salad and the stuff on top

We eat a ton of salad, which is awesome because I love salad.  The lettuce is fresh and all the veggie toppings are colorful and gorgeous.  I am working on mastering amazing salad displays.  At least once a week we have a big hearty salad for dinner.  It's healthy and easy.  Win!

 This salad was part of my ongoing attempt at finishing off our leftover Easter ham (accepting suggestions- I've already made soup, quiche, and sandwiches).  The key to making salad filling enough for the main course is to add protein (meat or eggs-or both).  The key to making salad interesting is the special toppings (homemade croutons, seeds, coriander or cheese).  The key to making salad delicious is the dressing.

 Making dressing at home is so easy that it's unlikely I will ever buy bottled dressing at the store again.  At home you tailor it to your liking, make it fresh for every salad, and don't need preservatives like the jar stuff.

This is my favorite dressing recipe I've developed.  I usually throw it together without measuring, but this time I measured and took notes so I could share with you.  I bet you already have all the ingredients in your kitchen too.

Sara's Citrus Honey Mustard Dressing (yields enough for two large portion salads or four small salads)
1/4 cup fresh squeezed citrus juice (lemon, lime or orange)
1 Tbsp vinegar (I like red wine or balsamic)
1 Tbsp your favorite mustard (I like the seedy variety)
2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Mix all the ingredients except the oil.  Add the oil in a thin stream whisking vigorously.  Taste and season if needed.  The great thing about this recipe is that I vary it all the time. You can add garlic, Parmesan, feta, fresh ginger, soy sauce, parsley, coriander,  peanut putter, etc.  Of course the mustard can be omitted with certain changes.  It's liberating to create your own dressings and not rely on a bottle that sits in your fridge for who knows how long.  Plus it tastes so much better.  You must give it a go!