Herbed Lemon-'Buttermilk' Dressing

Here's another all-purpose dressing, similar to Ranch Dressing. If you have company coming for Labor Day weekend, toss it with some greens and they probably won't even know it's vegan!

The base of the original recipe was buttermilk. As I've pointed out in other posts, vegan buttermilk is just one cup plain soy milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice added to "clabber" or sour/thicken it. Add the lemon juice, stir with a whisk, and let stand five minutes. Then pour 3/4 cup of the 'buttermilk' into a bowl. (Discard the remaining 1/4 cup or save it for another use).

To the bowl, add: 1/3 cup vegan mayonnaise (try the Light Canola mayo from Spectrum), one tablespoon grated lemon rind, one tablespoon finely chopped onion, a teaspoon chopped fresh chives, a teaspoon chopped fresh basil, a teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, 2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, 1/4 tsp. salt and one minced garlic clove.

As you can see, this is also a great way to use up any fresh summer herbs you might have, but for all three (the chives, basil, thyme) you can substitute 1/2 tsp. dried instead of fresh if you prefer.

You'll have 1 1/4 cups of dressing, that will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. Just stir well before using! A tablespoon is about 20 calories.

Cost:
soy milk $1.00
lemon $0.89