It’s a mystery to me why people still buy salad dressing. There are certain conveniences that make sense (dried pasta, canned beans, etc.) because they are inexpensive and good. Bottled salad dressings aren’t one of them. They are pricey and artificial tasting.  Sure it’s a time saver, but what if I said you could make a really simple one with stuff you probably already have in 60 seconds or less?! Honor your carefully washed greens and meticulously sliced veggies with a freshly made dressing. Our clients ask us all the time for our vinaigrette recipes and to tell you the truth they’re usually something we whip up without even thinking… or measuring. The real secret is in the jar.

You can make nearly any vinaigrette your heart desires with a jar (reused jam-jars are a great stand-in). The only thing you have to remember is the 2:1 ratio. Two-parts oil to one-part acid.  Measure the acid first. In this case we used a lemon but you can use any kind of vinegar (i.e. red-wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar.. etc.) or citrus you like. Then just double that amount with oil (we like extra-virgin olive oil). Suddenly we’ve transported you back to your 3rd-grade science lab when you learned about emulsification because you’ll see the separation between acid and oil clearly. This is all the measuring you need. Some may prefer a vinaigrette that’s a little less acidic; if so just add a little more than twice the amount of oil.

We ‘jazzed’ up our lemon-dijon a bit with grainy dijon because YUM and voila: the ultimate vinaigrette stand-by. It’s so sooo easy and it’s something we think everyone should have in their repertoire. See for yourself!

Other favorite combos (play with measurements of all ingredients to taste):

• Lemon juice, dijon, minced shallot, olive oil, salt, pepper (equally good with cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, etc.)
• Lemon juice, smashed garlic clove with or without smashed anchovy, olive oil, salt, pepper (equally good with red wine vinegar)
• Orange juice, balsamic, honey, olive oil, salt, pepper
• Lime juice, agave, olive oil or grapeseed oil, salt, pepper (chopped cilantro and a tiny bit of cayenne is good in here too) – great for salads with Mexican ingredients
• Lime juice or rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil (just a little bit), soy sauce, chili paste or sriracha, grapeseed oil or water to thin and mellow flavors – great for salad with Asian ingredients