Creamy Almond Dressing

Bottled salad dressing has been letting me down my whole life. Luckily, it's easy to make your own and oh-so-much better. 

1/2 Cup Sliced Almonds (blanched or raw)
1/2 Cup Water
2 T Nutritional Yeast
2 t soy sauce (I always use low sodium, if you have regular, back if off to 1 t)
1 T fresh lemon juice
2 Tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Blend all the ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth and no pieces of almonds remain. Refrigerate for up to a week (maybe more, you tell me...mine never makes it that long).

Vegan Ceasar

There was a boy I liked once and we used to play Hangman in his bar. One of his puzzles was "Et tu, Brute?" and when I hung myself before I solved it, he made fun of me. I think of him when I make this dressing. In hindsight, he was a jerk.

I love making a bunch of this, buying a fresh head of romaine, chilling it, chopping it up bite size, soaking it in this stuff, and then topping it with fresh ground black pepper. I eat it for dinner with some baked tempeh croutons on top.

1/2 c silken tofu
1/4 c. water
juice from half of a large lemon
2 T. light miso paste
1 T. red wine vinegar (or just plain old vinegar)
1 T vegan Worcestershire (if making GF, check the ingredients here)
1 t Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic
1/2 t salt
black pepper to taste

Creamy Walnut Balsamic

If you are using bottled salad dressings, stop.

1 cup walnuts, ground (will be a bit chunky) or powdered (will be nice and smooth)
1/2 cup oil (if I'm feeling fancy I go down to the oil shop and buy walnut oil, otherwise olive oil works just fine)
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
3 T agave
1 t salt
juice from half a small lemon
1 T dijon mustard

Blend until smooth and creamy. Pour over mixed greens. Eat 'em up.