OK--I know. You're all thinking "yeah right would I ever make something that looks like that!" I know, it's a little over the top, but it was Sunday afternoon and whereas some people draw or paint, I sometimes play with food. I decided to leave all the veggies separate because all the colors were so great and they looked cool together.Really though, this post is not about this salad in particular, but the possibility of making your own dressings. If you can make a smoothie, you can make your own dressings. Anne told me tonight "One of my favorite things about you is that you can make your own dressing." Weird, huh? I never would have guessed.
The one I used here is a ginger/lime/cilantro vinaigrette.
So to make this dressing, put the following items in a blender or a cuisinart (if you don't have a cuisinart, start saving for one. They're kind of spendy, but it's the one kitchen appliance I would take with me if my house was burning down.)
A piece of fresh, peeled ginger--about the volume of a radish
1/2 bunch of green onions
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1/4 cup rice vinegar
juice of one lime
3 tbsp. sugar
salt to taste (start with 1/2 tsp.)
Blend all of that stuff until it's all ground up, then slowly add 3/4 cup vegetable oil
You could use this as a salad dressing, a sauce for steak (as in the picture), a marinade for fish, shrimp, or chicken, a sauce to put on top of rice, etc.
One more thing--If you're going to start making dressings, buy a couple of these plastic squeeze bottles from a kitchen store. Bed bath and Beyond has them for like a dollar or two. It makes it a lot easier to use and store your creations.
Oh yeah, one more thing--I wholeheartedly endorse the purchase of prepared salad dressings. In the past few years, some really great ones have emerged. Annie's Naturals are wonderful and readily available. Also Newman's Own has some good ones. My favorites are Annie's Shitake Sesame and Newman's Sesame Ginger. Mmmmmm.
9 comments:
I would just like to say that this dinner was delightful. That dressing/steak sauce is DIVINE and I just love eating a plate fulla veggies! I mean, check that out--when there is so mucy color on your plate, you know you are doing something good for your bod!
p.s. How lucky am I to be the taste-tester?!
Um, is that white stuff rice? I'm starting to sound like a broken record on this, but once again, thanks for not being a food snob. I have been known to make dressing on occasion, but life is sure easier if there's some store-bought stuff in the fridge too. Thanks for saying that's ok with you :)
That looks great. You'll have to cook for us when you visit! Is that rude to ask you to cook for us? Do you have any "to die for" muffin recipes that you could share?
I do have a TDF muffin recipe. I'll pull the ingredients together and post it soon. You don't have a problem with a little bit of butter do you?
I saw your blog through Emily's (I am married to her friend Katrina) and I LOVE your food posts! I also channel my creative energies through cooking, and delight in food that regales all the senses.
I love that you would take your cuisinart with you if your house was burning to the ground. I am actually, currently saving for one of my own... they just look so super dreamy! and I am jealous of Anne that she gets to be your taste tester...like way jealous...can I come ever next time you decide to blog about somethin'?
Maybe you could do a section on homemade baby food. I know it's probably so easy it's silly, but I don't know the first thing!
Is this what you eat for dinner every night??? Forget the Galley, now I know why your passes never get used. Anne, you lucky mama.
I made this yummy dressing and used it on everything for a week! As R.R would say, YUMM-O. Marcus said he could eat salads like that everyday. Nice one Tay!
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