DIY Salad Dressings by Ang

Since Em wrote an awesome post about Salads(!!!), I thought it would make a ton of sense for me to write about salad dressings(!!!).

If you walk into the aisle of the grocery store with all the dressings, you'll see hundreds of variations on the same theme. There are as many different kinds of salad dressings as there are salads. Many of them have the same basic concept - creamy or vinegary - and the rest of it is personal taste, just like a salad. Some people enjoy salad whole heartedly; some people have to decorate their veggies in order to force it down, hence the hundreds of dressings. But no more! It's time to learn about the world of DIY (do it yourself) dressings, where all leafy greens have the equal merit and possibility.

Last night, my lovely friend Avi made chicken fettuccine alfredo for dinner. I was in charge of the salad. So I put together some romaine, cucumber and cherry tomatoes. It was a basic salad, so pretty much any dressing would have sufficed. Avi only eats ranch on her salads, but I wanted a vinaigrette, and all I had in my fridge was a raspberry vinaigrette that had been fermenting since 1999 (that might be an exaggeration). I pulled out some balsamic vinegar, olive oil and italian spices and created my own.

Ang's Beautifully Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette
2 parts balsamic vinegar
1 part olive oil
1-2 teaspoons italian spices

Directions
Put into jar with lid. Shake well. Voila! Simple and tasty, eh? And after I made Avi try a bite she said "Now, I would put that on a salad!"


One of the hardest types of salads to dress is salads that include fruit. Oranges, apples, pears, grapes, pomegranate... all of these are AWESOME on salads, but the wrong dressing can completely ruin a fruity salad forever. My sister, Monica, is a pro at dressing fruity salads. And she never uses the bottled stuff! So here's my favorite DIY salad dressing recipe of hers.

Happy Dressing
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/8-1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or some other fruit-flavored vinegar
1/8-1/4 cup honey (depending on your sweet-tooth)
1 tsp of cinnamon

Directions
Put all ingredients in a bottle or jar with sealable lid. Close tightly and shake until well mixed, then pour over salad. Adjust measurements to taste and how much salad you make. Goes well with butter lettuces topped with fruits and nuts.


Just remember, you don't have to live with dressings from a bottle. You can make your own! Or spiff up your bottled ones! Add some chipotle spice or Cajun seasoning to a bottle of ranch. Add in some Frank's Red Hot Sauce. Or grab some sour cream and mix in some taco seasoning for a tasty taco salad dressing. Invest in some balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Or even regular vinegar! I have a friend who had a salad every day topped with some regular vinegar and oil, a tiny bit of water and a pinch of salt and pepper. And the salad was just lettuce, carrot and black olive. She loved it! Once you have opened your eyes to the world of homemade dressings, your salad experiences will reach a whole new level. Those leafy greens will become more enticing than you could have ever imagined.