Light Salad Dressings, Part 1

Happy Memorial Day weekend, everybody!

As we hurtle our way into summer, I am offering a week of quick, light, easy, and most of all delicious, salad dressings.

The idea is not my own; Lara posted a few days ago, asking if I could share some ideas. Making lighter salad dressings demands some new techniques; simply cutting back on the oil can be an acidic, inedible mess. But solutions abound, from blending in fruit juices, yogurt, lighter mayonnaise, herbs, and more. And the results far exceed the bottled light dressings. (Don't get me wrong, though, I usually keep a few of the latter in the refrigerator door for quick fixes--a purist I am not. While some are just this side of awful, others, like Newman's Own and Annie's Naturals, are good).

To inaugurate the week, I'm sharing my quick sesame ginger dressing. It's humble, but excellent. I must refrain from squirting it on to just about everything (I' ve already converted baby Nick). My husband likes it too, but he was incredulous when, a few weeks past, I went so far as to drizzle some on a grilled bratwurst. I agree, it sounds bizarre. But it was, in fact, yummy. (I should add that, yes, enlightened eaters still enjoy bratwurst. You can't live in Indiana for close to a decade without savoring a good grilled sausage now and then.)

For a more traditional use for the dressing, consider the quick salad I made Saturday night: mixed mesclun, avocado, mango, and sugar snap peas.

More dressings all this week, friends. Hurray for summer!

Camilla's Enlightened Sesame Ginger Dressing
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted (dark) sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
Optional: 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Place the orange juice, vinegar, tamari, oil, honey and ginger in a small jar with a secure lid. Screw on the lid and shake vigorously until blended. Season with salt & pepper to taste. If desired, stir in sesame seeds. Chill until ready to use.Dressing keeps about 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Makes about 3/4 cup.

Nutrition per Serving (2 tablespoons):Calories 37; Fat 2.1g (sat 0g, mono 1g, poly 1g); Protein 0g; Cholesterol 0mg; Carbohydrate 4g; Sodium 305mg.
(Note: I did the nutrition analysis using Diet Analysis Plus 7.0.1)


And now a word from my friend Prudy over at the ever-delightful PrudencePennywise, who has bequeathed the Arte y Pico award. Sheesh Prudy, I'm not worthy! Especially after so many intermittant posts of late. But it was a sweet surprise when I returned to typing this week. Thank you!

I am passing the award along to the following folks:
Karen at Family Style Food. Karen's writing very often reminds me of one of my all-time favorite food writers, Laurie Colwin. Karen is so talented; take a peek at her profile as well as her blog. I wish her new personal chef service was in the Nacogdoches area... :)
Shannon, at Writing as I Eat. Shannon is back to blogging after a brief hiatus. Her new blog is witty and sharp, not to mention mouth-watering. Glad you've come back to blogging, Shannon!
Julie at Peanut Butter & Julie. First off, I love the name. But it's the posts that keep me peeking in. Fun & delicious!