Kim's Favorite Salad Dressing

We have a big salad for lunch almost every day, and of course I make my own salad dressings. Rick prefers the creamy-nutty-cheesy dressings, but I like to keep it a little lighter, so I keep this one on hand all the time. Use a good Dijon mustard, like Annie's organic, which is my favorite. In my opinion, Dijon mustard is God's gift to salad dressing. This dressing is really pretty, and extra delicious, if you add a handful of fresh basil to the blend. Wish I had some for this batch.

Kim's Favorite Salad Dressing

1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup walnuts
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 T tamari
2 T dijon mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (or other vinegar)
juice of 1 lemon
1 T maple syrup (or 2-3 dates, soaked in water until soft)
1 cup water
1/2 - 1 cup fresh basil - optional

Throw everything into the blender, and buzz it up. This keeps at least a week in the fridge, probably quite a bit longer, but we use it up that fast.

Variation: To lighten this up even more, and change up the flavor, leave out the walnuts, and add 2 T wakame flakes (seaweed), and 1 tsp ume plum paste. The wakame will soften as it soaks in the dressing for a while.