Herbed Ranch Dressing

 

I’m not proud. I will gladly admit that I like ranch dressing. I also like a wedge salad. To me a wedge of iceberg lettuce, topped with ranch dressing, and a few crumbles of blue cheese (perhaps some crumbled bacon) is like heaven. I also like to keep ranch dressing on hand for crudités, crackers, and pretzels, because all of these things cry out for a dip. I like to tinker around with different recipes, and I think this quite possibly might be my favorite.

Herbed Ranch Dressing

½ c. Duke’s mayonnaise
½ c. sour cream
½ c. buttermilk
1 t. fresh lemon zest
1 t. dried minced onion
1½ t. dill weed
½ t. dried parsley
½ t. garlic powder

¼-½ t. Johnny’s Seasoning Salt
¼ t. freshly ground black pepper

  Place all ingredients into a medium bowl, and whisk until creamy. Refrigerate for at least eight hours or overnight to allow flavors to meld. This will keep in the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days. Before you ask, yes, you can use fresh herbs, but it will only keep for 3 to 4 days.

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Salsa and Guacamole Kits Make Cinco de Mayo Prep a Breeze

 

You may recall when I told you about Melissa’s Produce’s wonderful salad kits. (If you have yet to read that blog post, you can find it here). They also offer a Potato Leek Soup Kit that you can read about here. You may not be aware that they also have salsa and guacamole kits. Today, I was really missing summer, and wanted to taste the delicious produce that I generally find myself harvesting from my garden in late July. No problem! All I did was take the ingredients out of the container, follow the directions, chop! chop! chop! and in no time I had the most delicious salsa and guacamole ever. What remained of the kits (butt ends and seeds of the tomatoes, skins from the garlic and shallots, avocado skin and pit, as well as the juiced limes) all went into my compost bin, so not a smidgen was wasted.

 I set the seeds from the jalapeño aside to dry so that I can plant a couple of them in what I hope will be my own salsa garden this summer. I have pretty much decided (aside from my citrus trees, of course) to grow salsa ingredients because I love it so much, plus there’s so much you can do with tomatoes, jalapeños, and onions.

This kit does not come with cilantro, so if you like that addition, you’ll have to add it yourself. I did remove the seeds from all but one of the tomatoes so as not to make it too juicy. I also like to add a little pinch of cumin to mine to give it that little bit of je ne sais quoi. Simple, delicious, healthy. The next time you’re at your supermarket, look for these wonderful kits. You won’t be sorry. What an easy way to ready yourself for Cinco de Mayo!

¡Ole!

Creamy Scallion Dressing

I enjoy garden talk. The other afternoon I was conversing with a fellow gardener, both of us lamenting the fact that our harvests were a bit lean thus far this season. I do have a bumper crop of scallions (re-grown from those initially purchased at the market) however, so decided to pull up a couple of them, pinch off a couple of basil leaves, and throw them together along with other pantry staples to create a truly fresh salad dressing. There’s nothing like making homemade salad dressing, but particularly when you’re using your own fresh herbs and vegetables. This one is light, fragrant, and as you can see, the color is beautiful.

Creamy Scallion Dressing

2 scallions, cut into 2” pieces

2 fresh basil leaves

½ c. vegetable oil

¼ c. cider vinegar

1 T. sugar

½ t. Worcestershire sauce

¼ t. dry mustard

½ t. kosher salt

¼ t. freshly ground black pepper

 Place all ingredients into the work bowl of a mini food processor. Process until smooth and creamy. Taste for seasoning. Refrigerate four hours or overnight before serving to allow flavors to meld.

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Purple & Yellow Summer Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

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One of the best things I did this year was to give over one of my window boxes on the deck to the growing of lettuce. This beautiful variety is called “Merlot.” Interestingly enough, it was not my plan to grow lettuce. I got the seeds for free as a ‘thank you’ for the purchase of other seeds, so I decided to give it a try. Now I am hooked! This is a beautiful, tender, delicate lettuce that has been a wonderful addition to my dinner table. Every evening I go out with the scissors, cut what I’d like, experiment with different colors and ingredients, and enjoy a colorful, healthy, and delicious main or side.

 

Today I decided to focus on purple and yellow in my salad, and the results are absolutely delicious. The beauty of summer is that so many diverse fresh fruits and vegetables are available. I intend to take advantage of as many as I can.

Purple & Yellow Summer Salad

with Lemon Vinaigrette

Use the following ingredients in any quantity:
Merlot Lettuce
Blueberries
Fresh corn, stripped from cob
Blue cheese
Red Onion, thinly sliced
Melissa’s Yellow Watermelon
Lemon Vinaigrette (recipe below)

 Lemon Vinaigrette

 ¼ c. fresh lemon juice

1/3 c. extra-virgin olive oil

1 t. Melissa’s minced garlic

1 t. Dijon mustard

1 t. sugar

¼ t. kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 Place all ingredients into the work bowl of a mini food processor and process until emulsified. Taste for seasoning.

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Cilantro Pesto

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To quote Leslie Jordan and his HUGELY popular Instagram feed, “Hello, fellow hunker downers. What are y’all doing?” Me? I made cilantro pesto this morning.  I did so for a variety of reasons. First of all, I love cilantro. Second, I have no luck growing it because in this heat, it does nothing but bolt. Third, the versatility intrigued me.

Whether you like basil pesto or not, this is an entirely new ballgame. The taste is fresh, peppery, and complex. You can up the heat (or not) by using the entire jalapeño (seeded or otherwise), or eliminate the heat altogether by using none at all. The beauty of making a condiment like this is that you know it is the freshest available, it can be stirred into a variety of dishes to enhance your own cooking -- ranch dressing to top a Mexican salad, white rice to make cilantro rice, guacamole to add some zing to your dip, sour cream to turn an ordinary taco (or baked potato) into something special. It can be also it can also be divided into smaller containers (an ice cube tray would work here) and frozen. That way, you can enjoy fresh cilantro pesto whenever you want it, and enhance any dish that you please.

Cilantro Pesto

1 bunch fresh cilantro
2 T. chopped walnuts, toasted
5 cloves garlic
1 T. fresh lime juice
¼ c. freshly grated Parmesan
¼ c. extra virgin olive oil
½ Melissa’s pickled jalapeño*, seeded
1/8 t. kosher salt

Throw all ingredients into a food processor (or blender), and process until you have a smooth paste. Put into a container, cover, and refrigerate or freeze. Use in 1-2 days, or freeze.

*If you don’t have a jalapeño pepper on hand, or prefer not to use one, replace it with a few gratings of freshly ground black pepper.

Pesto Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

I have become absolutely obsessed with this salad! Fortunately, my basil plants are flourishing, and I can whip up a batch of this dressing every couple of days. The kitchen smells fantastic while I’m making it, and the taste is that perfect summertime fresh. This is my “go to” salad for summer. Make up this dressing and see what I mean. Not only will you love the salad, but you will also love another recipe that I’ll be posting later in the week that makes use of this dressing as well. Summer produce at its finest! Take advantage of it while you can.

Pesto Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

1 head romaine, torn into bite-size pieces

½ cup toasted walnuts

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tablespoons fresh basil chiffonade*

½ cup homemade croutons

Lemon Basil Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Place romaine, walnuts, Parmesan, basil, and croutons in a large bowl. Toss with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette.

Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon  juice

1 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan

½ cup olive oil

In a blender or food processor, blend together juice, basil leaves, red wine vinegar, salt, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and Parmesan. With the motor running, gradually pour in oil, continuing to blend until everything is emulsified.

Taste and season as desired. If it's too tart for your taste, add a teaspoon of sugar.

*place 4-5 fresh basil leaves on top of each other, roll lengthwise into a tube, and slice across into strips.

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Mango-Pineapple Aguas Frescas

I have been crazy about Agua Frescas ever since trying it for the first time last year. With my new love of mangos, this recipe for a Mango-Pineapple Agua Fresca in a recent Parade Magazine caught my eye. Talk about cool and refreshing (not to mention a healthy thirst quencher on those 90+ degree summer days); I think this is going to be my “go to” drink of the summer. It can easily do double-duty as a hydrating drink throughout the day, and with the addition of rum (the original recipe suggested vodka or gin, but I found rum the most flavorful) it smoothly transitions into cocktail hour. Make up a pitcher and keep it in the fridge. Delicious!

Mango-Pineapple Aguas Frescas
Parade Magazine, July 22, 2014

3 cups chopped mango (I used Melissa's)
2 cups chopped fresh pineapple
4 cups water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice 

Combine all ingredients and purée in a blender. Pass through a fine mess strainer* twice, and serve over ice. Makes about 8 cups. 

For a grown-up version, add 1 to 1-1/2 cups gin or vodka to the batch. 

*I found that this did not easily pass through a fine mess strainer, so I used a regular strainer and it worked just fine. It will leave you with a delicious pulp about the consistency of applesauce. Chill it and then heap it into a peach half atop a lettuce leaf for a fruity summer salad.

This post is linked to:

Full Plate Thursday

Create It Thursday

Inspiration Gallery Thursday
Home and Garden Thursday

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