Bottom of the Bottle Dijon Dressing

I love this idea. Whenever you`re left with just a teeny, tiny, scrapethebottomofthejar bit of mustard, don't throw it out. Instead, toss in a few ingredients and shake a tangy Dijon vinaigrette right in the container. Bon appétit!

Ingredients:

Up to you really: I usually go with 1 crushed garlic clove, some chopped fresh herbs (whatever I have on hand: tarragon, shallot, thyme, basil are all good), some balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, a touch of sugar, freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions: 

Mix all of your ingredients directly in the bottle, close the lid and give it all a good shake. Add olive oil (2 parts oil to 1 part vinegar ... I personally like less oil and more vinegar so go with what you like); shake again to emulsify the dressing. Play around with the flavours - there`s no real `recipe` here really. Drizzle over your favorite salad and enjoy. With a tightly sealed lid, the dressing will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Mango Vinaigrette

In grade 10, I had the awesome experience of living with a wonderful little French family for 3 1/2 months. It was there that I was introduced to the fact that salad dressing didn't necessarily have to come out of a bottle. In fact, I don't think that I ever saw a container of Hidden Valley or Blue Ranch. It had never dawned on me that you could actually make your own salad dressings! Since then, I usually do make my own vinaigrettes with the ratio that I was taught by my French mom (2:1 vinegar to oil). You really do just have to play around with what you like though and what tastes good to you. This is a super tasty little vinaigrette that would also be good with peach or raspberries. I made it up in our little "magic-bullet" style blender (so easy!). I now feel inspired to post a few more of my favourite home-made salad dressings ... hopefully that will happen in the next couple of weeks. Bon appétit!

Ingredients:
1 ripe mango
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes

2-3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Peel and chop mango away from pit and place in blender with lemon juice, and puree until smooth  (magic bullet-type blenders are perfect for this kind of thing). Transfer to a medium bowl, and whisk in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add red-pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper. Add more vinegar if you want more zing. Enjoy!