freezing right now)..stay warm and be safe....and let me know how you are doing....

best,

diane

napa farmhouse 1885™

"live a green life of style"™

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