Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Coyote Mountain Ranch Dressing


Top notch vegan ranch dressing is hard to find.  Before I started making my own ranch dressing, I tried many store bought brands.  Nothing came close to the taste I was imagining, so I decided to experiment on my own.  Craig is the condiment king and ranch dressing fanatic, so this had to meet his expectations.  At first I used a base ranch dressing recipe and then added fresh ingredients to make it come alive.  Here’s the no sweat procedure:

Secret Tips to Making a Killer Ranch

1.        Start with a good base.  There is a variety of vegan mayos around.  Nasoya has Nayonaise.  Trader Joe’s has its store brand, Trader Joe’s Reduced Fat Mayonnaise “eggless” and “dairy-free”.  I personally prefer Follow Your Heart’s Vegenaise, which can get a little pricey.  I’m lucky I can get it directly from Follow Your Heart in the gallon size.  Better yet, you can make your own homemade vegan mayo.  I haven’t tried it yet.  I heard that the emulsifying process is where it can get tricky, you either get a nice creamy mayo or watery mayo. 

2.       You can start with about a cup of vegan mayo and add ½ tsp of onion powder and ½ tsp of garlic powder.  Then add salt and black pepper to taste.  I use some fresh herbs in mine, but dried will work too.  I like chopped parsley and dill.  Finally, add non-sweetened, non-dairy milk (i.e. soy milk, almond milk, etc.)  to get the consistency you like.  Let it sit for an hour, so the flavors can marry.  Taste it and see if it meets your expectations.  If not, play around with the ingredients. 

You can omit the non-dairy milk for a creamy go to sandwich spread.  See that wasn’t too hard and well worth the effort.  Stay tuned for more tips and recipes. 


Note:  I was taking my dogs for a hike in the mountains the other day and came across a coyote, so hence the name Coyote Mountain.  

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