Frugal Foodie Friday: Last summer began my tradition of the giant green salad at lunch. And though I occasionally opted for warm meals in the winter months, the daily salad has held its ground. Of course, fresh salads are so much more exciting in the summer, with an abundance of raw-friendly produce at hand. Bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, the list goes on. But really, I must confess that the entire salad is really just my canvas for experimenting with homemade salad dressings. New ideas come up, some delicious, some just okay, but a few go down in the books as classics, like this Maple-Miso Salad Dressing.

Working to satiate my husband's craving for a good Asian salad dressing, I whipped this one up last August, and we have been enjoying it ever since ...

Mellow Maple-Miso Salad Dressing

Recipe by Alisa Fleming, author of Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook. Originally posted to her personal blog, One Frugal Foodie. This recipe is Vegan, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Low-Fat, Free of Refined Sugars, and optionally Gluten-Free.

Every miso dressing recipe I try is either too bland, too salty, or just somehow off, but this blend hit my taste buds just right. See my notes that follow the recipe for some tips on the ingredients used.

• 1/4 Cup Mellow Miso (such as a mild white soy miso or a barley miso)
• 1/4 Cup + 2 Teaspoons Rice Vinegar
• 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce or Wheat-Free Tamari (for gluten-free)
• 2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
• 2 Teaspoons Sesame Oil
• 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger Powder

Place all ingredients in a bowl, and whisk until smooth. Alternately, you can place the ingredients in a blender and quickly puree until smooth.

Yields roughly 3/4 cup

Ingredient Notes:

Ginger and Garlic are two of my favorite ingredients, but you may have noticed that most of my salad dressing recipes call for the ground / powdered form rather than fresh varieties. There are several reasons for this. One is that my husband can’t take the pungency of fresh (raw) garlic and ginger. Another is that I tend to whip up salad dressings on the fly, and like recipes that require no chopping, just measure and mix. Finally, I don’t always have the fresh stuff on hand! If you prefer to use fresh, go for it. I think about 1 T of fresh minced or crushed ginger should work nicely.

Maple Syrup is such a precious commodity these days, so I rarely use more than a couple of tablespoons in a recipe, which is really all you need to get its full flavor benefit. Since you are using just a bit, don’t skimp, buy pure maple syrup, not imitation!

Miso is sold in the refrigerated section. It is readily available in natural food stores and Asian markets, but these days you can probably even locate it in the mega-marts. It will range in price, but I usually go for one of the less expensive versions for around $3 to $4 a tub. The one I used is soy-based, but for a similar taste, you can choose barley miso or chickpea miso, which is a bit sweeter.