04/15/2016
Thursday with Chef Denise in the ZNatural Kitchen
Hi, Everyone!
Chef Denise here! I am the Chef/Holistic health coach at ZNatural Foods. Every other Thursday I will be presenting ways to incorporate our amazing products into your daily meals. As a professional chef, I get very excited about how these products enhance flavor and nutrient value. We have a collection of 20 or so products that are completely off the charts! We will explore their potential here. They are easy and very economical to use!
More than just recipes, I hope to teach some techniques on which you can create your own recipes. Today is on salad dressing so we will be discussing making an emulsion.
Salad dressings are basic emulsion sauces that combine water and oil with an emulsifier. The emulsifier can be many different ingredients. The emulsifier holds the fat molecules suspended in the watery vinegar. This is achieved by adding the ingredients in the proper order and whisking or blending. Dressing can make the salad delicious and more importantly it can fortify the nutrient density of your meal through which ingredients you choose to emulsify. So let’s begin with the ingredients. I only use raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon, extra virgin cold pressed olive oil or grape seed oil generally. I also use coconut oil, as well as, clean melted lard on salads. The ratio of fat to vinegar or acid is 3 to 1 with an emulsifier. In this case, the emulsifier will be one or more of our powders. This is a simple recipe and will be enough for one large salad or two small salads. This can also be prepared in large batches and kept in the refrigerator for your convenience.
Italian Dressing
I tbs apple cider vinegar
3 tbs of EVOO
¼ tsp of garlic powder
¼ tsp of onion powder
¼ tsp of Italian herb blend
1 tsp of nutritional yeast flakes
1 tsp water
Himalayan salt and pepper to taste.
Combine the vinegar with the onion, garlic, herbs and yeast, add 1 tsp of water, whisk well adding the olive oil slowly while whisking. Salt and pepper to taste.
I would like to take the time here and talk about a really great ingredient: Piperine. You can add an ⅛ tsp to this and all recipes and you will get a beautiful heat without any overbearing flavor. Piperine will also enhance the bioavailability of anything, so do not take with medication except under the supervision of a doctor. The rest of us can freely enjoy this added benefit. You absorb much more nutrients with piperine added. If you don’t know it, you need to discover it. It has great nutritional and culinary applications!
Creamy Coconut/Ginger Dressing
1 tbs of fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 tbs of coconut oil liquid
½ tsp ginger powder
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
1 tbs dried coconut milk powder
1 tbs of lightly toasted sesame
Combine the lemon juice, water ginger, garlic, onion, and coconut milk whisking as you add the coconut oil. Salt and pepper to taste, add the sesame. You will have a beautiful creamy white coconut emulsion dressing.
A variation on this would be the same recipe and adding 1 tbs of our mango juice powder for a mango/ coconut party.This is a very stable emulsion and can be used like a mayonnaise as well. And if you like heat, try piperine!.
A few little tips, if you want either of these dressings stronger in garlic, onion, or ginger: add a little water with the extra powder, therefore, keeping the vinegar/ oil ratio and the texture smooth and creamy. Also, add your favorite fresh minced herbs.
There are many more possible options with our products. So start eating well and having some wholesome fun cooking and finding the flavors you love to eat!
We will continue with emulsions next time, and in the meantime, if you have any questions feel free to ask me anything. Thank you and I hope you have enjoyed this post!
