Dress Up Time for Your Salad?

A group of us gathered this Saturday for our monthly meditation day. Although we love the hours of hatha yoga, pranayama (breath work), discussions and long periods of meditation, everyone looks forward to sharing a vegetarian meal at the end of the program. Our delivery of local veggies had arrived two days earlier, and I planned a soup and salad with fresh multi-grain bread from Old School Bakery.

a beautiful head of lettuce from this week's delivery

When I emptied the box of veggies I was impressed by the amount of prana (life force) that poured out onto the kitchen counter. Our assistant Kalyani prepared the lettuce, and I sliced some of the beautiful tomatoes, including the small grape tomatoes that came in a variety of colors. As I held up the gorgeous two-toned green and red pepper, my husband walked over to inspect the produce. It was then that I remembered I didn't have any salad dressing.

We've avoided commercial dressings for many years, even at the natural food store. As soon as I started to read and pay attention to the labels, I was shocked to see the long list of unhealthy ingredients. Even those labeled "natural" or "organic" are often chock-full of sugar. Healthy eating and keeping the calories down has motivated us to prepare our own dressings. I immediately thought to call Sherry (her nickname is Vidya- see previous post) who happens to be, among others things, a professional chef. She makes a killer salad dressing that enhances everything it touches.


Sherry's Salad Dressing

3/4 C Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 C Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp Thyme
Salt & Pepper
Stainless steel bowl
Whisk

Directions:

1) Place balsamic vinegar into the bowl.
2) Place the olive oil in a measuring cup w/ handle.
3) Slowly whisk a small amount of oil into the vinegar.
4) Continue whisking small amounts of oil into the vinegar until it begins to thicken.
5) The mixture will lighten in color as it incorporates.
6) When completely blended, the consistency of the Dressing will "hold" together on the back side of a spoon.
7) Lastly, add in Dijon mustard & Thyme & Salt & Pepper to taste.

The Dressing will last for several weeks. Om Appetite!