Babies don’t come with a handbook, but motherhood certainly comes will a million competing ideas of how to “do it right,” especially when it comes to feeding. The good news is that you’re doing way better than you think, even if you think you’re doing an awesome job (because you are!). The even better news is that being a great family cook is simpler than you think, you just need to learn the ropes.
My “Family Cooking School” series is about helping you master a few basics across my 4′s P’s of family cooking—planning, pantry, prepping, and parenting—so that you can move from pre-baby cooking (or non-cooking!) to family cooking.
One of the most important family cooking skills is knowing how to make a good dressing. I know what you're thinking: who needs dressing when my kid barely eats salad? The food nerd in me wants you know that your child can learn to love salad. By 7 or so (even earlier), lots of kids have reconciled with the leafy greens that freaked them out as toddlers, but exposure is key. That means you have to serve salad.
That aside, a good vinaigrette is so much more than salad dressing. It can dress pasta and grains, give flavor to steamed or roasted veggies, be mixed in with mayo to make a yummy sandwich spread, be used to to baste meats, served as a dipping sauce, and so much more.
A good dressing is worth its weight in gold. Now, how to make it.
The process is simple:
(more after the jump)
Babies don’t come with a handbook, but motherhood certainly comes will a million competing ideas of how to “do it right,” especially when it comes to feeding. The good news is that you’re doing way better than you think, even if you think you’re doing an awesome job (because you are!). The even better news is that being a great family cook is simpler than you think, you just need to learn the ropes.
My “Family Cooking School” series is about helping you master a few basics across my 4′s P’s of family cooking—planning, pantry, prepping, and parenting—so that you can move from pre-baby cooking (or non-cooking!) to family cooking.
One of the most important family cooking skills is knowing how to make a good dressing. I know what you're thinking: who needs dressing when my kid barely eats salad? The food nerd in me wants you know that your child can learn to love salad. By 7 or so (even earlier), lots of kids have reconciled with the leafy greens that freaked them out as toddlers, but exposure is key. That means you have to serve salad.
That aside, a good vinaigrette is so much more than salad dressing. It can dress pasta and grains, give flavor to steamed or roasted veggies, be mixed in with mayo to make a yummy sandwich spread, be used to to baste meats, served as a dipping sauce, and so much more.
A good dressing is worth its weight in gold. Now, how to make it.
The process is simple:
(more after the jump)