Time on my hands

I'm currently on Day 4 of no running. FOUR. I'm slowly going crazy. As I walked home from Yoga this morning, I saw a girl running up the other side of the street, and guess what I felt? Jealousy. (I may have then jogged a couple quick steps, felt a jolt of pain in my heel, and resigned myself to the fact that I am not ready yet.)

So. I'm pushing for a couple more days off. I can make it a week, right? You have no idea how hard this is for me, especially when every time I turn around, I see this:


(New shoes. I ordered them Sunday. The day before I quit running. They arrived Tuesday. The day after I quit running. I have the worlds.worst.timing.)

I also have a heck of a lot more time on my hands now that I'm not running every day (and taking the extra shower) most of which has coincidentally been taken up by two impending work deadlines.

But, in the rare 20 minutes I found somewhere amidst the 3-ring circus that was yesterday, I made something delicious:


Have you guys tried this stuff? Salad dressing crack. It is amazing. Sweet, salty, surprisingly light. The hitch? It costs about $6 a bottle. SIX DOLLARS. For salad dressing?! You have got to be kidding me. (Thanks, Mom, for getting me hooked on the sauce.)

I admit - I shelled out for it a few times. And then I realized, the ingredient list was not terribly complex. And, I even had everything on it in my pantry.

So I got creative. The first experiment was, meh. Second time? Closer.

Yesterday? I made it. This is every bit as good as the original, and best of all, it was FREE.

Way-cheaper-than-Galeo's crack dressing:
1/2 c. Miso
1/4 c. Tahini
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 c. unsweetened rice wine vinegar
1/2 c. water
6 Splenda packets
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sesame oil

1. Put all ingredients except sesame oil in blender, and mix on high until nicely combined.
2. While blender is still running, open the small lid and sloooowly drizzle in oil. This way, your dressing will emulsify, and, if you keep it in the fridge (duh) it won't separate.
3. Pour on top of huge salad and enjoy!


Some notes:
1. I used Kyoto White Miso:


I can usually find this on sale at Whole Foods for about $3.50. This has tub lasted me 4 months.

2. Check your rice wine vinegar. A lot of them are sweetened. This is not a big deal, but if yours is sweetened, then you might want to cut back or omit the Splenda. We're making salad dressing here, not frosting.

3. This recipe made slightly more dressing than would fit in the bottle + dress my salad for lunch. No worries. It also makes an AWESOME dip for baby carrots :)

Yum.