So… the fresh lemon vinaigrette will be my first recipe to share on Simple Indeed.

Come on, a recipe cannot be simpler than this? Can we even call it a recipe?!

Mix it and shake it, will you?

Now to be serious, this is actually one of two kinds of vinaigrettes I always keep on hand. This one particularly is for western style salads: good with all the leafy salad, pasta/rice/Quinoa salad, on top of half avocado, etc… I will list the eastern style version in another post.

It’s such a simple recipe that even my husband can do it. I should ask him to do it more and he will master it like the crepe recipe. And life will be a little simpler for me :-)! We women always do too much at home just because we “do it better”. I think I’m going to write a set of recipes for whoever is the weakest cooking link in your household, so he/she can do it too. I’m sure it will improve your relationship as it did in our family.

We are very lucky to have a productive Meyer lemon tree in our backyard, so fresh lemon juice is always my first choice to add acidity and freshness to any dishes. If you don’t have any lemon on hand, you can replace it with 1/3 cup of red wine vinegar, actually any kind of vinegar will work, so choose the one you like most.

I add some maple syrup because it makes the flavor more balanced. You won’t even taste any sugary effect. Instead of maple syrup, you can use also simple syrup, that is one part sugar and one part water. I’m trying to use less processed sugar possible and I like the slight caramel flavor of the maple syrup. Of course you can add nothing sweet at all.

Anyway, just use some quality Extra virgin olive oil and good Dijon mustard, even this simple vinaigrette will taste amazing!

P.S. Obviously the taste of the whole dish depends heavily on what you gonna put into your salad. I think we are clear here :-).

This fresh lemon vinaigrette will keep well on the counter for a week, and up to a month in the refrigerator. Remember to take it out the fridge 30 minutes before using otherwise the olive oil will be solid.

I finally put this recipe down in writing at a place my husband can find, from his iphone! Imagine when I was on fire in the kitchen preparing this, that, and a salad, suddenly, the empty vinaigrette bottle caught my eyes. That’s when I can call for help: “Darling, can you make a vinaigrette please?”–with a big smile on my face.

Do you have a simple recipe that your significant other can prepare at no time? Please share it with us.