Conference turris::cooks

	Hi Nancy,

	I love vinegar so I just put salt, pepper, garlic powder, and
	vinegar on my salads.  Very tangy but really good.  I've used
	both balsamic and red wine vinegar.  Usually I shake the
	spices up with the vinegar in a cruet so that I get a more
	uniform taste (as opposed to shaking the spices directly
	on my salad which tends to cause some parts of the salad to
	be quite salty).

	Karen

    YOGURT mixed with herbs is delicious...
    
    Ana
    

    Pritikin has something out.  I know, it's one of those bottled
    dressings, but you can be assured that it's got ZERO fat, cholesterol, 
    oil, etc... .  Pritikin is quite uncompromising when it comes to fat.
    
    There are some virtually non-fat mayonaise you can use to get that
    *creamy* effect.  But non-fat mayonaise is like music without sound.
    But I suppose if you added herbs and spices, it probably wouldn;t be
    too bad.
    
    .2 sounds interesting, although you should select the non-fat yogurt if
    that's what you want.  .1 osunds a bit "Spartan" but I'd be willing to
    try it if I diluted the vinegar down with some wine ;-)
    
    -dave 

      Forgot to mention in my vinegar note... 

	I also put Red Hot Pepper Sauce on my salad.  I don't do this
	straight though but instead with some creamy non fat salad
	dressing that I hate.... 

	Salsa and non fat plain yogurt is also pretty good!

	Karen

You can do a lot by starting with a bottled dressing, and adding your own
spices.  It gives you a good textured base to start with.  Of course, that only
works if the bottled stuff is LACKING in flavor, but not if it tastes bad.

I've also used fat free cottage cheese blended, or fat free sour cream as the
base of dressings.  

On the subject of vinegars, rice vinegar is much milder than
wine/cider/distilled vinegar, and does not need to be cut as much.  Balsamic
vinegar is flavorful enough all by itself, and adding a little bit of grated
hard cheese and black pepper makes a great dressing.

The main thing to remember is that you will not be able to make a palatable fat
free replacement for oil & vinegar, or blue cheese, or thousand island...  If
you try, the comparison will always get you.  All of those dressing require
large amounts of fat to convey the flavor and mouth-feel that makes them what
they are.  You need to approach the project from the point of view of creating a
new fat free salad dressing that tastes good.

    If you like flavored vinegars at all, a salad made with
    spinach, sliced mushrooms, raisens and mandarin oranges
    is delicious with just a splash of raspberry vinegar.  
    That is really a no fat salad.  I
    have a recipe for making my own raspberry vinegar, and it
    is much sweeter and lighter than the bottled kind you find
    in stores.  If you would like, I can post it.  

    Please post your note for your raspberry vinegar.
    
    Thanks,
    cj
         

  3583  BOSTON::DAGOSTINOS   29-JUL-1992     3  Raspberry Vinegar Questions
  3525  ELMAGO::AHACHE        7-MAY-1992     5  Raspberry vinegar?
  3403   FORUM::ANDERSON      6-JAN-1992    21  VINEGAR: Garlic Vinegar
  3112  ABACUS::ALBERT        2-JUL-1991    12  VINEGAR: Raspberry Vinegar
  1212   VIDEO::CORLISS      15-JUN-1988     6  VINEGAR: Balsamic Vinegar
   985  JACKAL::CARROLL      10-FEB-1988     6  Vinegar
   746  PNEUMA::WILSON        2-OCT-1987     3  Wine Vinegar Cooking
   739  JETSAM::EYRING       30-SEP-1987    21  herb vinegar?

    Not to mention the fact that there are already notes on salad
    dressings.  Please, remember to search the directories in Note 5
    and do a DIR/TITLE= before you post a new note!
    
       62  PINION::HACHE        17-DEC-1991    50  Salad Dressings
      3326  GIDDAY::DOM          14-NOV-1991     4  DRESSING: Ranch Dressing
      3346  UBOHUB::KINGSTON_D   25-NOV-1991     8  DRESSING: Paul Newman's French
      3548  PCOJCT::LOCOVARE     18-JUN-1992     3  DRESSING: Ginger Salad Dressing
    
    

    and before anyone else asks, THE recipe for raspberry vinegar
    which is referenced in many places in this notes file is in
    35.4.
    
    ed

    When I'm in a rush, I mix about a cup of low (not non) fat yogurt with
    1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and a healthy sprinkling of Italian
    herbs, salt and fresh ground pepper.  Works for me.
    
    When I'm in even more of a rush (usually) I like Weight Watcher's
    Caeser non-fat dressing the best.
    
    D!

    I got this recipe from a Betty Crocker Cookbook.  I like it better
    than the one in 35.4
    
    Raspberry Vinegar
    
    Press 1 package (10 ounces) frozen raspberries, thawed, through
    strainer to measure 3/4 cup juice.  Heat raspberry juice, 3 cups
    vinegar and 1 cup sugar to boiling, stirring frequently.  Boil and stir
    1 minute; cool.  Pour into bottles; cover tightly.  Use in salad
    dressings and marinades.  1 quart raspberry vinegar; 20 calories per
    tablespoon.
    
    Hope you like this one.
    
    Sheila

    If you are in the greater maynard area, I was at Idlewilde Farm in
    Acton today and they have a tremendous selection of non-fat salad
    dressings.
    
    Jane