green vinaigrette

As much as I love to cook I confess that at times I haven't wanted to be bothered making homemade vinaigrette. But I've been won over with this easy method that seems to keep the dressing blended longer than when in a bottle and allows for individual servings rather than dressing the whole salad at once. Preparation involves finding a small container (Kmart's Martha Stewart line has a nice collection of pyrex ones with pale green lids), pouring in about a

1/2 cup of olive oil
approximately 1/4 cup or less cup red wine vinegar,
garlic red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

and then shaking it to blend. When serving reshake it and use a spoon to drizzle it over your salad. Vinaigrette recipes usually call for more olive oil and less vinegar but I like the dressing a little tart.

Now for the exciting variation: instead of using vinegar, try green jalapeno tabasco sauce, a milder version of regular tabasco (available at most groceries). Because it contains vinegar and it's relatively mild, green tabasco is perfect for a vinaigrette. This particular discovery is courtesy of Larry and is a variation of the recipe that comes with the bottle of green tabasco sauce. This is good over green beans (they say 1 lb. cut up into 2-inch pieces; we used about a lb. and a half).

1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 green jalapeno pepper sauce
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed, or chopped and smushed with large knife handle
1/2 t. salt

Put into container, shake it up, pour it on.