Soup, Salad, and Bread

The fridge was full of leftovers, my energy meter was low (thanks to accidental ingestion of coconut oil during lunch... in case any one is wondering, yes I am still pouting about that allergy.)
So, dinner needed to be easy. What was on the menu? "Iron Chef Mom." Nope, wasn't going to happen. Nuh-uh, save it for a better night.

Instead, leftover Leftover Leg of Lamb Stew, salad with balsamic vinaigrette, and some fresh soda bread. Not a typo, it was double-leftover stew. I saved the bone and chopped all the meat that was leftover (from Irish Heritage Day) into bite-size pieces, and stuck it in the freezer. Earlier this week, it became dinner with some onions, red potatoes, carrots, peas, and tomatoes. It seems to be a neverending soup, as we've still got some left. That leg of lamb was expensive, but... wow... it just keeps going.

I still love the soda bread. It's marvelous. This time I used traditional currants instead of raisins. Delish.

And... folks... if any of you are still buying bottled salad dressing, made with toxic canola and soy oils... I have to ask WHY?? Seriously, please leave a comment and tell me why on earth you do that to yourselves. Homemade dressing is so easy! You don't need to whisk things, you don't have to get all snooty French about it... buy some of those itty bitty Gladware containers. The ones with the blue lid that hold less than half a cup. (For what it's worth, the screw-top Ziploc containers that are a bit bigger suck. They are NOT liquid-tight!) Then you can just shake up your dressing, pour what you need on your salad, and stick the leftovers in the fridge for another day.
Here's how to make super-easy balsamic dressing:

Squirt a generous dab of Dijon mustard into your container. 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon, start with less and see how you like it.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
Add a splash of apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar, to tone it down a bit, if you think that'd be good.
Add about twice as much olive oil... eyeball it... it's not rocket science.
Slap the lid on and shake it up.
Taste it. Too tart? More oil. Not tart enough? More vinegar.
Add salt and pepper, some fresh thyme or parsley if you've got it. A pinch of dried herb- any herb pretty much- is nice too.

Oh, and if you're feeling adventurous, use an egg yolk instead of mustard... but don't plan on keeping it in the fridge more than a few days.