As salad greens go, arugula keeps a long time, has a nice tangy flavor and is usually in my fridge. A simple lemon vinaigrette makes the best dressing for the peppery leaf. Why is that word so dang hard to spell?
Homemade dressing is so easy to make and easy to modify to your taste. I don’t know why anyone would buy it in the store. An extra bonus is I make mine in darling little jars. And I get to use all my other fun little kitchen gizmos.
This is what I do:
Simple Lemon Vinaigrette
- Juice of 1 lemon (depending on ripeness, about ¼ – 1/3 cup)
- Equal amount of avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- Salt and pepper to taste
Place all ingredients, except oil in a small bowl and whisk together. Slowly add oil, whisking until blended well. Keep up to a week in the fridge.
Yep, that’s it. Nothing fancy. You can add a bit of lemon juice or a tad of vinegar for more tartness or a bit more oil or a drop of water for less tartness.
I use about two tablespoons of the prepared vinaigrette in the bottom of a large salad bowl with diced tomato and cucumbers. After that sits for about 5 minutes, add 2 or 3 cups of arugula and toss. If the leaves are too dry, add more dressing. Let sit for another 5 minutes and top with toasted pine nuts and shaved Parmesan if desired.
This is an upside down salad so when plated, you’ll need to pull the tomato and cucumber from the bottom and arrange on top.
Coupled with pita and hummus, this is a fine vegetarian meal.
And a pretty salad, too!
What I’m Reading
On audio I listened to a new-to-me author, Molly Gloss who wrote Falling From Horses. Oh, my, did I love it. Set in 1938 Hollywood, the story is the narrative of a young rancher turned stunt cowboy. I stumbled across this, and it read beautifully as a stand-alone novel, but it is a sequel to the previous generation of the same family.
Animal cruelty, disrespect for workers and women, and loss are certainly addressed, but the book is not a downer by any means. There is generosity, love, deep friendship and thoughtful growth in this book.
The day-to-day life of Bud Fraser and his friend Lily are full and interesting, but Bud’s back story and his future are woven throughout and the story, characters and setting are all captivating.
Molly Gloss is a fine writer and she is most certainly part of my future.
In print, I read a Michael Connelly, the first of the Jack McEvoy series, The Poet. Connelly, who writes Bosch and Lincoln Lawyer series, is one of the finest thriller writers. In my humble opinion.
Having given him rave reviews as a writer, I would say this book is just so-so. Jack is not all that likable, the other characters were not terribly well developed (maybe because he wanted to throw out a lot of red herrings). It was a long book and not all that smart. At the end of the day, I will probably give Jack another try, but meh. Umm, maybe a three-star rating.
I had the pleasure of seeing my DF Vaneica while on business in Dallas this week. I talked off her ear and we laughed and laughed. She took me to a yummy Mediterranean (can’t spell that word either) restaurant for lunch and their display was so lovely.
Who cares what the food tasted like? The food was good, but really, the presentation! And the company!
Seeing several co-workers and some dear friends this year feels like a bigger blessing than it ever did. I have never taken relationships for granted, but I’m so grateful for them now.
Have a wonderful weekend.