Dijon Mustard Salad Dressing

Happy Monday, y'all! The summer weather has definitely hit Texas. To celebrate the heat, one of my best friends and I went for a walk after work. LMR is currently fostering an adorable little Pomeranian, so we got a dose of cuteness to counteract the heat. I returned home to do a P90X workout, and then whipped up a hefty salad to stave off my hunger. My salad ingredients consisted of red leaf lettuce, carrots, celery, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and pine nuts. And here's the dressing I whisked together to add some extra flavor...

Dijon Mustard Dressing

2 Tbls Dijon mustard

1 1/2 Tbls extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper, to taste

Whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl, then drizzle over your salad.

I added some chopped prosciutto to make myself feel fancy while I lounged around in my sweats. What a wonderful Monday night!

Whole 30 - Day 7

Heirloom Tomato Salad

3-4 heirloom tomatoes of varying sizes and colors

1 1/2 Tbls olive oil

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1. Slice the tomatoes, roughly 1/4" thick.

2. Layer on a plate. Making it pretty is optional.

3. Drizzle olive oil and vinegar over the tomatoes. Serve and enjoy.

How to: Balsamic Reduction

This is probably the easiest "how-to" ever. Reductions in general are a relatively easy concept to grasp.

How To: Balsamic Reduction

This works well on medium-quality balsamic vinegar that you intend to drizzle. Use a ratio of 4:1 for how much balsamic vinegar you start with compared to how much you want. Put the balsamic vinegar into a pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 2-4 minutes or until the vinegar is a little bit thinner than you want your final product to be (the balsamic vinegar will continue cooking in the pan). Remove the pan from heat. You're done! Be careful not to use higher heat settings. If you do that, your balsamic reduction can solidify into a sticky mess. Trust me. It happened to me. As soon as it cooled slightly it was basically solid, which is quite unpleasant.

Balsamic vinegar (a.k.a. Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale) is originally from Italy (no surprise there). It is an aged reduction made from Trebbiano grapes, but is not a wine vinegar (like red wine vinegar) because the grape juice from which it's made is not fermented. Check out the labels on the bottles at the store before you buy. There are imitators masquerading as high quality products that have added coloring and thickeners, such as guar gum or cornflour. Just be wary.

Some ideas for using balsamic vinegar reductions:

• Grilled or boiled meats
• Fresh or grilled veggies
• Pineapple
• Salad dressing
• Strawberries
• Parmesan-Reggiano cheese (if you eat dairy)