We’re on a quest to find the perfect homemade creamy salad dressing. We’ve enjoyed almost every trial version. I’m not sure I’m done with the recipe, but this will show you where I am so far. And, you know what, I’d love to have your suggestions on how to improve this and make it more tasty!

The base of this recipe is either: chevre, yogurt cheese, kefir cheese, or sour cream (or “sour cream” made from chevre). Those all have different consistencies – the key is to add raw milk to whichever one you’re using to get it to the consistency you prefer. The recipe below reflects a thinner consistency, which is what we like because: 1) it lasts longer and 2) it is easier to pour.

The yogurt cheese or kefir cheese will make the dressing more tart, so you might want to decrease the apple cider vinegar and/or add a bit of raw honey. The chevre and sour cream make our favorite dressings, though we like the yogurt or kefir based dressings very much, too.

What I like about this recipe is that it is very versatile. And it goes with saying (though I’m going to say it) that herbs and spices differ greatly in quality and flavor. I am always very happy with the dried herbs and spices I get from Azure Standard; the brand is usually Oregon’s Wild Harvest. These herbs/spices far surpass the grocery store herbs. Other options for you would include a health food store with good turnover or Mountain Rose Herbs.

Lindsey recommended adding chives to a creamy, ranch-style dressing. I have yet to get some chives. They are on my list for my next Azure order. I placed an order yesterday but forgot to add the chives and now it is too late.

On to the recipe…

• 1 cup chevre, yogurt cheese or kefir cheese PLUS 1 cup raw milk –OR– 1-1/2 to 2 cups sour cream
• additional raw milk, for consistency (I use 1/4 to 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons herbed seasoning salt, herbamare, or 1 teaspoon sea salt (plus more to taste)
• 1 tablespoon organic dried dill
• 1 tablespoon organic dried parsley
• a pinch of black pepper
• additional ingredients – garlic, more herbs, etc.

Whisk all ingredients together – in food processor, blender, or with a whisk by hand. Store in an air-tight jar in the refrigerator. Makes 2 to 3 cups, depending.

Please share your favorite salad dressing recipes in the comments. I’d also love to hear your suggestions for how you’d make this dressing better.

This post is part of Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet, Fight Back Friday! at FoodRenegade, and A Gathering of Homemade Dressings at Kitchen Stewardship. Making your own salad dressing is not only better for you (have you read any labels lately?) but you’ll save money.

Just warning you, the process is a little complicated.

Put about 1 cup of chevre in the food processor, add a tablespoon of raw milk, and blend until smooth. Add more milk and blend, tablespoon by tablespoon, until the “cream” is the right consistency. Chill or serve immediately.

See how hard that is?

I think you can do the same thing with yogurt-cheese (labni/labneh/labani) or kefir-cheese, too. Has anyone tried this before?

The reason I love this is because we get very little cream from our goat milk, due to its being naturally homogenized. Although a little cream rises to the top if the milk is left undisturbed in the fridge for a few days, it is not that much, nor do I have that much time to wait. Yet I am able to make a batch of chevre from whole milk every other day – which gives me plenty of cheese to turn into this “sour cream.”

The other way to get sour cream from chevre is not to let the whey drip out as long. (This also works as a mayo substitute!)

I’m submitting this post in Fight Back Fridays! – how are you fighting back for real food?

I would like to share what you know with the great and inspirational readers of gnowfglins.com. Send your favorite kitchen tip(s), accompanying photos, and your website address (optional) to: tips at gnowfglins dot com. 

It is hard to know whether I should share this dressing or not… because not everybody was crazy about it. As usual, I did like it very much, while everyone else thought it was so-so. See what you can do with it! It came from this recipe, only I used kefir instead of yogurt and green leaf stevia instead of honey. Perhaps I should do it again with honey. I can tell I’m really convincing you to give this a try with all my ho hum comments. But I think it has potential – and I really liked it. (Thank you to SueEllen for suggesting it to me!)

Making the recipe one time gives you about 1/2 cup of dressing – enough for one meal in our house, where a salad serves five of us with pretty large servings.

• 1/2 cup kefir – or plain yogurt in original recipe
• 1/8 teaspoon green leaf stevia (from Mountain Rose Herbs) – or 1 tablespoon raw honey, or to taste
• 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
• 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Mix all ingredients together. Chill until needed, or pour over salad and toss immediately.

I mostly brought home paste tomatoes, for my own processing, but couldn’t resist those brandywines, for regular and fresh eating. I have eaten so many… delicious!

Last year, I was given many tomatoes and I turned them into cooked tomato sauce. This year, I couldn’t bear to cook the tomatoes to death while I preserved them. (Fresh is best, you know.) So I whizzed many of them in the Vita-Mix and froze the chunky raw sauce in quart size zipper-seal freezer bags. Many others, I have sliced into 1/4″ slices for rotations through the dehydrator at a low 100 degree temperature (so as to keep those enzymes viable). I finally broke down and purchased 4 additional trays for my American Harvest dehydrator, to maximize the consumption of energy required to run it. The trays were on sale at Bi-Mart for 10% off. That means I’ve had 7 trays of tomatoes drying at all times. This is far more productive than I used to be, when I could only dehydrate 3 trays at a time.

There’s not been a frost and the tomatoes are still producing at that farm, so they say. So on Wednesday, I’m going to get more. Call me crazy, but how can I turn down the opportunity of acquiring bushels of home-grown, natural, local tomatoes? I have to admit, the kitchen is full of a sickly sweet tomato fragrance, but I think I can handle it for one more week.

Of course, we’ll eat some fresh but I also plan to make sauce of them.

The way I make raw apple or pear sauce is by washing, quartering and coring the fruit. Then I process it in batches in the Vita-Mix, to chop nicely but not puree. Sometimes I add spices, but mostly, not. Then I freeze the sauce, raw, in quart size freezer bags. I know that freezer-safe mason jars would work here, but sadly, I’ve not the freezer space to do it that way, so I must rely on plastic for this kitchen job. The freezer bags can be laid flat in the freezer for maximum use of space. I don’t mind a little browning, so I don’t add lemon juice, which means I don’t have to sweeten them, either.

Another option for the apple sauce is to follow this recipe for Raw Apple Sauce in the Vita-Mix, which has almonds, coconut, raisins, cinnamon and nutmeg added in and chopped up alongside the apples. This could be frozen also.

Some of the apples, however, are destined to become Apple Butter in the Roaster.

(choose organic ingredients)

• about 4 apples, sweet variety such as Fuji
• handful of raw almonds
• handful of raisins
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch nutmeg
• 1 cup pure water

Wash, quarter and core the apples. Place in the Vita-Mix wet container, along with all other ingredients. Put on lid with tamper.

While using tamper, turn on to variable speed #1, increase to #10, then flip to HIGH. Run only as much as needed to chop all ingredients into a thick sauce. Do not puree.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

• 1/3 cup cream (from a can of unsweetened coconut milk — not light)
• 1/3 cup agave
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Mix all ingredients until smooth. For a thinner glaze, add unsweetened almond milk (or coconut milk) to achieve desired consistency.

Variation: Dark Chocolate Frosting — Dairy-Free

© Copyright 2008 by Wardeh Harmon

Makes about 3/4 cup

• 1/3 cup cream (from a can of unsweetened coconut milk — not light)
• 1/3 cup agave
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Mix all ingredients until smooth. For a thinner glaze, add unsweetened almond milk or unsweetened coconut milk to achieve desired consistency.

Variation: Milk Chocolate Ice Cream Sauce — Dairy-Free

© Copyright 2008 by Wardeh Harmon

Chocolate Syrup

makes 2 cups

• 1 cup cocoa powder, dutch process
• 1 cup raw agave syrup
• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
• 5 tablespoons water

Blend to incorporate until smooth. Add more water as needed, for desired consistency.

© Copyright 2007 by Wardeh Harmon