Friday, August 1, 2014

Lavender Honey Balsamic Dressing

Lavender Honey Balsamic Salad Dressing
with Missy Tippens

One of our favorite restaurants in a nearby town, One Blue Duck, serves an amazing salad with shaved beets (usually golden) and some sort of bleu chese (gorgonzola, I think). And to top it off, it has this amazing lavender dressing made with lavender they grow out back. So I decided to try to make my own copy at home.


First, I did a search for dressings. I found this recipe that sounded similar at a blog called The Kitchen is My Playground. My photos can't compare to her gorgeous ones, so be sure to drop by to see it. Here's a link to the original dressing recipe (click here).


I made a few small adjustments. Here's my version…


6 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar (will try white balsamic next time)

2 T honey
1 T lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed (I used jarred minced)
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. dried lavender flowers


First, I took the advice from several of you to go to Penzey's Spices because I needed a trustworthy source of dried lavender.



Once that arrived, I was able to make my dressing.

I used my small, portable Hamilton-Beach smoothie blender. Put all ingredients inside and then blend.



Then I put it in the refrigerator to chill and got to work on the fresh beets.



Wash and peel one small beet. Then either slice thinly and chop into small pieces. Or shave it with a vegetable peeler. I think the shaving is probably better but I didn't think of it until later.

Place greens on the plate. Top with beets and other vegetables as desired. Add crumbled bleu cheese (I didn't have any). Then, after shaking well, drizzle on the chilled dressing.



It makes a beautiful salad!

P.S. My daughter doesn't really like the smell of lavender, so she didn't really care for this dressing. Just a warning. :)

ADDENDUM!

I forgot to do the promised RWA Part 2 post. But I'll post the cowboy photo I mentioned. Mary Curry will kill me for sharing it with her eyes half closed. :)




www.missytippens.com

19 comments:

  1. Oh, yum, just the name of the dressing sounds divine. And I love the smell of lavender. Have had it in chocolate and in scones so why not a dressing? Love the restaurants name! And did you have the Black Forest Mocha Mousse for dessert? I would have!

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    1. Kav, I'm always so full there that I rarely get dessert. I think I've only gotten it once, but it wasn't the mousse. I'll have to try that sometime!

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  2. I knew I loved your kid. I'm not a lavender person either, but I love rosemary so I wonder if I replaced the lavender with rosemary, if that would be amazing???? I've put rosemary in cookies, and oh my stars, it's delicious.... Who'd a thunk it???? You tell the kid that Ruthy has her back on this, but I love making my own dressings!!!!!!

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    1. Ruthy, I bet rosemary would be good. Give it a try and let me know! :)

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  3. Sounds like a body scrub. Don't think I'm adventurous enough! Where's the cowboy pic you promised?!
    Susanna

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    1. OMGOsh!!! I totally forgot about doing the conference post!! My goodness. Where's my brain???

      I've been dealing with problems with my son all week. He's studying abroad and had his checking account cleaned out by someone who got his debit card info. So I've been dealing with all that fallout and trying to get him cash for the rest of his trip. Nightmare. And now I forgot to do the conference part 2 post!

      I'm sorry! It's basically the same shot only clearer. I'll go add it now to this post, just for fun. :)

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    2. wow sorry about your son! but thanks for the cowboy! and Mary doesn't have to worry - I didn't notice anyone else in the photo!
      Susanna

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    3. Oh, Missy, that is just awful!!! I had my wallet stolen in Prague when I was traveling during grad school at the Warsaw School of Economics. It was a nightmare. Maybe easier than it was back then, because no email and cell phones, but still.... My dad had to wire me money but meanwhile I had to borrow money from friends just to pay for a room. UGH.
      Pickpockets are just horrible.

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    4. Virginia, you poor thing! Would have been much worse back then. Actually, his wallet didn't even get stolen. Somehow his debit card info got compromised. And he's been borrowing too. I'm so ready for him to come home. Another week! He's been gone 11 weeks. I miss him like crazy.

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    5. BTW Prague was one of the cities he visited. :)

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  4. This sounds so good, Missy! I wonder if I could substitute Truvia for the honey, though.

    Penzey's is great source for the lavender. Heck, they're a great source for just about anything. :)

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    1. Mindy, I think that would work. But it's not much honey for a good bit of salad dressing. We had a lot left over.

      Believe me, I know what a good source they are! I bought about 8 other spices!

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  5. MARY IS GOING TO KILL YOU!!

    I will eat the dressing sans the lavender and put the lavender in little satin pillows around the house. I love lavender.

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    1. Tina, if you love the smell, you really should try it! I never in a million years would have thought to eat it. But then I had this dressing. And it took me a while to figure out what I was tasting. I finally looked on the menu and found what their house dressing had in it.

      Very unusual and tasty!

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  6. The dressing sounds divine - so elegant and summery!

    And that is definitely a Texas cowboy! Look at those rolled up sleeves! Up here, the cowboys wear long sleeves year 'round. :)

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    1. No, Jan, that's a GQ cowboy. Most of the cowboys I know wear long sleeves, even in the summer. With so much time in the sun, they're smart enough to know they're susceptible to skin cancer.

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    2. Actually, I think they were cover models dresses as cowboys. So who knows about the style! :)

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    3. he's a boytoy cowboy but who cares?! just want eye candy not someone to wrestle a steer to the ground LOL! though that WOULD be hot to watch ...
      I was looking at a Romantic Times magazine a few years ago and one of the models had on a cowboy hat and was shirtless and said 'John Fish Houston' - we had a John Fish in my soo bahk do class...I'm pretty sure it was him (didn't seem him much and never shirtless but he was built pretty well...) small world huh?
      Susanna

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    4. Susanna!! LOL

      That really is a small world.

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