CELERY LEMON TAHINI SALAD DRESSING

This is such a refreshing and light mix of flavours, and a total snap to make. I use it as a salad dressing and dip with fresh pita or pita crisps.

- 1/2 cup tahini

- 1/2 cup water

- 1 tbsp. olive oil

- 5 celery stalks

- 2 tbsp. honey

- 1 small clove garlic

- 1/2 tsp. good quality salt
- 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

- 1 lemon, juiced

- 1 tbsp lemon zest (optional)

1. Put everything in a blender and blend on high till the dressing is smooth.
2. Adjust to taste. I sometimes add more celery to give the dressing a bit more thickness.

HERBED HONEY LIME SALAD DRESSING, GRILLED CORN CHOPPED SALAD

This is easily the best salad dressing I have ever made! And I've always made salad dressing myself, I never buy it. This dressing truly dresses up a salad, with clean ingredients and bright flavours! Best of all, it's quite a forgiving recipe so you can vary the quantities of ingredients however you prefer.

Although, I wouldn't do anything insane like adding parsley instead of mint or - heaven forbid - herbs like rosemary, sage, tarragon and all that. That would be nothing short of a travesty of this dressing!

If you're making the salad too: roasted corn is important in the salad. It rounds everything out with its smokiness. In corn season I buy a bunch of corn, roast it on my gas burner stove top, shave off the kernels, and freeze for use later. That is of course better than frozen store-bought roasted corn, but really, Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn is quite up to par. So definitely use that if you want or have to.

Herbed Honey-Lime Salad Dressing

Makes: approximately 12 oz.

- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/8 cup fresh juice from navel, tangerine, or mandarin oranges

- 1/8 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, roughly torn and including tender stems
- 1 cup fresh mint, roughly torn and including tender stems
- 1/2 jalapeño pepper

- 1 garlic clove, peeled

- 1 tsp good quality salt

- 1/4 cup or more water as needed to blend to a smooth, easily pourable, liquid consistency

1. Put everything in a blender or smoothie mixer and blend to a smooth consistency.

2. While still in the blender, taste the dressing and adjust flavours to your taste. Blend again to make sure it's all smooth.

3. Enjoy over salad leaves, roasted vegetables, raw vegetables, rice and raw vegetable salad, or a mixed chopped salad like below...

Grilled Corn Chopped Salad

Makes: a lot, or approximately 10 cups

1. Mix in a bowl small-medium sized dice of:

- 1 cup yellow or red onion

- 1 cup jicama

- 3 Persian cucumbers

- 1 cup capsicum of any colour

- 1 cup carrots

2. Add

- 1 cup celery, sliced not diced

- 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

- 1 cup kernels from grilled corn (or use Trader Joe's frozen grilled corn)

3. Toss with three quarters of the salad dressing, adding more if required.

4. Enjoy on its own or as a salsa with tortilla chips! Or stuffed in a pita, as a soft taco with corn tortillas, with a bit of rice on the side, or filled in endive spears.

ROASTED TOMATILLO AND AVOCADO SALSA/SAUCE

Variety Mexican food is the spice of life.

It, among a few other cuisines, is comfort food to me. Or hangover food. Or hunger food, or party food, or anytime food. I especially love the thousands of different moles and salsas (sauces). Made with fruits, vegetables, chiles, tomatoes, tomatilloes, jitomates, guajes, seeds, nuts, legumes - the list of combinations is endless! You can pretty much blend anything in a Mexican kitchen and it's a mole or a salsa. Or sometimes a beverage.

Too much fun in the kitchen with all the colours and flavours, but here's an easy one to spice things up. Use this as a salsa, sauce for entomatadas (like enchiladas but in a tomato-based sauce rather than a chile-based sauce), as a salad dressing, over roasted vegetables, tamales, eggs, fish, or chicken, mixed into rice as a side dish, or however else you want! Because you won't be able to stop eating it!

Roasted Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa/Sauce

Servings: makes 3 cups

- 10 medium/12 small tomatillos, papery husk and stem removed, rinsed
- 2 medium/3 small shallots, unpeeled and separated (or 1 small white onion, halved)

- 4 medium/6-8 small cloves garlic, skin on
- 1 serrano pepper

- 1 ripe Reed avocado or 2 Hass avocados
- 1 lime, juiced (or more if you want it really tart)
- 1/2 bunch or more cilantro- 1 tsp sea salt (I use Himalayan salt for everything)

- 1 cast-iron or other heavy skillet - mine's small so I roasted the vegetables in 2 batches

- 1 bowl large enough to fit the roasted vegetables

- 1 lid for the bowl - doesn't have to be air-tight, a plate will do

- blender/food processor

1. In the skillet over medium heat, dry-roast (without using any oil), the tomatillos, garlic, serrano and shallots. If you're using the white onion, place each half cut-side down on the skillet.

2. Roast the vegetables on one side for 5-7 minutes, then turn and roast on the other side for 5-7 minutes, or until the vegetables have dark char spots.

3. Don't burn the vegetables! They should look like they do in the photo above.

4. If you burn the vegetables, go have a margarita and some salty chips and salsa somewhere nice. Start over with the salsa later.

5. Put the hot dry-roasted vegetables in the bowl and cover with the lid. Let it all sit for 10 minutes or longer, till cool enough to handle.

6. Peel the garlic and shallots/onion.

7. Cut the stem off the serrano pepper and de-seed if you want a mild salsa. I usually halve the pepper lengthwise, and de-seed one half, leave the seeds in the other half because I like a bit of smoky heat.

8. Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, and scoop out the flesh.

9. Blend everything including the roasted vegetables, avocado, cilantro, lime juice, and salt.

10. Blend till the salsa is smooth, not chunky.

11. Adjust to taste... as more lime juice or salt.

12. If you want it spicier, blend in another roasted serrano or half of a raw serrano. Definitely not cayenne or any other dried powdered chile.

Notes:

1. Lemon instead of lime will do in a pinch but lime will give it the fresh tartness rather than the touch of sweetness that lemon imparts to foods.

2. It'll still be delicious so go ahead and use that lemon because you're out of limes.