Sleepless nights have been many around the homestead this summer, what with concerns about grandbaby #2 being growth-restricted and whether he would have to be delivered early, excitement about grandbaby #3 arriving in December, Aaron’s diagnosis of congestive heart failure (now there are some new topics to write about) and his stress about that, despite physician reassurance that type-1 diabetes is a much worse beast to manage, to say nothing of the recent assassination attempt on Trump and all the accompanying unrest in our country. Fortunately, all of this will have resolved and settled down by the time you read this, with the exception of grandbaby #3, who won’t arrive until after Christmas.
Of course, election year shenanigans could make it all a whole lot worse.
And that's what has me up writing about salad dressings at 3:00 AM.
Through it all, however, the love affair with fresh green salads continues. Despite our 100°F temperatures (absolutely uncalled for, in my opinion—we only had a couple of days in the 90° range all of last year), I am still harvesting some lettuce, and only a few of the bitter leaves got past me and into the bowl. And I have continued to maintain my commitment to not buying any salad dressing at the store.
The following ketchup-based dressings are for the rest of my family, but I’m not exactly sure whom. Somehow we manage to slowly finish off a large bottle of French dressing, only to have another one appear in the fridge shortly thereafter. It’s a puzzlement.
Catalina Salad Dressing
Restaurants often use Catalina dressing on taco salad.
2⁄3 cup ketchup
½ cup oil
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 ½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon paprika
Dash cayenne pepper
Dash turmeric
Combine everything in a blender, cover, and puree until smooth. Refrigerate. Yield: about 14 ounces.
French Salad Dressing
Add mayo and sweet pickle relish for a quick Thousand Island dressing.
½ cup oil
½ cup ketchup
1⁄3 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup vinegar
1 small onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon
salt
Combine everything in a blender, cover, and puree until smooth. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: about 12 ounces.
Russian Salad Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1⁄3 cup chili sauce
1 tablespoon finely minced onion
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2-3 teaspoons prepared horseradish
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
Combine everything in a blender, cover, and puree until smooth. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: about 12 ounces.
Links to related posts:
Making Mayonnaise in Challenging Circumstances
Homemade Chili Sauce
Homemade Ketchup
