Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette

Wow, it's been an interesting few months. In my part of New York State, we've been dealing recently with major flooding - the first day of school was cut short and the rest of the week canceled. It's been kind of unreal, to help people rip apart their houses, haul out furniture that has gone bad from being saturated with flood water, and pump out basements. Please send good thoughts to the Southern Tier as many deal with the effects of the flood.

I am hoping to ease back into blogging with a wonderfully easy salad dressing recipe. The base of it is one I've been using for a few months, but discovered the special ingredient while watching an episode of The Pioneer Woman's show on Food Network.

I love making my own salad dressing, and I hope you will too. Once you see how easy it is to manipulate with different flavors (such as adding in some Dijon mustard, or using a different kind of vinegar), you can have a lot of fun with it.

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• a few shakes each of salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tsp brown sugar (if gluten-free, make sure to use a GF brown sugar, such as Domino brand)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a resealable container. Shake well before serving.
   
   Note: Store on the shelf, not in the fridge, as olive oil will coagulate.