Saturday, July 7, 2007

When Life Gives You Lemons....

Well technically speaking, life didn't give me lemons. I bought them at the local farmers market, 3 for $1. (I also bought the depression glass juicer at a tag sale for $0.25 but that's another story.)

However, having said lemons in hand, I made my favorite most wonderful salad dressing (and used the juicer for added tactile satisfaction!) I can't credit this as my own recipe. My friend Arlene, who is my go-to gal for just about anything you want to know (Need a tailor, ask Arlene. Need a great new place for dinner, she'll steer you right!) gave it to me. It's easy, fresh and can be adapted many different ways.

Lemon Garlic Dressing
-Juice of 1 Lemon ($0.33)
-1/4 Olive Oil (I like extra virgin because of it's big flavor) ($0.57)
-1 garlic clove minced (I'm assuming you have a garlic clove, in a pinch I've used garlic salt. You can use more depending on how much you like garlic)
-Salt and Pepper to Taste

Place garlic in the bottom of a bowl. Mash it around with some salt and pepper (a pinch of each will do). Add lemon juice. Pour the olive oil into the bowl in a slow stream while wisking with a fork. There. Done. This is so simple it's almost not even a recipe. If you have fresh herbs, add some. If you have dried, don't bother.

This recipe makes enough for 4 salads so you can make more or less if you need to. Recently I made pasta salad for 4 with this dressing and 1/2 lb lemon parsley pasta (also from the farmers market) grape tomatos, a handful of baby spinach, feta cheese and kalamata olives (I had all the stuff laying around in the fridge.) It was devine. You can also marinate with this but I suggest upping the lemon juice to olive oil ratio.
For $0.90 you can have your own homemade fresh salad dressing in minutes!
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