Salad Greens with Orange Balsamic Dressing

My mother-in-law says that her son - my Hubby can "sleep on a bed of vegetables." (That's my translation from Chinese.) She meant this figuratively, of course. I found this to be true early in our marriage. Hubby can eat a meal without meat (you know, the usual viand or ulam of chicken or beef or pork or fish...) Hubby can eat a meal even without rice (that is, if I serve him pasta, or noodles, or bread). Hubby can eat a meal without soup. But he will complain if I serve him a meal without vegetables. He just has to see greens on his table during meals.

I am happy our kids learned to eat veggies at an early age. And we didn't have to force them to learn. I think this came naturally as we have veggies on our table everyday.

Salad greens is a common veggie we have. We eat them raw, of course, drizzled with homemade dressings. Our current favorite green is lollo rosso lettuce. But sometimes, we have romaine. Depends on what's available fresh... Sometimes we add cucumber, onions, tomatoes. Sometimes we add fruits such as apples, or oranges or mangoes or grapes. The possibilities are endless. What is important is that I create a variety of flavors at every meal.


150 gms lettuce greens
a handful of grapes
a handful of cherry tomatoes
an orange, peeled, segmented
1 white onion, sliced

Wash all of these very well, and drain all the water. Arrange on serving plates. Meanwhile, prepare the dressing.



Orange Balamic Dressing

1/8 t salt
1/4 c orange juice (I use freshly squeezed orange juice)
2 T Balsamic vinegar
1 T Dijon mustard
1 1/2 t olive oil
1/4 t pepper

Mix all the dressing ingredients well. Either by using a fork, or a hand mixer, or shake them in a clean bottle, etc. Drizzle over the salad greens or serve on the side.


This is a delicious, both sweet and tart dressing that is becoming our favorite. All natural and homemade with nutritious ingredients.


Sharing these healthy salad greens with FIC: Food in Color with your personal favorite color as this month's theme. Actually, this is the family's favorite food color - Green! FIC food event is launched by Sunshine Mom of Tongue Ticklers and hosted this month at Tasty Curry Leaf. Check out her blog first week of June for tasty and colorful dishes.


Also sharing these healthy salad greens with SWC - Cooking with Greens, hosted by Sowmya of Creative Saga. Check out her blog after June 6 for the round-up of healthy and delicious green dishes. As Sowmya had said, it is very important that we have our cup of greens daily. I know this dish is not exactly cooked. But greens are better served raw! Then you will be able to get the full benefits of the nutrients present in green food.

Weekend Wokking : Coconuts

It is Weekend Wokking time once again! This is a monthly food event launched by Wandering Chopsticks to celebrate different ways we can cook one ingredient. The ingredient of the month is something close to my heart - and to every Filipino's heart - the wonderful COCONUT! Do you know that the Philippines is the second largest coconut producer in the world? Thank you Marija for choosing the versatile coconut!


In the Philippines, the coconut is commonly given the title "Tree of Life." It its theorized that if you were to become stranded on a desert island populated by palm trees, you could survive purely on the tree and coconut alone, as the coconut provides all of the required natural properties for survival.

Nearly all the parts of a coconut tree is useful. The juice of the nut can be used for drinking. In fact, coconut water contains sugar, fiber, proteins, anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals. The water alone is a highly nutritious food source. The meat is edible - raw or cooked. The shell of the nut can be used to make musical instruments, or beautiful decorations, buttons or even jewelries! The husk and its fibers are used to make hemp ropes, or can be used for compost, or made into charcoal. The sap derived from the tree are made into wines (tuba). The heart of the palm is an edible delicacy. The leaves are cleaned and used to wrap food in cooking - broiling or steaming. They also provide materials for making baskets. Coconut oil is getting popularity as medicine. The roots were traditionally used as medicine as well. The trunks can be used as bridges, furnitures, or even buildings. Do you know we have a Coconut Palace here in Manila? It is an entire mansion made from coconut trees alone!

And I have only scratched the surface of the many uses of the coconut...


Anyway, since the coconut is quite abundant here. It is used in our daily cooking. Both the meat and the milk extracted are used - not just the main meals but for desserts as well. I am featuring two recipes using Coconut cream/milk for Weekend Wokking. For more information on Coconut milk and cream, please click on my first featured recipe the Maja Blanca Salad.

Maja Blanca Salad

Many Filipino desserts usually use the fresh coconut meat. We make our fruits salad with the meat. Or we add them to jellies. But this dessert uses coconut milk for a change. It is very easy to prepare. This dessert makes a good meal-ender. It satisfies our sweet-tooth without being cloyingly sweet.

Spicy Minced Pork with Long Beans

Many dishes are prepared using coconut cream/coconut milk. This dish is a simple but yummy example. Coconut cream/milk is quite versatile because we can add them to a variety of meat, fish, seafood and vegetables dishes. And the resulting dishes are quite flavorful because we usually add chillies and fish paste.



This is my entry to the Weekend Wokking event, featuring the Coconut. This month's host is Ivy of Precious Pea. Please check her cute, adorable site on Wednesday, Oct 1, for the round-up, and for the next secret ingredient. I am particularly excited for the next ingredient because next month's host will be... ME! Yay!

To see the previous round-ups and the different ways we cooked the other special ingredients, please check out the listing here.

Snow Pea Sprouts Two Ways: A Stir Fry and A Salad

Snow Pea Sprouts are the tender, new, young shoots of the snow pea plant. It is known as Dou Miao in other parts of Asia. Maybe in your countries, this is a common ingredient. But here in Asia, it is considered a delicacy primarily because it is not always available even in the advanced Asian countries like Hong Kong.

In all my life, I have never seen Snow Pea Sprouts - the real ones, here in the Philippines. The only times we get to taste this delicious veggie is when we go to Hong Kong in winter, around December, January and February. It is also not available year-round there. So, we do not get to taste it if we go to Hong Kong during other months.

You can imagine my scream of delight when I found several packs of this snow pea sprouts being sold at Santi's Deli. Did I mention that this is my favorite, ultra-favorite veggie? So, you can now imagine that my scream is a little louder than a quiet scream :) Snow pea sprouts available locally? Wow! Santi's is an upscale deli store that sells mostly imported produce. It has several branches around Metro Manila, mostly in upscale villages and suburbs. I emphasize the word "upscale" because, well, as you guessed it, their food prices are also "upscale."

I am not a regular customer of the place, but I wanted to buy some German sausages for a German missionary couple who were going to share their experiences (as missionaries to the Philippines) for the Missions Night of our Couples@Work Fellowship. I thought giving them food from their home would give them comfort and familiar enjoyment that they do not usually have. This German lady friend is also the one I mentioned in a previous post, she was the one who taught me how to make Quiche. :)

Back to my Snow Pea Sprouts. I only bought a pack. The sprouts from Hong Kong have more leaves than stem - more greens than whites. The ones I got here have smaller leaves. Would they taste the same? I was not sure if they are still tender, how long have these greens stayed on the store's shelf? I know after three days storage life, these sprouts would not be tender anymore. As, I said, this is an upscale store. How many people would deliberately buy an expensive pack of snow pea sprouts when they can buy mung bean sprouts at ninety percent less the price? Probably, just crazy old me, craving for a taste in my memory... :)

I have to maximize my very expensive sprouts, so I prepared them two ways. One is a simple stir-fry. This is very easy to do, and it brings out the delicate flavor of the snow pea sprouts.



100 gms snow pea sprouts
6 T minced garlic
1 T soaked dried shrimps (hebi), drained, optional
soy sauce to taste
4 T cooking oil
sprinkling of pepper powder


1. Heat up the oil in a wok or skillet. Add in the garlic and saute until fragrant but not burnt.

2. Add in the softened dried shrimps. Stir for a while. Add in the snow pea sprouts. Mix for a little while (just a few seconds!), add in soy sauce to taste. Turn off heat as soon as the greens are starting to wilt. Do not overcook the veggies. Sprinkle with some ground pepper if preferred.





Snow Pea Sprouts are also delicious raw. So I added them to sliced cucumber, sliced onions, minced garlic. I made some Creamy Soy Ginger Dressing, but this time, I added some chopped cilantro.

These sprouts are also yummy, though of different variety from those I was used to. They have a delicate flavor, with a hint of nutty-ness.

Why should we eat more of snow pea sprouts? Because they are high in protein and provide a good source of calcium vitamin B1, C, and niacin. If only they are less expensive...



Sharing these delicate snow pea sprouts with the Weekend Herb Blogging community. This foodie event was launched by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen to feature herbs and unique plant ingredients around the world and the dishes we prepare using these ingredients. This week's host is Gretchen of Canela and Comino. She features interesting sites and food from Peru. To see last week's yummy round-up, please click on Ulricke of Kutchenlatain.

Greek Salad

I think this is one of the easiest salad to prepare, (Look ma! No cooking required!) It is one of the most flavorful and one of the healthiest, too! Aside from the vegetables, it has olives and olive oil. Olives and olive oil are known to be high in monosaturated fat (good for you!), iron, vitamin E and dietary fiber.

This is also a no-recipe salad; meaning, there's no specific measurement for each specific ingredient. You can add in or lessen each type of vegetable, depending on what you have available or depending on what you prefer to eat. As long as the basic ingredients are there, of course, that identifies it as "Greek." Basic ingredients include feta cheese, the balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing, oregano.

Purists prefer this salad to have no lettuce of whatever kind. So, I made the original version first. (See the first photo above.) But I know my family. Salad is not a salad for them if they see no "greens" in their salad. So I had to add some romaine lettuce. (See photo below.)

For this version of Greek salad, I used:

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, cubed
4 large tomatoes, cubed
1 large onion, cubed
1 green bell pepper, seeded, cubed
several pitted black olives (or green olives, if preferred)
a handful of romaine lettuce, cut to bite sized-pieces
250 gms marinated feta cheese
several fresh oregano leaves
olive oil
balsamic vinegar

1. Wash all vegetables very well and cube or cut, according to desired serving size.

2. Arrange the romaine lettuce on the bottom of the salad plate. Add the rest of the vegetables on top of the lettuce. Top with the olives and feta cheese and oregano leaves.

3. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Serve as is.


This is one of Hubby's favorite salad. It is colorful, tasty and heart-healthy.

However, I got a mild surprise when I learned from a friend that the balsamic vinegars commercially available are not the real balsamic vinegar. Even if they come labelled from Modena. Accordingly, the real balsamic vinegar, which are made from white grapes that are aged for many, many years, are labelled "Traditional." This long fermentation or aging process then produces the "musk" and concentrates the flavor. However, the commercial ones we have here are simply oridnary wine vinegars with added coloring and sugar! Gasp! So, unless I source my balsamic vinegar elsewhere, I will not be able to taste the real balsamic vinegar... :(

Sweet Potato Greens (Camote Tops) Salad

Many people are familiar with sweet potatoes - the tuber we use for cooking, baking or making desserts. But do you know that the leaves of the sweet potato plant can be eaten as well? The leaves are not only edible but nutritious as well. Its nutritional content is said to be comparable to the spinach. Sweet potato leaves contain dietary fiber, lipid, and essential minerals and nutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, sulfur, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, aluminum and boron. They are also important sources of vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and ascorbic acid. The leaves are high in protein - making it a perfect dish for vegetarians.

Sweet potato tops are excellent sources of antioxidants, mainly polyphenolics, which may protect the human body from many diseases including cancer and cardiovascular diseases. There are also many anecdotal testimonies that the sweet potato tops are the cure for dengue fever (infammatory, hemmoragic fever caused by a specie of mosquito common in Asia). Information here.

Here in the Philippines, we call the leaves Talbos ng Camote or Camote Tops. Camote is the Tagalog word for sweet potatoes, and Tops, well, because the leaves grown on top! We usually use the leaves for soups and salad. It is an easy plant to grow. It can be harvested several times a year. It is also abundant in all markets and groceries.




1 bunch (around 300 gms) Sweet potato (Camote) Tops, washed, cut into bite sized pieces
4 large tomatoes, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1/3 C rice vinegar (I used brown rice vinegar)
1 T sugar (or more if you prefer a bit sweeter taste)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Blanch the leaves in boiling water. Drain. Immerse in cold water bath. Drain again.

2. Mix the rice vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper together.

3. Arrange the sweet potato leaves on a platter. Top with tomatoes and onions. Drizzle with the vinegar-sugar mixture.


This is the basic salad recipe. For variation, we can add fruits such as mangoes, avocadoes or watermelon cubes.


This highly nutritious, absolutely yummy, totally vegetarian dish is my entry to the Healthy Cooking foodie event. Head over to Mansi's Fun and Food blog to learn more healthy and yummy recipes. After all, we have to eat well in order to live well.

Steamed Kang Kong (Water Spinach) with Mango Salsa

This salad is highly recommended for everyone. It has vegetable - the KangKong. It has fruit - the mango. It is tasty. It is healthy. There is something special about the pairing of these two ingredients. The kangkong is considered a poor-man's vegetable while the mango is considered the queen of Philippine fruits!

The vegetable is known by many names : Water Spinach, Swamp Cabbage, Eng Tsai (Hokkian), KongXinCai (Mandarin Chinese), KangKong (Filipino), KangKung (Indonesian, Malay)...

The Kang Kong is a popular vegetable here in Asia, primarily because it flourishes naturally in moist watery areas and does not need much care. It is also one of the cheapest vegetable around so it is used extensively in cooking. Kang Kong is usually stir fried in shrimp paste, garlic and chili; or to make a vegetarian dish, it can be stir-fried with fermented tofu. Either way, stir-fried kang kong can already be a stand-alone flavorful vegetable dish paired with a steaming bowl of rice. It can be added to soups like the Sinigang. It can be added to noodles. It can be made into a salad like this recipe.

The fruit - the mango - the queen of Philippine fruits - is fortunately available year-round in this tropical country, though it is particularly abundant in summer. It is one of our family's favorite fruits. There is something wonderfully intoxicating about the aroma of a ripe mango. And the sweet taste of a ripe mango is incomparbale to other fruits. When buying sweet mangoes, make sure the color is even throughout the flesh, and the part near where the stem was broken off should smell sweet.


3/4 C diced ripe mangoes (or use a melon baller to make round mango bites)
1 C diced, seeded tomatoes
1/4 C Chopped coriander
1/4 C brown rice vinegar (or white rice vinegar)
1 T sugar
1 and 1/4 t salt
dash of pepper
1 bunch (around 300 gms) Kangkong, cleaned, cut into bite-size pieces, steamed


1. In a medium bowl, gently mix mangoes, tomatoes and coriander.

2. In another bowl, combine vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour over the mango salsa, stirring lightly.

2. Arrange the steamed Kangkong on the serving plate. Spoon mango salsa over the Kangkong and serve.


You may chill the Kangkong with salsa for 10 minutes to make a cold salad. However, please serve the salad within an hour of preparation otherwise the mangoes will absorb the vinegar and lose their sweetness.


This is my first entry to the Monthly Mingle foodie event, hosted by Meeta of What's for Lunch Honey? This month's feature is the beautifully golden-yellow, wonderfully delicious, sweet ripe Mango.


With this entry, I want to focus on the versatility of the mango. The mango is not only used for savory sweets and desserts like cakes or tarts or ice creams. It can be used to enhance dishes (stir fried beef with mangoes, for example) and to make a salad like this one stand-out exceptionally. It is true. It was the mango bits in this salad that gave the flavor, aroma and sweetness to an otherwise blah dish.

Cucumber Salad with Creamy Soy-Ginger Dressing

Do you know cucumber is technically a fruit? Although it is widely considered as a vegetable. It is easy to like cucumbers. They are moist and crunchy at the same time. It has lots of vitamin C. It also contains a certain kind of nutrient that reduces swelling. So, it is true that if your eyes are tired and swollen, just slice up a couple of cucumbers and cover your eyes with them!

Cucumber also helps you cool down with its high water content. It also contains fiber to help your digestive system. When buying cucumbers, choose the firm ones with green color. Avoid the yellowing ones with dried up ends. Cucumbers can be eaten with their skin on. However, if you are concerned with the chemical pesticides or preservatives most vegetables are sprayed with, it is recommended that you peel the skin off.

Cucumber is best eaten raw, dipped in simple vinegar-chilli sauce or in a salad.

I got this delicious salad recipe from White on Rice Couple here. It is quite simple to make, a very refreshing side dish for a grilled or fried entree.

I followed the recipe to the letter except that I did not mince the garlic finely as White on Rice Couple did. I still wanted the texture and crunch of the garlic. I also did not have grapeseed oil on hand so I substituted canola oil.


2 pcs cucumbers, sliced thinly
1 large onion, sliced thinly

Dressing:
1 T sesame oil
2 T rice vinegar
2 T soy sauce
1/2 t sugar
1 T mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 T fresh grated ginger
1 t freshly ground pepper
1/4 C Canola oil

1. Slice cucumber and onion thinly. place in a plate with paper towels to blot out excess moisture. Remove paper towels.

2. Combine all ingredients for the dressing together.

3. Arrange cucumber and onion in a serving platter. Top with the mixed dressing.

Potato Salad

As CEOs of the kitchen, I am sure you are keenly aware that the cost of food is rising. This is a world-wide concern. Here in the Philippines, rice is our main staple on the table. And yes, the increase in the rice prices is enough to make our hearts palpitate and sweat even when we are not doing any heavy work-outs. What you read (and saw) in the news is true. Many of our people are lining up for government-subsidized rice. Otherwise, we have to pay almost double the price!

Mary Hunt of Everyday Cheapskates suggests we try potatoes. She said there are some who predict potatoes will emerge as the solution to world hunger. Potatoes will grow almost anywhere, require very little water and mature in just 50 days. They are nutritious, have only 5 percent of the fat content of wheat (provided they’re not loaded up with butter and sour cream). They also have one-fourth of the calories of bread and, when boiled, have more protein than corn and nearly twice the calcium, according to the Potato Center. They contain vitamin C, iron, potassium and zinc.

No wonder the United Nations named 2008 the International Year of the Potato, calling the vegetable a “hidden treasure.”

I saw some very nice potato marbles at the grocery and I could not resist the cute petite little balls. Is anyone out there like me? I do not know why I couldn't resist baby veggies. ie. baby bok choy, little potato marbles, baby spinach. Aside from the cuteness factor, I know the little ones taste better. Am I correct? Or do I just have a bias towards little stuffs?

Here is a simple Potato Salad recipe. The picture above was taken using natural light. The reason why it is yellow because I added mustard. I know many people don't like the taste of mustard. But I love the taste of mustard. If you do not like it, simply omit mustard from the recipe and you will still get a tasty salad. This will make a nice side-dish to a fish or meat entre.

1/2 Kilo potato marbles, washed very well

2 eggs, boiled

1 stalk celery, washed, chopped

2 T mustard

1/2 C fat-free mayonnaise

salt and pepper

1 stalk green onions, chopped, for garnish


1. Boil the potatoes in a pot of water for 15 minutes or until cooked. Drain.

2. Slice the potaotes in half (if you want bite-sized pieces). Slice the eggs.

3. Mix potatoes, eggs, celery, mustard and mayonnaise in a bowl.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Serve in individual platters. Garnish with chopped green onions.

This is my entry this week to the Weekend Herb Blogging Event where different herbs, vegetables, plants and produce are featured around the world. This event was launched by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen. This week's host is Wandering Chopsticks. To see last week's round-up, please check out Sweet Nick's.

Maja Blanca Salad

This is one of Daughter's favorite salad. That is because it has lots of sweet corn and she loves sweet corn. When I made a big batch and shared with the Couples@Work Fellowship people, it got good reviews. This dessert makes a good meal-ender. It satisfies our sweet-tooth without being cloyingly sweet. I got this recipe from a local food magazine. It is actually quite easy to make because it makes use of canned and ready-to-go ingredients.

1/3 C unflavored gelatin powder
2 (400ml) cans Coconut milk + water to make 5 C of liquid
1/2 C White sugar
1 can whole corn kernels, drained
1 C All-purpose cream
1/2 C Condensed milk

1. In a saucepan, disperse the gelatin in coconut milk and water. Let stand a few minutes to allow the gelatin to bloom. Add sugar. Cook over low heat until gelatin dissolves completely. You do not have to wait for it t boil.

2. Transfer to a container and chill until firm. Cut into half-inch cubes. Transfer to a large bowl. Pour in the corn.

3. Pour cream and condensed milk over the corn and gelatin mixture. Toss gently. Chill well before serving.

Contrary to previous studies, coconut, coconut oil and coconut milk are actually healthy. Once mistakenly believed to be unhealthy because of its high saturated fat content, it is now known that the fat in coconut oil is a unique and different from most all other fats and possesses many health giving properties. It is now gaining long overdue recognition as a nutritious health food. The Coconut is an anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral nut! For more information on the benefits of coconut, please visit the Coconut Research Center here.

Coconut milk is a sweet, milky white liquid we extract from the meat of a mature coconut. It should not be confused with coconut water (coconut juice), which is the naturally-occurring liquid found inside a coconut.

There are two grades of coconut milk: thick and thin. Thick coconut milk is what you get when you first squeeze grated coconut meat through cheesecloth. The squeezed coconut meat is then soaked in warm water and squeezed a second or third time for thin coconut milk. My mom would still use the old-fashioned way of squeezing coconut meat. It may sound daunting, but it is actually easy to do. However, I am quite comfortable in using the canned versions. For one thing, they keep well. The fresh one gets spoiled in a day. My mom however insists that freshly squeezed ones tastes better. I have to grudgingly agree. But the canned versions are a lifesaver to busy moms who does not really have time to squeeze a coconut. When using the canned version, I use Coconut Cream if I need the thick grade, such as in cooking curries. I use Coconut Milk for the thin grade. For this Maja Blanca dessert, I used the canned Coconut milk.

Maja Blanca is actually a pudding-like dessert made from coconut cream and corn. To learn more about the real Maja Blanca, please click MarketManila here, and Pinoy Cook here.

Tomato Basil Salad

This is such an excellent siding for steaks or grilled meat dishes. Choose the really nice fresh crunchy cherry tomatoes. I was surprised to find packs of fresh cherry tomatoes at SM hypermart, quite on the expensive side. But I bought several packs anyway. We love tomatoes!

2 C Cherry tomatoes, halved, rinsed, dried
1 white onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C basil leaves, washed, dried, chopped
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a bowl, put together the cherry tomatoes, white onions, garlic and basil leaves.

2. Drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Toss together.

3. Refrigerate for a while to allow the flavors to develop. Toss again before serving. Season to taste.

Japanese Salad Dressings

My original Bible Study cum Discipleship group decided to have a Japanese theme for our Christmas party this year. For potluck, somebody already volunteered Chicken Teriyaki. Another volunteered the ever-popular Tempura. Another is bringing California Maki. Still another volunteered the Cold Soba noodles. I was already running out of "popular" dishes to bring, so I did my search of Japanese recipes on the internet.

I decided to bring a vegetable dish to complement the carbohydrate and meat dishes. Hubby, by the way, also requested for a light salad dish. And when I searched the internet for a salad recipe, I was pleasantly surprised to find a variety of salad dressings available.

I just bought and washed and dried romaine lettuce, cleaned and sliced some cucumbers, salad tomatoes, white onions. Added some sliced crabsticks and grapes. Then made three dressings which I got from the about.com website. And everybody enjoyed these "home-made" dressings. Here are the recipes girls!

Creamy Sesame Salad Dressing

2 T ground white sesame seeds
1 t rice vinegar
1 t sesame oil
1 t sugar
1 t soy sauce
1 t grated onion
2 t mayonnaise

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Add mayonnaise as you like. This recipes makes 2 servings.


Wasabi Salad Dressing

1 T soy sauce
1 t wasabi paste
1/2 t sesame oil
3 T rice wine vinegar
1 T sugar

Whisk everything together. Cool dressing in the refrigerator until ready to serve. adjust amount of wasabi and sugar depending on your preference.



Sesame Salad Dressing

3 T rice wine vinegar
1 T sesame oil
1 T soy sauce
1 t sugar
1 t ground sesame seeds

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Makes 2 servings.



Note: The above recipes were the exact instructions from the About.com website. For the potluck, I made a big batch of each dressing and just adjusted the taste accordingly.

Next year, we agreed on Italian theme, so I better do my search ahead of time...