No Oil Salad Dressings

Salad is the main dish

That's what we have to focus on for week three. 2 weeks done and we've done pretty well, but only because we have done this nutritarian focused lifestyle before. What doesn't make it easier is the realization that salad is the main dish, especially for Big Spazz and I who spend really sick amount of times during the day thinking about food.

The focus this week is to continue to prep on the weekends which means making more salad dressings and hone in on my hunger, own it and move on. We eat a huge salad for lunch and salad for dinner, so we usually go through three dressings a week. I make the Kurosawa Kick Ass and these two:

Balsamic Di"tang"o

This is originally a balsamic dijon vinaigrette from Everyday Happy Herbivore, but I wanted to balance the sour with a little sweet, and I wanted to use my plethora of tangerines from my yard, so here's our seasonal balsamic+dijon+tangerine vinaigrette.

2 1/2 T dijon mustard

4 t. balsamic vinegar

4 t. red wine vinegar

4 T water 

2 dates

1/2 c. tangerine or citrus juice (I used tangerines and one grapefruit that was threatening to go bad in my produce bin)

Blend in a high speed blender or food processor. This one is a little sweeter, so  this is good on green salads with fresh fruit, sweet peppers or other dainty greens like mizuna and spring mix.

Spicy Pake Miso Dressing

Compared to the sweet/sour of the balsamic di"tang"o and the wasabi, salty, garlic heaviness of the Kurosawa kick, this dressing is the middle child. It has the creamy spicy of the Kurosawa, but the dates and Chinese five spice give it that sweet licorice note.

The original is here.

1/2 c water

2 T. tahini

3 pitted dates

1 T shiro miso

3 T lemon juice

1 T rice vinegar

1 tsp. minced ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. togarashi (or to taste - I have a wimpy palette)

1/2 tsp. Chinese 5-spice

Blend in a high-speed blender or food processor.