Dress That Salad
Three deliciously creamy salad dressings plus aging exuberantly and when is sore throat season going to be over?
You know how almost every cookbook recommends that you make a jar of salad dressing at the beginning of the week? It’s good advice. They’re absolutely correct that homemade dressing is easy to make and always tastes better than store bought.
But somehow, this good, simple, helpful advice always makes me feel guilty. Is everyone else out there whisking together vinaigrette every Sunday night while I sit on the couch and watch Succession?
A word to the wise (and lazy): A squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of olive oil and a generous sprinkle of salt is a perfectly fine way to dress any salad directly in the salad bowl.
But, even I crave real dressing sometimes. Most often, I make a quick vinaigrette:
2 tablespoon vinegar (usually rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil
A teaspoon or two of Dijon
Chopped shallot
1/4 teaspoon salt
Sometimes, though, I crave a creamy salad dressing that gives salad more heft. Creamy dressings tend to be milder and less vinegary and make salad taste like a real meal.
Here are three of my favorites right now:
Green Goddess Salad Dressing
Green Goddess salad dressing is both fresh and creamy, a luxurious dressing for light, crisp salads, salmon and chicken. The main ingredients are sour cream or Greek yogurt, plus lemon and loads of fresh herbs.
Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing
Creamy poppy seed dressing is made from Greek yogurt, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, olive oil, shallot and poppyseeds. The flavors are a perfect balance of sweet, tangy and savory. I often drizzle it over a kale salad.
If you’d like a lighter poppy seed vinaigrette, then try my lemon poppy seed dressing.
Kefir “Ranch” Dressing
Kefir, mayonnaise, shallot, garlic, chives and salt + pepper makes a creamy dressing that tastes a whole lot like Ranch, without the artificial flavors.
Looking for more salad inspiration? Julia Turshen has a salad chart with 5 different salad combinations.
Dinner Last Week
I’m always curious about what other families are eating. Aren’t you? Here’s what my crew ate last week.
Monday: Sushi, made from lox (I buy it at Costco), cucumber, avocado, regular white rice and seaweed. This is one of my kids’ favorite dinners. Raddish Kids has a helpful video that shows you how to easily roll sushi. You don’t need the rolling mat, just roll and squeeze. They use a wet chef’s knife to cut the sushi but I prefer a dry serrated knife.
Tuesday: Chopped salad with the above mentioned kefir Ranch dressing, plus Trader Joe’s chicken sausage and grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids.
Wednesday: Baked salmon, mac n’ cheese, and quinoa salad. The quinoa salad lasts several days and is good for lunch.
Thursday: Leftovers, and the kids each had a Toad in the Hole.
Friday: I found half a cabbage and one leftover chicken sausage in the fridge that I chopped up and sauteed in olive oil and garlic with a squeeze of lemon. I also had a half jar of red sauce in the fridge, so I boiled two almost empty boxes of linguine and spaghetti from the pantry. It felt good to use up odds and ends.
Reading
I’m working my way through The Properties of Thirst very, very slowly. The story is centered around a wealthy family and how their lives and views of world are changed when the government builds a Japanese-American internment camp next to their land. I’m intrigued by the story, especially since it’s set near Sequoia National Park in California, but I’m also realizing that less literary books are probably a better choice for my reading life right now.
I’m also reading The Swedish Art of Aging Exuberantly by Margareta Magnusson, which is a light book about a heavy topic: aging and nearing the natural end of one’s life. This is a slim book that you can pick up and put down as you find time. Magnusson has a playful outlook and her short essays focus on finding beauty in each day, connecting with our loved ones, enjoying our time together and also our memories of a life well lived.
Throughout the book she shares memories of her childhood in Sweden, her years mothering 5 children and her friendships throughout a long life. This is a perfect book to read with a mug of tea or coffee, when you need a short break but don’t want to use the time scrolling through social media. And don’t you love the phrase, “aging exuberantly” !?
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If it seems like half of my newsletters mention one of my kids being sick, you’re not imagining things. I was hoping that after spring break we’d slide into summer without any more sick days, but alas, sore throat season refuses to end.
Last weekend’s plans were derailed when Josie woke up with a sore throat on Saturday. She returned to school on Tuesday just as Ophelia came down with the same sore throat and sniffles. If you’ve been dealing with same, I feel you. It’s not easy to constantly be setting aside and rearranging work and life commitments when your kids are sick. It could definitely be a lot worse, but gosh, when is cold and flu season going to be over?
Hope you all have a healthy, relaxing weekend. My only plan is to take a long walk in the park near our house before the wildflowers and mustard plants stop blooming.
Jenny