Herb Vinegar Chapter 2: Basic Salad Dressing

Like making soups, stews, stir-fries, tossed salads, and the like, making salad dressing is a process. Making salad dressings at home is wonderful because you are in control of the ingredients and can adjust the flavors to your own liking. 

Here is an idea to get you started:

1/2 cup herb vinegar

1/2 cup granulated sugar (I use Florida Crystals  since most granulated sugar comes from GMO sugar beets and I am doing my best to avoid GMO food)

1 t salt (I use sea salt)

1 t Penzeys Forward (optional, if you don't have it, it is OK. You could use paprika instead if you have some on hand)

1 t dry mustard

I cup olive, vegetable, or canola oil

In a medium sized bowl, whisk all of the ingredients EXCEPT the oil to blend them. Then add the oil in a steady, thin stream, whisking all the while. I use the whisk on a hand-held mixer on low speed. You can  also use a food processor or blender, but why have an extra appliance to clean?

If you are not using the dressing immediately, transfer your salad dressing to a bottle or jar (with lids) and store in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before dressing tossed salads.

Naturally, you can tweak this recipe. Try adding spices, such as paprika, , garlic powder, lemon zest, celery seed....you get the idea. Usually  1/2 - 1 teaspoon of any is a good amount to try. You can always add more if you think it needs it, but it's not so easy to take away an overspill...LOL. :)

Here I must add that this is a very tart dressing. If you like sweeter dressing, add more sugar. I put most of the dressing I made today in an old-fashioned Good Seasonings mixer/server bottle that I found at my local Goodwill store. I put the rest of the dressing in a jelly jar. To this, I am going to add honey, and dig around in my spice cupboard to see what combos I can come up with. 

You can do it, too! Put on your "Mad  Glad Scientist" hat and create your own recipe! Who knows? You might just come up with an award-winning recipe for pasta or potato salad, all because of your unique dressing :)

Creativity. That's what I'm talkin' about!!

Marcheta *Kitchen "Glad"iator 

Soup of the Week: Chili con Surprises!

Here it is, the first day of a ‘normal’ week, and for that I am truly thankful. Holidays are nice, of course, but ours are made even more hectic because two birthday parties are tossed in the mix. Mondays are typically busy for me as this is my errand/grocery shopping day as well as tidying up the house from the weekend. To make the day go smoothly, I usually make soup because we can have it for both lunch and dinner.

This morning’s work included taking pictures for the Galion Inquirer while I was out and about in slushy snow in slightly above freezing temps as well as gathering facts about Northern Cardinals for the nature column I’ll be writing this week. If ever there was a perfect Monday for soup, this is it!

 

Chil with pumpkin puree and barley for extra nutrition

Today’s soup du jour is chili. I am not going to post a recipe, as I am sure that everyone has their own favorite way to make chili. What I am doing is sharing a few “surprise” ingredients that you may want to try. First is pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling!). I add a cup to the soup, but if you are going to try this, you may want to start with less. Pumpkin does not seem to affect the flavor, adds extra nutrition, and makes the chili a bit thicker. Another unexpected additive is barley. I had some already cooked, so I added a cup. If you are using un-cooked, begin with ¼ to 1/3 cup as it really expands when cooked. Quaker Quick Barley is a good one to try. Again, barley adds extra nutrition while adding some bulk. Probably the most surprising of all is cinnamon. I used 1 teaspoon of Penzeys Vietamese Cinnamon, which seems to make the chili a bit sweeter. Since I don’t add sugar, it works out just fine.

The spices vary each time I make chili. Along with regular chili powder and a bit of turmeric, my favorite combo is Adobo spice and Arizona Dreaming from Penzeys. The Adobo is smoky and the Arizona Dreaming is a nice blend that has a sweet note.

Both cinnamon and turmeric are said to be healthy spices that we should eat more of, so I sneak them in whenever possible.

University of Illinois Extension lists these nutritional facts about pumpkin:

Pumpkin Nutrition Facts
(1 cup cooked, boiled, drained, without salt)

Calories 49 Protein 2 grams Carbohydrate 12 grams Dietary Fiber 3 grams Calcium 37 mg Iron 1.4 mg Magnesium 22 mg Potassium 564 mg

Zinc 1 mg Selenium .50 mg Vitamin C 12 mg Niacin 1 mg Folate 21 mcg Vitamin A 2650 IU Vitamin E 3 mg

Just about anything that you want to know about barley can be found at Barley Foods , which says that barley is a nutritional powerhouse, and for good reason! Check it out J

These ideas are not limited to chili; vegetable soups in particular benefit from having pumpkin added. What will you come up with?

Marcheta *Chasing the chill with souped up chili

Chick, Chick, Hooray!

This morning's snow was of the cake icing kind; it looked like it had just come from a fondant roller. The winter sun was slung low in the sky, casting long shadows and making sparkles that looked like a pixie had sprinkled her last bit of dust. Our bird feeder area was (and still is) bursting with activity, but I did not see much wildlife when I was out and about.The air was cold and damp...a warm spell is on its way for the weekend. And it is going to be a fantastic weekend here in the country!

Today begins the last leg of a winter break for me. No, I am not a teacher. Our operation is a small tree farm and landscaping business. We also have a small orchard and do snow removal. I have a freelance job of writing stories and taking pictures for our local paper, the Galion Inquirer. As such, since we are not tied down with taking care of animals, I am able to take big breaks when I need them. And after a busy Christmas season of selling trees and making wreaths and other greens, plus family parties and what-not, I claim the first week of January as my own.

This long weekend begins with a trip to Columbus later today to bring our five-years-old granddaughter to spend the weekend with us. I see snow angels in our immediate future.

Because we do not raise meat, we have to buy it. I prefer local sources, of course, and will be telling you about them as the year progresses. But I also cannot pass up a bargain. Today's special at our town's grocery store was chicken leg quarters for 58 cents a pound.

To my dismay, this meant one of those 10 lb. bags of frozen, which I don't consider to be the best meat. But, still, the price was right so I made a plan. I put the whole frozen clump of chicken legs and thighs in the electric roaster. The refrigerator had veggies on the verge of not being good, celery and parsley in particular were going limp and had slimy bits. Those were sorted and cleaned and put in the roaster along with carrots and a few sprigs of Rosemary from my indoor plant. I added lots of water and two spice combos from Penzeys Spices; Mural of Flavor and Bouquet Garni. The roaster is set on 275 to slow cook the meat and broth. Already it is filling this old house with a heavenly aroma.



When done, I'll have homemade chicken broth that is no-sodium and msg free, chicken meat for pot pies, sandwiches and casseroles, and bones for the barn cats to feast on. For $5.80, I'd say its a win/win deal for the immediate economy here on Nazor Rd. :)






Marcheta *granddaughter, check. food, check. fun, check!