Nice n Easy Dressings

For a long awaited, post travel salad

Sara,

I miss you always and in general, but the smell of you baking in the apartment is really up there in some of the most missed. I loved taste testing as you tweaked and perfected your biscuits. Can’t wait to try out the long awaited biscuit recipe myself! Though I’m sure I won’t do it justice.

Hoi from Amsterdam! I’m here visiting our friend Austin and excited to share more when I’m home in a few days. As usual, when traveling, I had so much I wanted to try that it was truly overwhelming. And with limited hours in the day, I’m definitely not getting my greens. I know when I get home, the #1 thing I’ll want is a Big Salad.

Description: A successful past Big Salad. Can almost always be found in this blue bowl and covered in miso tahini (recipe below).

Last night, after a weekend of much too much eating and drinking to celebrate Austin’s birthday, we got had a home-cooked dinner. Hunter, Austin’s awesome partner and very great vegetarian cook, made a big, gorgeous salad. I saw him blending up a bright orange dressing and got a little taste. It was so zingy and fresh, reminding me of my favorite salad elements - a homemade dressing. A taste as you go, masterpiece. I’ll share his great recipe below and along with a few other go-tos.

A Few Easy Blendy Dressings

The idea is that blending up combinations of the ingredients below will get you a great dressing. Nutri-bullets, immersion or regular blenders, or a food processes will all work. You spend the time saved chopping and measuring on tasting and adjusting.

No quantities specified might seem weird, but this is really how I think of these recipes. If you have some produce that needs to be used and quick, start with that as your base and add the other ingredients as you go. These work best for a fridge clean out or a fridge of weird straggler ingredients you’ll get home to after a trip.

Description: I didn’t get a pic of Hunter’s dressing but it reminded me of one of my frequent faves I’ve used in this genre- Mark Bittman’s Miso-Ginger Dressing.

Ingredients

Hunter’s Carrot Dressing

• Carrot

• Celery

• Pear

• Garlic

• Ginger

• Miso

• ACV

• EVOO

Sara and Sabrina’s Famous Miso Tahini

• Miso

• Tahini

• Lemon juice

• Pepper (fresh cracked is best!)

Basil Vinaigrette

• Fresh Basil

• Shallot

• Garlic

• Red Wine Vinegar

• EVOO

Kitchen Sink Herbs

• Any and every herb: cilantro, chives, scallions, parsley, basil, etc.

• Tahini

• Yogurt or labneh

• Lemon juice

• Onion powder

Spicy Crema

• Chipotles in adobo (has anyone ever used the whole can?)

• Yogurt or labneh

• Lime juice

• Cilantro

Directions:

Blend all ingredients until smooth and uniform. Taste as you go and add salt or heat (cracked pepper, pepper flakes, etc.) for your taste. Add warm water as needed to thin out to desired dressing consistency. Some people love a thick, spoonable dip-like dressing and others a pour over liquidy.

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A running letter between long distance friends who love to eat

Do you miss your best friend? Are really hungry you right now? If the answer to either of these is yes, you know what to do.