Try This Quick and Easy Salad Dressing!

Photos by Don Shirley

Homemade salad dressing is an often-overlooked addition to a home-cooked meal.  For years I always kept Good Seasons salad dressing packets in the larder and opened one up when I needed it.  We got so used to the flavor that we would lug a dozen packets back to London after visiting family.

That was long before I met Ellen Switkes, a home cook always on the lookout for something new and delicious.
  This homemade dressing started out as a basic topping for salad greens, but through her experimentation has become an all-purpose flavorful sauce. 

Ellen thrives on substituting ingredients—a cube of fresh ginger for the garlic, red wine vinegar for balsamic vinegar, various mustards for Dijon, a tablespoon of fig jam for the honey, maple syrup for the honey.

“My husband Don and I are cutting down on sodium,” she says, “but if that's not an issue, perhaps a dash of salt would be good.  At this point, we don't even miss it.”

Ellen’s latest use for her salad dressing is as a topping for fresh roasted cauliflower.

Ellen’s Homemade Salad Dressing – serves 4-8, depending on how much you use 

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Juice from 1/2 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic and/or a cube of chopped ginger 

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk thoroughly.  Cover and refrigerate until needed.

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