Vinegared dishes in Japan are called sunomono as su means vinegar in Japanese. Sunomono has a light, clean taste and goes with many types of dishes. Try this dressing on finely sliced cucumbers (get out the mandoline), a bit of daikon (Japanese radish), scallions and carrots.  If you want to be adventurous, put few tiny raw scallops and a slice of raw salmon, along with a little dollop of crab meat (steam these if you’re squeamish). Then sprinkle with sesame seeds.  This recipe is from a fabulous web site, www.edibleparadise.com and was contributed by Chef Andrew Cohen,

Chef Andrew has provided a dashi recipe at Edible Paradise.  Dashi is the stock used in Japanese cuisine.  It’s made with kelp and bonito flakes, all available at Asian markets. Instant dashi powder is also available at stores. Use it if you are time-limited. Usually, about 1 tsp of dashi powder is used for 3 to 5 cups of water. Just follow the instructions on the package.

Thousand Island dressing is always my first choice when eating salads with avocado or  eggs.  To really dress it up, add some shrimp on top of your salad and presto, it becomes dinner. Use low or no-fat mayonnaise for a healthier choice.

INGREDIENTS

Mayonnaise

Ketchup

2 large heaping spoonfuls of sweet pickle relish

2 large spoonfuls of Worcestershire sauce
2 large heaping spoonfuls finely chopped green pepper
2 large spoonfuls of finely chopped onion
1 small spoonful of  paprika

2 dashes of salt

1 dash of pepper

DIRECTIONS

Mayonnaise to the oil blue line

Ketchup to the top blue vinegar line

Add sweet pickle, Worcestershire, paprika, green pepper & fine onion

Salt & Pepper

Shake vigorously in the SaladSuccess Shaker ^TM

Due to the thickness of the dressing and the ingredients, you’ll need to spoon this dressing on to your salad.

For a change of pace, replace green pepper and onion with chopped celery & parsley.

INGREDIENTS

Sour Cream

Mayonnaise

Catsup or Chili Sauce

2 spoonfuls of finely grated Horseradish

4 spoonfuls of Caviar – if you have some on hand

2 spoonfuls of Worcestershire sauce

3 dashes of Tabasco

1 minced Kosher Pickle

1 stalk of minced Green Onion

½ spoonful of Sugar

Salt & Pepper

Paprika

DIRECTIONS

Sour Cream to the 1/3 orange line of SaladSuccess  Shaker

Mayonnaise to the 2/3 orange line

Catsup or Chili Sauce to the top orange line

Add horseradish, caviar, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, pickle, green onion, and sugar

Salt & Pepper to taste

Shake vigorously in the SaladSuccess Shaker

Arrange salad, pour dressing on the greens, and add paprika.

INGREDIENTS

Buttermilk

Sour cream

Mayonnaise

1/4 lb. of Bleu cheese – crumbled

White wine vinegar or any white vinegar such as champagne

Level spoonful of sugar

1 clove of pressed or finely chopped garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Buttermilk to the 1/3 orange line of SaladSuccess Shaker

Sour cream to the 2/3 orange line

Mayonnaise to the top orange line

Add 3 spoonfuls of vinegar

Add spoonful of sugar

Add blue cheese and garlic*

Salt & pepper to taste

Shake vigorously in the SaladSuccess Shaker

Unscrew SaladSuccess top and pour enough dressing over bed of greens.

*If you want this dressing to be more flexible (you can use it as a base for other herbs and cheeses), shake the dressing up (with salt & pepper)  BEFORE ADDING THE BLEU CHEESE & GARLIC, pour enough dressing to the bottom of the salad bowl and then mix in the bleu cheese and garlic. Place greens in the bowl, and let the salad rest until serving time.

Ingredients

3 large English Cucumbers – You can use any cucumbers, but if they have large seeds, cut them out.

1 Cup of Yogurt – Greek yogurt is the best, but recently I tried Nancy’s Low Fat Yogurt and it was excellent.   Dannon’s no-fat was a “thumbs down”! Nasty texture.

1 large clove of garlic finely chopped or pressed

5 large sprigs of dill finely chopped

Couple dashes of pepper

Directions

Finely slice the cucumbers – sweat them if necessary

Place in a large bowl

Add yogurt, garlic, dill, pepper

Mix well

Serve with pita bread or chips as a dip.  I love it with the pepper lamb bits I buy at Trader Joe’s or when I make a leg of lamb with rosemary, garlic and anchovies.  Side dish is rice cooked in chicken bullion and curry powder (1.2 a tsp.).

Hint - When I am using this as a dip, I use the shredder attachment of my food processor.  After the cucumbers have sweated, I chop them up as finely as possible.

Suzanne likes to eat this with naan, a Persian-Indian bread. I like it on top of a bed of spinach with mangos and jicama for crunch.  Also tossing some mint or toasted almonds on the salad would be wonderful. To turn it into a meal, add grilled chicken, tofu or shrimp.

Ingredients

coconut milk – I prefer light

yogurt  - I use low fat

2 limes

Spoonful of soy sauce

½ Spoonful of curry powder

Dash of cayenne pepper

Directions

Coconut milk to the 2/3 orange line

Yogurt to the top orange line

Add juice of 2 limes, soy sauce, curry powder and cayenne

Shake vigorously

Adapted from Recipezaar, Pink Cherry Blossom,  November 19, 2006

Ingredients

• Oil – olive or walnut
• Rice Wine Vinegar
• Plain yogurt
• Orange Zest
• Juice from 1/2 orange
• 1 tsp. of Dijon mustard
• Salt
• Pepper

Instructions

• Oil to the 1/3 line
• Add Vinegar to the 2/3 line
• Add yogurt to the top orange line
• Tsp of Dijon mustard
• Add orange or lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Shake vigorously