Saturday, April 17, 2010

Pineapple Dip/ Salad Dressing



It was just a little over a year ago that I was ruminating over whether or not to buy a Blendtech 3HP blender. Everyone I knew who had one said they just could not live without theirs. I could not even imagine becoming so attached to an appliance and was really having a hard time with the thought of forking out so much money for a "blender." I finally decided to buy one just to see what all the hype was about. I can honestly say, now, that I would be miserable if I ever had to part with it. I use it at least once a day but usually twice (morning smoothie, evening soup, salad dressing, or dessert). The reason I bring this up is that the following recipe is soooo easy to throw together with a high power blender. If you want to try to make it in a regular blender I recommend soaking the seeds in orange juice along with the pineapple rings.


Pineapple Dip or Salad Dressing

5 rings unsweetened, dried pineapple
orange juice
2 ounces raw, unsalted sunflower seeds, hulled (just under a half cup)
2 Tb rice vinegar

24 hours in advance, place the pineapple rings in a small bowl. Pour in just enough organge juice to barely cover the rings. Cover and place in the fridge to allow the rings to soak up the juice. The next day there will be very little juice left (see below photo) and the rings will be nice and plump. Place the rings, remaining juice, sunflower seeds, and vinegar into your blender. Add 1/4 cup more orange juice and blend. (I use the whole juice cycle.) Add more orange juice to reach the desired consistecy. I ended up adding in 1/2 cup orange juice total in addition to the soaking juice. Serve as a dip for sliced fruit and/or lettuce cups or over a salad as a dressing.