Spinach Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Here’s a lunchtime quickie for you… who doesn’t like a lunchtime quickie?

But seriously, people I talk to seem to be under the impression that salads and homemade salad dressings are tedious to make, much too difficult for a busy day. I can tell you honestly that this salad AND dressing took about FIVE minutes from start to finish… for real. And I had a baby in one arm for about two of those minutes. So no excuses for buying crappy old ranchers choice dressing anymore people!

For the salad, use what you have on hand. For this one I used:

• Baby spinach
• Grapefruit segments
• Strawberries
• Cucumbers
• Carrot shavings
• Feta Cheese
• Sunflower and pumpkin seeds

For the Citrus Vinaigrette:

• Juice from half a grapefruit
• Juice from half a lemon
• white wine vinegar
• olive oil
• Dijon mustard
• honey
• salt and pepper to taste.

You will notice I did not include exact measurements. That is because the basic ratio for any vinaigrette is usually 3:1 . Three parts oil to one part vineagar, or in this case vinegar and citrus juice.  So, if you squeeze your grapefruit and lemon and end up with about 1/4 Cup, you will want about 3/4 cup of oil. If you had 2 Tbsp. of juice, you would want 6 Tsp. of oil. You get the idea.

I like the splash of vinegar because citrus just isn’t quite acidic enough for my taste. I add a small squirt of mustard to almost every dressing I make, to act as an emulsifier. (It holds the oil and vinegar together and keeps it from separating). The squirt of honey is to taste: You like it really sweet? Be generous. Not into sweet? Omit it. The honey could quite easily be replaced with maple syrup too. The white wine vinegar could easily be white balsamic, plain old white vinegar or whatever you have on hand. I use a white vinegar in this recipe to keep it clear and light in appearance.

I add my oil last, whisking pretty vigorously as I pour it in. This will ensure everything is combined nicely. If your dressing sits for a bit it is no big deal, but be sure to whisk it again before pouring it over your salad.

Store any leftover vinaigrette in the refrigerator for a week or so.

The moral of this story is that salad dressings from scratch are SOOOO easy, much better for you, and quite limitless in terms of flavor combinations! This was one tasty lunch!