A Few Delicious Dressings

Our lunches at Sagrada during yoga retreats are a farmer’s market salad bar. Fresh greens, homemade pickled veggies, sprouted beans, nuts and seeds and a couple of our savory dressings to choose from satiate our guests until the next yoga class.

Our Family Dressing

My dear Papa George was the dressing doctor (he was a brilliant ER doctor as well.) He was the master of his simple, vibrant Italian dressing. Born in Paris France, he had that European flare. I can picture him in his kitchen chopping chunks of fresh tomatoes from his garden and tearing lettuce leaves with his hands. He liked life real and rustic. He would make a jarful to last a few dinners and would get richer and more tasty as the days passed. The dressing is divinely pungent and sour.

            *1 cup olive oil

            *1 cup red wine vinegar

            *3 garlic cloves crushed in a garlic press

            * Juice of one lemon

            * Sea salt to taste

             *1/2 tsp black pepper

Serve over romaine lettuce, tomatoes and thinly sliced red onion.

My Papa always ate his salad after the entrée with a French baguette and a tasty glass of Beaujolais. Enjoy.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Food Energetics

Garlic- pungent, moves stagnant Qi- promotes circulation, inhibits the common cold virus, eliminates toxins from the body

Lemon- cooling in nature, benefits those who have eaten a high fat/high protein diet, benefits the liver, promotes weight loss, cleanses the blood, increases fluid production, great during summer heat for hydration

Lemon Tahini Dressing

1/2 cup tahini

½ cup of water

1 garlic clove crushed

½ cup finely chopped parsley

1 scallion finely chopped

Sea salt to taste

Sweet Sesame Dressing

                        ¼ cup olive oil

                        ¼ cup toasted sesame oil

                        2 Tbs Rice wine vinegar

                        2 Tbs orange juice

                        2 Tbs Lemon juice

                        2 tsp grated ginger

                        2 tsp raw honey

                        Sea salt to taste

                        A dash of nutritional yeast

                        A pinch of turmeric