Thank you for a great Carmel Winter Farmers Market season! We will see you beginning on May 4th at the Carmel Farmers Market and the Fishers Farmers Market!

Ranch Dip or Dressing

by Emily Becker
While bottled salad dressing certainly has its merits (convenience!), I have always been drawn to the idea of making my own at home.  I have tried several varieties over the years, some great and a few that make me want to stick to the store-bought options.  This summer, I had a bottle of ranch that had just a smidgen left in it; knowing that it would soon be empty, I knew this would be a perfect time to kick the bottle for good.  The next time we had salad, I pulled out a few recipes to quickly consider and compare and settled upon the one below.  I have made it several times since then, and I think it will be a keeper.  

Ingredients
  • 1/2 c sour cream (plain yogurt/Greek yogurt also work well in place of the sour cream)
  • 1/4 c mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp each of dried dill, granulated garlic, and onion powder (helpful note below with the onion powder)
  • ~1/4 tsp each of dried parsley, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 
  • 1-2 TBSP buttermilk (if you are making a dressing, rather than a dip, add a few extra splashes until the desired consistency is reached, being sure to mix in between each addition)
Directions 
In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.  Once mixed, taste, and add any additional salt or black pepper as needed.  Chill and serve.

Note on the onion powder: due to its hygroscopic nature (or, tendency to absorb moisture; a term I actually remember from my food science days), my onion powder is always hard-as-a-rock clumpy.  I used to try and break up the clumps, rather unsuccessfully, with a fork and then one day had an 'aha' moment--I now use my microplane to grate the clumps into the soft, powdery texture it was intended to be.  

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