Easy Homemade Salad Dressings

Here are a couple of homemade salad dressing recipes that take less then 4 minutes to make and are delicious:


Greek Salad Dressing:

3 parts lemon juice
4 parts red wine vinegar
6 parts olive oil
sugar, to taste
minced garlic to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Mince those garlic gloves and then combine everything else. Give it a good shake and you're ready to dig in. I like to use a small mason jar for mixing the vinaigrette, to ensure that the seal stays tight when I shake it.


Balsamic Vinaigrette:

5 parts balsamic vinegar
5 parts olive oil
1 part dijon mustard
pinch of dried basil
salt and pepper to taste

Combine, shake well.

Next week, how to create your own salad bar.

Pizza Pizza - Beamsville

4322 Ontario Street
905-687-1111

Well, Pizza Pizza is not going to be the most glamorous restaurant covered here, but it is vegan-friendly. We ordered a large pizza and I held my breath, wondering if the non-dairy cheese was going to be any good.

We did the multi-grain crust with Italian homestyle tomato sauce. My half of the pizza was green olives, mushrooms, grilled zucchini and the vegan cheese. A cool aside, when I asked the person taking my order if there was some way to denote which side of the pizza had my cheese on it, he suggested getting an additional topping on my side (which he did not charge me for), to ensure that there would be no confusion. (I didn't need to worry about differentiating the cheese in the end,...the vegan cheese looked nothing like the melty mozzarella.)

Other vegan options included:

Garden salad - Balsamic or Zesty Italian dressing
Greek salad, hold the feta, Balsamic or Zesty Italian dressing
Crunchy dill pickles
Potato Wedges
Onion Rings
Fries

Sauces:
Chipotle, Italian Marinara Dipping, Hot, Frank's Red Hot, BBQ, Italian Homestyle Pizza, Bruschetta, Sweet Chili Thai

Breads:
Tortillas, Whole Grain Dough, Classic Dough

I want to mention that looking at the menu, I can't figure out where they use the tortillas. Also, the cheese. I know you're waiting to hear about the cheese. The brand is Violife. I didn't love it; it had that faint chemical taste that I also find with Daiya products. It melted okay and tasted better when hot, but I would be tempted to try it without the cheese next time.

For me, this would be an 'in-a-pinch' restaurant option, and I would probably stick to the sides above instead of ordering the pizza next time. Having said that, if you enjoy the Daiya cheeses, you will probably enjoy this Violife cheese as well.

Hours:
Sunday to Wednesday: 11am - 10pm
Thursday: 11am - 12am
Friday and Saturday: 11am - 1am

How To Connect:
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Salad Dressings

I know that vegans eat a lot more than just salads, but now that the weather is turning a bit warmer, I have to admit that my palette is getting a litter lighter. And salads fit the bill perfectly.

Here are the two most-used recipes at our house:


GREEK VINAIGRETTE

3 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons olive oil (I often use garlic flavoured)
1/2 tsp sugar (if desired)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine and shake well. If the ratio of more vinegar to oil is too tart for you, just increase the olive oil until you achieve the combination you prefer. At our house, this vinaigrette is perfect with cucumbers, black olives, red onions, and mandarins added to our salad.


BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil (again, adjust to your own preference, I keep it closer to 1/3 cup)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine and shake well. This recipe is also fabulous on grilled veggies.


If you're not the type to make your own dressing, here are a handful of accidentally vegan options that you can find in any grocery store:

Kraft
Balsamic, Classic Catalina, Creamy Italian, Fat-free French, Zesty Italian, and Fat-free Zesty Italian (source)

Newman's Own
Balsamic, Lite Balsamic, Lite Italian, Raspberry and Walnut Lite, Olive Oil & Vinegar, Red Wine Vinegar & Olive Oil (source)