Fancyfied Salad Dressing

I actually feel kind of blah today.  That's not like me.  Maybe it's because my allergies have been waking me up in the night.  Maybe it's because I have swollen glands still.  Maybe it's because the book I've been reading is an important but difficult topic.  I can think of a couple other possibilities, or maybe it's just too darned hot (anybody know that song from Kiss Me Kate?) and went for a long walk in it.

Regardless, there appears to be a lovely evening storm rolling in, and the berries around the yard are producing an abundance daily.  Sweet potatoes are taking nicely, and I've added watering holes for the celery and peppers.  The front lawn is getting somewhere... I think... slowly.

This storm, if it does come, should bring in a little cooler weather.  It's nice when they happen at night because then the sun doesn't just turn the fallen rain into soupy humidity right away.

Do you have a moment for something amazing?  I planted these strawberries from bare root only 2 months ago!  Other things in the basket are red currants and saskatoons.

So how about we talk food?  Below the lettuce is fresh picked, the june berries are right off the bush and the dressing is...

Here's another super easy garden recipe.  No, not really a recipe, more of a food idea.  Make sure to watch out for carmel coloring, malt flavoring and modified food starch in your dressing, those are gluten danger signs.

How about augmenting your salad dressing?  My raspberries are getting close, and that's what made me think of this.  You'll see why soon.

Home made taste, and all you have to do is pop a little surplus garden scrap in the dressing bottle, add some balsamic maybe, and some olive oil definitely, and voilà! 

For vinegar and oil based dressings (not the creamy kind) here's what to do.

Just shake the bottle until ingredients are evenly disbursed in bottle then drain half the dressing into another container.
Add about 1 tablespoon olive oil and up to 3 tablespoons balsamic.  More is ok, too, kind of depends on how but the bottle is.
Add produce, some ideas are below.
In the fridge, these will honestly keep for more than a year and it seems they could last at least twice that span of time.  I make a ton while things are in season and just keep it.  They take about a week to be ready, it needs to age.

Raspberry or other sweet vinaigrette:
Balsamic and olive oil
Fresh raspberries, oh are they ever good when vinegar soaked.
or...
Fresh strawberry pieces
Blueberries
Currants
Any other fruit you grow.

Plain vinaigrette or garlic or tomato based
Add olive oil and just a little balsamic
And you can add any of the following in any combination that sounds good to you.
garlic cloves whole or sliced
Tomato pieces
Pepper pieces, hot or sweet
radishes
onion pieces
carrot pieces
fennel bulb
dill seed
sunchoke
turnip
really any non-leafy vegetable will go well.

Creamy dressings
Finely diced herbs can be added, and grated vegetables.  This will not last as well and will need to be used within a few months for it to keep well.  Still, it's divine!!  Yum yum yum.

Happy salads everyone!