Top tip: Make this salad dressing in bulk, one time per week, and store it in your refrigerator in a glass jar (avoid plastic) to use throughout the week. It will save you money on expensive salad dressings and spare your waist line from unwanted added preservatives, additives, artificial ingredients and sweeteners that can pack on pounds. Use this simple recipe as starting point to make your favorite flavored salad dressings.

Makes 3-4 cups

Ingredients:

6 cups fresh organic cranberries
1 1/2 cups organic brown sugar
9 tablespoons of pomegranate concentrate
9 tablespoons of fresh organic lime juice
2 firm-ripe organic Fuyu persimmons (about 1 lb total), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 - 2 cups of fresh organic pomegranate seeds
Zest from one organic orange

When one thinks of pesto, one can consider it as a way of dealing with abundance such as fresh summer herbs. There are so many things you can do with pesto, like use it as a spread on a sandwich, or as a sauce in which to toss pasta, or as a garnish to top a grilled chicken breast, or even toss with roasted organic veggies such as potatoes.

Makes 1 1/3 cups

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fresh blood orange juice
1 shallot, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon orange zest from blood oranges
1/3 cup almond oil
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt (kosher or sea salt)
Freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients:

1 cup packed fresh organic basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt plus 1/4 cup of salt for every quart of water used to blanch the basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil

Serves 3-4 people

Use as many organic ingredients for optimum flavor.

1 1/2 cups organic wild rice
4 cups of water or homemade organic chicken stock
1/2 cup celery chopped
1 cup of onions chopped
1 cup fresh mushroom buttons
2 tablespoons of organic butter
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F.

If a dish calls for crème fraiche or sour cream, the best flavor enhancing trick is to make your own! It's easy, more flavorful and much cheaper than store bought crème fraiche and results in a far superior end product. Here is a simple recipe that only requires two ingredients.