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Dressing Ideas

CalebCaleb Raw Newbie

Could I get some ideas for a dressing with a "creamier" texture like your typical thousand island, blue cheese type dressings? The oil based dressings are starting to upset my stomach for some reason.

Comments

  • you could try using avocado as your base. Add in the spices you like and sundried tomatoes or fruit for your flavor. A little lemon for the liquid. I think it would blend up to a nice creamy dressing.

  • SuasoriaSuasoria Raw Newbie

    Do you use much nuts/seeds? Like pumpkin or sunflower seeds, pulverized in a coffee grinder, mixed with lemon or water?

    Here's a pumpkin seed caesar - it has a little oil, but you could play around with it

    http://www.goneraw.com/recipe/caesar-salad-dressing

  • CalebCaleb Raw Newbie

    Banana, that salad sounds awesome I'm going to make it tonight? :)

    Susoria, I usually just put seeds ON my salad. Never though of using them to make into a dressing. Will definitely have to look into that one too.

    I actually pretty much always have an avocado in my salad. A lot of the time it's in the form of guacamole. I definitely need to branch out and try new things with salad, starting to get bored with mine. Been "less raw" lately because of it, plus been really busy with moving.

  • Bananna1333Bananna1333 Raw Newbie

    So did you try it, and if so, how'd you like it, and how did you spin it?

  • CalebCaleb Raw Newbie

    Bananna, didn't try it yet :( been sick lately and having mostly smoothies (plus no internet at the house at the moment so couldn't recall the recipe). Tried another dressing today with avo. sunflower seed, cashews, ACV and agave. HATED it. I may try yours for my lunch salad for tomorrow. I've made salads in the past by simply seasoning the greens and bruising them in water and lemon juice, so your recipe sounds like it will be tasty.

  • There is a great pinenut caesar dressing on this site that I pretty much always have on hand... I don't know how to embed here but it's basically:

    1 cup pine nuts (I understand some folks use other nuts)

    Lemon (I use at least 1 full because I love it lemony)

    2-4 cloves garlic depending on taste

    Sea salt to taste

    olive oil as needed to blend.

    I also throw in some dulse to give it that "sea" taste. My fam even loves this dressing!

    Feel better :-)

    r4r

  • CalebCaleb Raw Newbie

    How do you blend the nuts? My blender won't grind nuts fine at all? Would pre-grinding them with a coffee grinder work?

  • I keep meaning to experiment with our coffee grinder for something other than coffee... need to clean it first though and haven't figured out how to do that...

    Anyhow... I have a mini (1-2 cup) food processor that I have used for this dressing (they are fairly inexpensive). I usually start the nuts off with a little lemon (and maybe a dash of water) to get it going, then a little OO and the rest. Just gotta blend blend blend! I am guessing the coffee grinder would work OK and then you could whisk whisk whisk like mad.. what's your blender sitch?

    Hope this helps!

    r4r

    ps-what do you use in your smoothies, just out of curiousity? I am always looking for new ideas :-)

  • i use my coffee grinder for grinding nuts.. making a pesto with sunflower seeds and pine nuts as a base is great mixed in salads with sundried tomatoes. i also love thai peanut sauce (with almonds) on cole slaw with veggie's thrown in. tahini sauce is awesome too. i usually make a batch of whatever on the week-end and use it through out the week. (because it's too much work to make everyday)

  • CalebCaleb Raw Newbie

    My blinder will just whip everything against the side of the pitcher and then the blades are left spinning doing nothing. I have to ad water to keep things moving and then it's to liquidy. It's annoying. If I want to come anywhere close to grinding nuts and sees in it I have to pulse then scrap the sides. It takes forever.

  • gratefultobegratefultobe Raw Newbie

    Caleb, do you have a food processor? You could get the nuts started in there. If not there's nothing wrong with keeping it simple w/ a squeeze of lemon or lime, a bit of agave, salt pepper, red pepper flakes. Maybe a high quality (?) bottled dressing for a rare treat until you can pick up a vitamix type.

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    I blend nuts with a coffee grinder. I DONT soak them first, though. Try making my FAVORITE dressing ever - you can grind the sesame seeds in a coffee grinder before adding them to the blender.

    GODDESS DRESSING

    * 1/4 cup tahini

    * 1.5 Tbsp soy sauce

    * 1 Tbsp ginger, choped

    * 1 Tbsp honey

    * 2.5 Tbsp lemon juice

    * 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

    * 1/4 cup olive oil

    * 1 clove garlic, diced

    * pepper

    * 1/2 Tbsp green onions (opt)

    * 1/2 Tbsp parsley or cilantro (opt)

    Blend all ingredients in the blender. Store in the fridge for up to two weeks, longer if you don't add herbs to the dressing.

  • Bananna1333Bananna1333 Raw Newbie

    Oh...don't not try it. If you can track down some onion sprouts, it's best with those instead of onions I think. They key is the apple, avo, tomato combo...and perhaps the dash of salt too.

    I feel your pain though...just tried to do a honey mustard dressing that had ACV in it. Why I think I'll like a dressing with that in it, when I don't like ACV....is beyond me. I'm thinking balsamic vinegar might be a necessary digression.

  • browniesbrownies Raw Newbie

    I love love love sunflower seed dressing:

    Ginger Sunflower Seed Salad Dressing

    1/2 cup sunflower seeds

    juice of one lemon

    zest of one lemon (optional)

    2 TB apple cider vinegar

    1/2 ounce ginger root - peeled, sliced thinly

    1 clove garlic

    1/4 cup Nama Shoyu soy sauce

    1/4 to 1/2 cup water (to thin to desired consistency)

    1 TB maple syrup or honey or agave syrup, etc.

    1 cup olive, sesame or mixed oils

    2 tsp. prepared mustard

  • I haven't read the posts carefully, but has anyone suggested tahini yet? It seems like most of the dressings suggested so far are fairly complicated (except the avo, of course). I put a little tahini, lemon juice, curry powder and water in a bowl and mix it with a fork until its smooth. I like this method because it does not involve any messy equipment.

  • pixxpixx Raw Master

    Any of the seed/nut cheese recipes, modified with extra liquid, will work! You can use water, or lemon, or orange juice, or whatever you fancy. Just make sure you run your blender a *long* time, when making a nut/seed cheese in a regular blender. (one cup nuts to one cup water + whatever herbs, spices, lemon, etc you want) It starts out runny, but after *several* minutes it thickens up and gets really creamy. Get it to creamy stage, then add any extra liquid needed to achieve a pourable dressing texture.

    Another really simple dressing I like to do, is adding prepared nut or seed butter to orange juice...much like the tahini and lemon that Parsley suggests above.

  • seaweedseaweed Raw Newbie

    here's some I love:

    -blend a ripe pear with about 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, a spoonful of tahini if you want and a bit of fresh garlic or ginger to taste.

    -if you enjoy the sour taste of ACV (i love it) blend 1 part tahini and 2 parts ACV,

    -blend a large tomato with some fresh cilantro, add a splash of orange juice.

    also, check out Carmella's blog recipe index, tons of really good dressing recipes. The grapefruit one is my favorite, although I simplify it quite a bit and keep to the grapefruit juice, tomato, ACV, garlic and poppy seeds. REALLY GOOD.

    http://thesunnyrawkitchen.blogspot.com/2007/03/this-blogs-recipe-index.html

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