Nourishing Flourishing

I’ve never been a huge fan of Green Goddess Dressing. This shocks me, as well, seeing as I love green so much my blood is probably closer to an emerald tinge… (Random nerd question: Did you ever watch Star Trek: The Next Generation? Ok, please don’t stop reading my blog just because I’m weird like this. Anyway, Vulcans have green blood! I can relate. That is all.) For some reason, when I whipped this up, it worked for me, despite my not being keen on most GG varieties. It is tangy, herby, and reminds me a lot of ranch dressing, but without all the…gross stuff. Heh. Plus, it looks quite delicious atop all this colorful bounty our garden can’t stop generating!

If you are harvesting an abundance of herbs from your garden, you can easily substitute fresh basil and/or oregano. In fact, I think perhaps this dressing would really pop with an even more vibrant flavor if you did so! Just use the conversion of 1 tablespoon fresh herb for each teaspoon dried herb. Voila! You’re a fancy cook who uses fresh garden herbs. Don’t you feel classy?

Ingredients:
1 small avocado (~1/2-3/4 C diced…these are hard to measure precisely!)
1/2-3/4 C water (start with 1/2 C, add more if thinner consistency desired)
1/4 C chopped fresh parsely
1 Tb fresh lemon juice
1 t apple cider vinegar
1 t dried basil
1 t dried oregano
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t salt (warning: this might be a bit much for non-salt lovers like myself)

Recipe:
1) Add all ingredients except for herbs to a food processor.
2) Process briefly until things have combined, but aren’t perfectly smooth.
3) Add remaining ingredients (herbs). Process until smooth.

We store ours in a small glass mason jar, but it never lasts more than two days, the way we eat! : ) The citric acid from the lemon should keep things tasting nice and fresh for at least a couple days. If you prefer your GG dressing sweetener, simply add a few drops stevia.

P.S. – A trick for keeping your herbs fresh? Place them in a mason jar with just enough water to reach the tips. Keep in the fridge, towards the front (the back gets too cold and could freeze ‘em). Just make sure to trim off the leaves that would be submerged, or they’ll get goopy! If you’re worried it will get too chilly, just place a plastic bag over the top.

This is excellent tossed with a lettuce salad, or used as a healthier ranch dip! I served my first version of this with the Cucumber Lettuce Wraps at a party, and caught one rather reserved, professorly man uncharacteristically and quite enthusiastically maneuver himself across the table to grab the whole jar. He ate at least half of it by himself! Love those moments. I’ve since tweaked this recipe a bit, so hopefully it will send him running, not just awkwardly jogging and reaching, next time…

What kind of salad dressings are your favorite?

I grew up mostly on vinaigrettes, and we never had ranch, so it makes me yack when I even smell it! Never been a ranch fan. Our all-time favorite is the Honey Mustard Poppyseed, but here are more ideas: Apple Cider Vinaigrette, Asian Peanut Salad Dressing + Sauce, Summer Grilling Marinade (<– great on salads or as a marinade), and Zesty Italian Dressing.

I suppose it looks like I subbed my bean obsession with a salad fetish, right? Perhaps I’m trying to balance out some of the treats on here ;  ) Don’t worry, tomorrow will be something different!

I grew up eating a salad every single night. It didn’t matter how many other vegetable dishes we were having; salad has a permanent place on our dinner table. Thus, Italian dressing and I go way back. This dressing need not be relegated only to lettuce, though; it is fantastic as a marinade for just about anything, but especially hearty veggies like portobello mushrooms. I think it is highly grill-worthy for kebabs and such. But, like I said yesterday, I have been craving raw foods lately, as I am getting quite excited about spring. (Oh yeah, and it is snowing as I type this… Colorado, I’m this | | close to facepalming you, and then kicking you in the groin. Love, Katie.) Here’s a quick, light salad to put you in a spring state of mind, whatever your weather conditions. It tastes so similar to the pasta salad my mom used to make during the summer — all it needs are a few olives. Obviously, being made with whole foods (and not bleached white flour noodles or packaged dressing additives), this is also healthier < 3 Win.

P.S. If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can simply use a vegetable peeler; your noodles will be fatter (like egg noodles), but still totally delicious.

Zesty Italian Dressing
Ingredients:
1 1/2 Tb garlic powder
1 Tb onion powder
1 Tb oregano
1/2 Tb basil
1 t coarse ground pepper (gives it zing, but you can use regular ground pepper, too)
1/2 C vinegar (I used equal amounts of white wine and red wine vinegars)
1/4 extra virgin olive oil

Recipe:
1) Mix dry ingredients.
2) Add vinegar(s), and thoroughly whisk together.
3) Add oil and combine. (Mix vinegar first, if whisked too much the oil will become bitter.)

This is highly adaptable — if it’s too sour, just add more oil or a touch of water, etc.
Printer-Friendly Version

Zucchini Noodle Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
1 zucchini
1 Roma tomato
Zesty Italian Dressing

Recipe (ish):
1) Spiralize or peel zucchini into noodles/strips.
2) Diced tomato and add to zucchini.
3) Toss with salad dressing to taste.
4) Let sit for a few minutes so that zucchini can absorb flavors.
Printer-Friendly Version

Ok, so the pasta salad is more of a method than a recipe… Hence, the “ish”!  It was so good though, I had to share!

In other news, my dear friend Matt at The Athlete’s Plate kindly awarded me The Versatile Blogger Award. Holla holla! Thanks buddy : ) If you haven’t checked out his blog, do — especially if you are interested in learning more about blogging and networking tips; Matt is our (virtual) resident blog tech guru! I have learned so much from him. If you’re not interested in reading 7 random things about yours truly, feel free to peace out now…

The Versatile Blogger Award Rules

– Thank the person who awarded you and link back to them in your post.
- Tell 7 Random facts about yourself.- Pass the award on to new found bloggers.
- Contact each blogger you want to pass the award on to and let them know you’ve done so,    and let the giver of your award know you accept it… or not.

Here are 7 random things about me:

1. I broke my tailbone trying to kick my leg over the handle of a shopping cart in middle school. I now have a crooked tailbone.

2. I am studying for a Master’s in Classics (ancient history, not Dickens)…so lots of Greek and Latin goin’ on up in hurr.

3. I have a “thing” for Vincent van Gogh.

4. I ran cross country for a year in college (for the scholarship money, not because I was talented), and nearly shat myself the first 5k I ran. To this day I don’t understand why I had to claw my way up and over 3 prison-height fences to get to a bathroom, but I feel like I should get a medal since it was pretty much an obstacle course.

5. I snort when I laugh really hard.

6. I had a brain tumor. (Benign, just in a dangerous place and growing. Don’t worry, it’s gone now!)

7. I feel the most “myself” now than I ever have.

So, in accordance with the “rules,” I hereby offer the Versatile Blogger award to the following bloggers…there’s no pressure to accept this award, bloggers. Just want to give you some props ;  )

Erin @ Big Girl Feats: Erin is, simply put, my bloggie soul mate. (We’re making plans to take this relationship to a whole new level, so…watch out world.) Not only is she hilarious, she also writes about finding balance amidst real things like moving, life transitions, grad school (congrats lady!!!), and cancer. You know, the usual.

Holly @ The Runny Egg: A sweet, fun lady, who I nominate because she really is versatile — you can read about her getting-out-of-debt tips, running, and more!

I wish I could include all the wonderful bloggies out there, but I suspect many of you have already received this award, and, honestly, it’s crazy late here…and I am working on sleeping more, remember?! : ) I would love if you nominated yourself in the comments < 3

Tell me some random facts about yourself!

It isn’t easy to jump into any transition immediately – let alone a complete transformation in eating habits. So I took it a few steps at a time. I found that it was not only simple, but also surprisingly fun, to make some of the processed items I took for granted. I used to just assume that you buy salad dressing because…well, the store is where such condiments come from. Right? Wrong. This dressing totally trumps any I have ever purchased. And the ingredient list compares quite nicely, if I do say so myself.

A couple weeks ago I got together with my maternal side of the family, and made this dressing for most of our meals (we ran out each time). I got exhortations to “bottle it!” Also, look how adorable it is in this little bottle we reused…

Aw.
So cute.

Here are the ingredients:
½ c. regular mustard
½ c. Deli or Dijon mustard (grainy seeds in it) – using different types will give a unique flavor. If you only have regular, it will still be awesome, just a little less complex.
¼ c. Honey (or agave for a vegan version)
1 tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tb + poppy seeds
(For extra zing, we love adding mustard powder. Not necessary at all, but it gives it some spicy kick.)

Recipe(ish):
1)    Mix the two mustards together with a fork.
2)    Stir in honey.
3)    Stir in vinegar.
4)    Add e.v.o.o and stir quickly to emulsify.
5)    Stir in poppy seeds.

Printer-Friendly Version

Dip away! Vegetables, salads, fish sticks, chicken strips, anything goes. This is how I sometimes bribe people to eat vegetables. Hypothetically, friends named Joshua.

It works!