Vegan Versions: Lemony Pear Dressing with Herbs de Provence

by Maria Theresa Maggi on March 2, 2013

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Now that it’s early  March, all the pear sauce I made last Fall has been eaten. The fresh pears from my tree are long gone. All that’s left are the pieces of dried bosc pear you see in the photo. They may be last, but they certainly aren’t least. As we yearn for true Spring around here, when the spicy aroma of new pear blossoms will grace the yard (and any laundry I might be lucky enough to hang out on the line), I can still savor these sweet bits of last year’s harvest in a zesty salad dressing.

Since there’s a good chance we’ll get pelted by homeopathic-sized pills of snow when Romeo and I are out for our morning walk, it’s really nice to enjoy a dressing on my lunchtime salad that transports me to a Summer place where the sun isn’t dipping behind clouds in a way that brings on the shivers, where smooth paving stones are luxuriously warm to the touch, and the smell of lavender replaces those tiny white pills of hard snow.

This version is based on Susan’s wonderful Fat Free Balsamic-Raisin Dressing. It was born when, delighted with her post last Spring, I discovered I had no golden raisins on hand. But I had a small supply of dried pear pieces left. I wanted something that would make those dried pears sing, so I played around a bit with Susan’s basic recipe, and here’s what I came up with:

 

Maria (moonwatcher)

 

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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Kathy March 3, 2013 at 9:22 am

Mmmmm! That sounds like such a good dressing and it’s making my mouth water for the coming of spring.

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2 moonwatcher March 3, 2013 at 11:45 am

Thanks, Kathy!!

Maria

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3 bunsofaluminum March 3, 2013 at 11:25 am

Oooh, this looks SO yummy! I love it that it’s creamy. I’m a ranch girl, all the way, so I find vinaigrettes unsatisfying. I’d eat salad every day, with this dressing on it! *slurp*

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4 moonwatcher March 3, 2013 at 11:44 am

Thanks,buns, I love it when you *slurp*!!

Maria

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5 Julie March 3, 2013 at 5:21 pm

I live in southern California so I have been planting my garden all day. I am going to make your scrumptious sounding dressing to put all over my salad for dinner. The fixings will not be from my garden, but a girl can dream. Patience is something I continue to work on. Your great post always provide me with much needed inspiration. Here’s to spring, patience and inspiration.
Julie

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6 moonwatcher March 3, 2013 at 8:25 pm

Hi Julie! Thank you for the kind words about my post. It was great to hear of you planting your garden in sunny Southern California. Here’s to the salad you will make from it when the time is ripe. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the dressing.

Maria

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7 Carole June 28, 2013 at 8:37 pm

Magnifique, Maria. Merci beaucoup

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8 moonwatcher June 28, 2013 at 8:47 pm

C’est rien, Carole, mon plaisir! 🙂

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