Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

One of the most common questions I get about this site these days is whether I ever make anything that totally flops. My answer lately is that I did in the beginning, but now I have become pretty good at reading recipes and tweaking them so they don't fail. Yet, a couple of weeks ago I had three failures in a row. I was feeling pretty frustrated. They were all baked goods, one a brownie recipe (like this site needs another brownie recipe). All three recipes went into the trash. I try to avoid that at all costs. I do the majority of the work for this site on the weekends, the cooking and photographing anyway. I work my "real job" from home on Mondays and I was having a hard time concentrating knowing I would have nothing to post on my blog in about two weeks. Once I fall behind it is nearly impossible to catch up and I usually have to skip a post. I went to make myself some lunch and started thinking about why those recipes failed. I think it is because my spring brain has finally kicked in. I'm no longer craving baked goods. It appears that both my body and mind are rejecting the winter foods. So, I pulled out some greens and salad dressing I had leftover from a dinner that weekend. Just as I was about to pour the dressing on the salad I looked down and thought, "Why don't I make this a blog post"? It's exactly what I want to be eating this time of year, so I am hoping that you are craving salad too.
You can swap out regular store bought lemons for the Meyer Lemon in this recipe, just add 1 teaspoon of sugar or honey to the dressing.

Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
adapted from White on Rice Couple

1/4 cup Meyer lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
about 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Place all ingredients in a small liquid measuring cup. Use an immersion blender to combine all the ingredients, or whisk vigorously by hand. Drizzle over a bed of mixed greens and your choice of toppings. This time of year I use a lot of dried fruits, toasted nuts, and feta cheese.  Store any leftover dressing in the refrigerator for up to one week.