Yesterday I enjoyed a nice boat ride around Lake Michigan and almost lost my dinner! Here are a few pictures of our evening.
Lately I have been enjoying a variety of salads using spinach, romaine, kale and other greens. I usually have a standard dressing I tend to usee all the time, but this past week I decided to make something completely different.
Before going vegan I occasionally liked trying bleu cheese or ranch dressing on my salad just because I wanted something different. I also enjoyed it at specific restaurants where they prepared it in house. My normal salad dressing consists of 3-5 ingredients: balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. It usually does the trick and a nice big salad is consumed with no complaints.
My creamy dressing needed to be healthy and I knew immediately I was not going to use Veganaise or Tofutti sour cream. I found 1/4 cup of tofu in the fridge and started with my experiment. A normal ranch can consist of a variety of herbs but I wanted to focus on basil since my potted basil had been doing well.
Ingredients were placed in a bowl and blended quickly with an immersion blender. Ryan likes Ranch but I somehow don't like purchasing pre-made dressings when I can very well make it at home.
I added my basil ranch to our dinner salads and Ryan gave it a 2 thumbs up! Success. Now I can add a new dressing for future salads.
Creamy Basil Ranch Dressing
makes 1/2 cup
1/4 cup firm tofu
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves
2 Tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon white ground pepper
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt or Herbamare
Place all ingredients in a bowl and using an immersion blender, blend well. Use a blender if you do not have an immersion blender.
What dressings to you like making at home? Are there specific ones you purchase at your local health store?
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Labels: basil, dressing, herbs, Salad, sauce, side, tofu
