Vinaigrette 101

Posted on June 19, 2017 by Amy

Oil… Vinegar… Mustard… Salt…

Those ingredients are pretty recognizable as the standard ingredients for vinaigrette. But maybe not to someone who’d never made their own salad dressing before.

A dozen years ago, a woman I worked with at NPR and I began an underground lunch club. We’d come up with a menu of delicious food items that our colleagues would “order” from. Then we’d get together at her home on the weekend and whip things up. I learned a lot from this culinary soul sister about making simple ingredients shine.

One of my favorite recipes (second only to her grilled shrimp), was a very basic vinaigrette. She used canola oil, Cento (and the brand was important to her recipe) Red Wine Vinegar and Dijon-style mustard. She dress a simple salad of pickled red onions (Sarah and I are both probably as addicted to these delicious things as we are bacon jam), cannellini beans and fresh Italian parsley.

I could literally could eat that salad daily for lunch.

Over the years, I’ve tweaked that recipe to include roasted garlic and fresh thyme. I’ve played with using different kinds of vinegar, including a new favorite: champagne vinegar. It is a staple in my business as a personal chef, and often a gateway drug for salad-obsessed clients. That’s meant I’ve had to come up (frequently!) with new and exciting vinaigrette versions to try. Here are a few of my favorites:

Greek Vinaigrette … paired with a salad laden with cucumber, tomatoes, olives and Feta — so perfect for summer!

Cilantro Lemon Vinaigrette … great for summer, and doubles nicely as a marinade for chicken, fish or veggies!

Apple Cider Turmeric Vinaigrette … I am always looking for ways to get more turmeric, an antioxidant powerhouse, into my diet.

Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette … a customer favorite, and one of mine, too!

Maple Dijon Vinaigrette … love the whole grain in this, and the maple-y sweetness!

As you can see, a pretty vast array. So your challenge this week is to throw something together using the basic recipe below and your own creativity and turn us on to something new. Cause, you know, we love playing with our food around here…

Submit the best original vinaigrette recipe in the comments section below or on our Facebook page and you could win a gift from We The Eaters!

Basic Vinaigrette

1/4 cup vinegar
1 tablespoons seasoning liquid (mustard, maple syrup, citrus juice, fruit puree)
3/4 cup oil
Fresh seasonings, as desired (fresh or dried herbs)
Pinch of sugar, if desired (this cuts some of the acidity, but is not necessary)
Salt
Pepper, if desired

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar and your seasoning liquid until thoroughly combined. Add 1/4 cup oil slowly while whisking to emulsify, then you can add remaining olive oil and whisk to incorporate. Stir in seasonings and transfer to a glass jar or other vessel and allow flavors to develop before serving. I usually make an hour aead, particularly if you are using dry spices. Otherwise, this is ready to eat immediately. Can be stored, depending on the ingredients, up to two weeks in the refrigerator.

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Tagged with: balsamic, contest, dijon, dressing, french, Greek, maple, mustard, salad, Summer, turmeric, vegetarian, vinaigrette
Posted in Dear Diary

Dressing My Salad Avocado Style

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Sarah

Summer is hitting hard this week in the Washington D.C. area. We had such a mild first week of June it almost made me forget what summers here can feel like. The weather flipped so much back into that old summer heat this weekend I could almost hear the theme from Breakfast Club playing in the background … “Don’t you forget about me … don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t”.

Needless to say, we don’t feel like cooking a whole lot around here. Sweating over a hot stove in near 100 degree heat is not my idea of fun, air conditioning or not. That, combined with the baby holes that both Amy and I have found ourselves in, doesn’t leave a lot of time or desire to make a huge involved meal.

Salads are the perfect solution. Throw some greens down, maybe some leftover chicken or rotisserie from the store, tomatoes, cucumbers, shred some sharp cheddar or plop some goat cheese down. And don’t forget those crunchy bits like sliced almonds, crushed peanuts, pickles or candied walnuts. Seriously, whatever is on hand just toss it in that sucker. They’re creative, fresh and, of course, seasonal. So where do recipes come into play?

The dressing, ladies and gentlemen, which some might argue is the star of the salad. We’ve made some salads in our time here at We The Eaters, but very few posts dedicated to the salad dressing itself. There was that one super fresh, green dressing I shared a year ago, still a favorite of mine.

To make up for this fact, and due to our current lack of energy / desire to cook anything too complicated, we’re featuring salad dressings throughout the entire month of June. Trust me, we’re not being complete slackers in the taste department. I whipped up the two avocado dressings below this evening and – whoah – I will be eating some banging salads this week to be sure!

We tend to have avocados on hand all the time. We buy a bag of them at Costco so the ripeness game can get tricky. We go from no ripe avocados to “Oh God…we have to eat a crap load before they all melt to mush!” So whirring them into a dressing is the perfect solution when they all need to be eaten right now. The avocados turn a thin, runny dressing into one that is creamy and “stick to your lettuce” thick. You could throw a half or a whole of these green wonder fruits into just about any dressing to change things up. Not to mention it’s a great way to get the good fat, fiber and nutrients packed into an avocado. Plus, if you’re lactose intolerant or avoiding dairy, you can make a pretty decent ranch like dressing using them to get that creamy base.

Since several avocados in my basket were ripe this weekend, I made two dressings. The first, a cilantro lime, has a Mexican flair and would be great drizzled on top of tacos or slathered onto a sandwich. The second, a sriracha lime, has a bit of Thai inspiration and would be great on a sandwich or used as a dipping sauce. Avocado may not seem like it goes with a Thai dressing, but it helps cut the heat from the chili sauce.

Give them a try! You’ll be happy you’re not eating dressing out of a jar and that you’re not slaving over a hot stove.

Avocado Cilantro Lime Dressing
Thanks to Founding Foodie Amy for curating our awesome Pinterest board! I found inspiration for this one there.

1 whole, ripe avocado, pitted and peeled
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 lime, juiced
1 1/2 oranges, juiced
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup cilantro, loosely packed
salt and pepper, to taste

Add all ingredients to a high powered blender, food processor or tall jar/cup for a stick blender. Blend until all is well combined. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. It’s easy to add more sriracha or honey to adjust to your tastes as well! Store in a mason jar in the fridge.

Avocado Sriracha Lime Dressing
I was inspired by this recipe on the Peas & Carrots blog. I adjusted to my tastes – rice vinegar, avocado oil, less honey, more sriracha and garlic – and threw in a whole avocado to cut the heat a bit.

1 whole, ripe avocado, pitted and peeled
1/4 cup avocado oil
4 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 limes, juiced
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons sriracha chili sauce
2 large cloves garlic, pressed or grated
salt and pepper, to taste

Add all ingredients to a high powered blender, food processor or tall jar/cup for a stick blender. Blend until all is well combined. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. It’s easy to add more sriracha or honey to adjust to your tastes as well! Store in a mason jar in the fridge.

Tagged with: avocado, cilantro, dressing, honey, lime, orange, salad, salad dressing, Sriracha
Posted in Dear Diary

Care to Skinny Dip Your Dressing?

Posted on June 5, 2017 by Jocelyn

Spring may be an opportunity to clean house, but you can take it beyond dusting shelves and organizing closets to freshen up your eating habits too. Eating fresh vegetables and fruits isn’t just a tasty idea. The USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest that all Americans should boost their intake of fruits and vegetables (and not only in springtime). Studies show that a raw food diet — and thus vegetarians and vegans (no meat, dairy or eggs) — can lower incidences of heart disease and cancer, as well as the risk of obesity and diabetes.

A Spunk-Infused Spring Dipper

As soon as the earliest hints of spring arrive, you won’t find me indoors much, which means less time spent cooking (a.k.a. warming myself by our oven, stove or toaster.) More sunshine – and, admittedly, rain – inspires my return to the fresh juicy foods I love. These are foods that are easy to eat outdoors, with feet in the not-quite-warm-enough-yet grass. It’s picnic season.

One great recipe for spring is a savory dip-and-vegetable combo with a tahini-based sauce called John Robbin’s Dressing. It’s a bright, full-flavored dunking sauce that coats the ends of carrot sticks and celery spears with tastes reminiscent of the fading winter (maple syrup, tahini and soy), but bursts out the front door and into the fresh air with hand-squeezed lemon juice, sharp garlic and smooth olive oil.

And since I’ve planted the picnicking seed — it’s also easy to take this dressing along with you. The spunky, thick maple-tinted dip easily knocks ranch dressing or that tired, gloppy chive-soaked-dill-mash-up stuff out of the picture.

John Robbin’s Dressing

Adapted from the Community Farm of Ann Arbor Cookbook, created by the members of the Community Farm Of Ann Arbor

This recipe is vegan, gluten-free, raw … and tasty.

Dressing ingredients:

2/3 cup tahini
2 tablespoons soy sauce or Braggs Liquid Aminos
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Juice from 1 fresh lemon, squeezed, or substitute about 1/3 cup lemon or lime juice
2 cloves fresh garlic, pressed
1 tablespoon yellow onion, chopped
1/3 cup oil of your choice, like olive or canola oil
1/4 to1/3 cup water (use to mellow out the flavor or thin dip)

Suggested dipping ingredients:

4 carrots, sliced in thirds
4 stalks celery, halved length-wise
1 head raw broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
OR … grab a baguette (perfect for your picnic basket). Slice and layer with halved cherry tomatoes halved, fresh basil (one leaf on each slice of baguette) and drizzle John Robbins Dressing over each slice for a tasty hors d’oeuvre.

Toss all the ingredients into the blender until well mixed. You may need to stop once or twice, mixing it up with a good wooden spoon, to make sure the tahini isn’t too thick at the bottom. Once blended, pour into a small bowl or mug and dip your chopped bite-size veggies a mouthful at a time. Or, pack up John Robbins Dressing into an old peanut butter jar, seal the lid tightly and take it on-the-go. (If this recipe is stored in the fridge, you may want to add 1/4 cup of water the second day and shake it up – it thickens at it sits!)

Enjoy the fresh air!

Additional resources:

Supertracker.usda.gov is a government-created online tool to help you start thinking about and tracking your food intake and exercise efforts and how they balance out.

Additional vegetable and fruit recipes that turn out reliably delicious can be found in the cookbook Veganomicon (this Eater’s personal favorite!)

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Tagged with: clean, detox, diet, dressing, healthy eating, john robbins, raw food, salad, spring cleaning, tahini, vegan, vegetarian
Posted in Dear Diary