HOMEMADE RANCH DRESSING

Apr 14

I like making my own salad dressings. I think they taste so much better than anything store-bought. Throughout the summer, I love growing my own herbs in flower pots on my back porch so that I always have them readily available when I need them. I regularly use them in dips, salad dressings, marinades, and herb butters, or I simply add them freshly minced to my salads. It doesn’t take much effort to grow your own herbs, all you need is a pot, soil, and seeds and as long as you remember to water them regularly, they will sure thrive beautifully. If you don’t have a garden, a window sill will be the perfect place to grow them indoors. I find that especially for children it’s a great way to see where the food comes from and how to take care of the plants.
Adding fresh herbs to your sauces, salads, or dishes not only makes them healthier, but also lifts a simple sauce or dish to the gourmet level. The recipe for the ranch dressing asks for fresh herbs but it can also be made with the ranch seasoning if fresh herbs are not available to you. I always use my homemade SCD legal yoghurt for this recipe because it contains an abundance of healthy bacteria (probiotics) to heal the intestines as well as being lactose free.

INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup homemade yoghurt
1/4 cup SCD legal mayonnaise
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt
freshly grated black pepper
2 tbsp chives, minced
2 tbsp parsley, minced
2 tbsp spring onion, minced
1 small clove garlic, minced
note: if you don’t have fresh herbs, you can replace the last four items with 1 tbsp ranch seasoning mix (see recipe below)

INSTRUCTIONS
Add the yoghurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and herbs to a bowl and mix until well combined.

RANCH SEASONING MIX
INGREDIENTS
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp onion flakes
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried chives
2 tsp dried dill
3 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp sea salt
black pepper