I was perusing through some of Julia Child’s great cookbooks last night and came upon her recipe for Basic Vinaigrette Dressing. I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’m horrible at making salad dressing. If it extends beyond a good oil, a splash of lemon juice, and some salt, I’m afraid I tend to fail miserably. Inevitably it comes out too vinegary or just simply lacking in flavor. Salad dressing should be easy, right!? I can create a beautiful cassoulet, a lovely osso bucco, delicate homemade pasta, even fresh sushi. But a simple salad dressing? Not my forté. I usually pass the task on to Barnaby.

So, I’m turning a new leaf (pardon the salad pun), grabbing the oil and vinegar bottles by the <er> horns, and approaching this salad dressing business with a new attitude.

I..will..master..the..vinaigrette!

Who better than to show me the way than our friend Julia Child. I followed her Basic Vinaigrette recipe and minced scallions, mixed in some Dijon mustard, a pinch of salt, some vinegar and lemon juice, a really good olive oil, and a few healthy cracks of fresh black pepper. I gave it all a little vroom! vroom! with the immersion blender and voilà, the perfect vinaigrette. Like Julia says, you can always add more vinegar or lemon but you can’t take it out. I spooned some into the salad bowl, added my just-snipped-from-the-garden baby lettuces, and gave it all a toss. A bit of lemon zest gave it a fresh snap of flavor.

I think Julia would have been proud.

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Heirloom tomatoes are worth their often-expensive price. Deep red, orange, yellow, green, black (dark purple red), these tomatoes always make the most beautiful arrangement. The best thing about heirlooms is they’re more meaty with less seeds, and much sweeter.

We drizzled ours with white truffle oil, a balsamic vinegar reduction, salt and pepper, and a bit of chopped basil.

A gorgeous and delicious kaleidoscope of color! It’s like sunshine on plate.

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Remember those car games you used to play as a child? You’d pick something, briefly describe it, and your just-as-bored sibling would try and figure out what you found on the horizon?

“I spy something red!”
“The sumac bushes!”

Often seen on roadsides, sumac is one of those plants we always believed to be poisonous (No, Johnny do not put that in your mouth!), but there are actually edible and delicious varieties. Just to get a little geeky horticulturalist on you, there are about 250 species in the genus Rhus. With some species, the dried berries are ground into a fine tangy-lemony tasting powder. This deep garnet-colored spice is the non-poisonous one we, fortunately, can eat. And, if you’re looking to re-landscape your yard, one landscaper has rated sumac as one of the best 5 shrubs for fall colors. How’s that for versatility?

In the Middle East sumac is as much of an essential ingredient as vinegar or lemon juice is in the West. Always on the hunt for something new to dress a salad, I tried it and I’m hooked. Not only does it awaken your food with a colorful dash of deep purple, but it adds a wonderful tart flavor, yet much less pungent than lemon.

This tart-fruity spice is wonderful dusted on meats, fish, chicken, or simply on rice and veggies. Try sprinkling a bit of sumac on top of Persian cucumbers with feta or plain yogurt for a delicious side dish.

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