by Jeannette Ordas of Everybody likes Sandwiches

The weather here in Vancouver has been pretty nice lately and my thoughts have turned to spring. While soups and stews and casseroles are de rigueur, I certainly like to think ahead to the lighter side of things. I eat a lot of salads and why should I let winter stop me from getting in my fresh and crunchy veg?

I love a tangy buttermilk dressing and decided that I'd warm up the traditional ranch dressing with some smoky chipotle and a hit of spice. Add some lemon and dried herbs and it was the perfect way to dress up my romaine, shredded carrot and diced pepper salad. The hotness factor wasn't off of the charts, in fact, it was subtle and smoky thanks to the paprika and chipotle. But if you want more of a blast to the tongue, add in another minced chipotle pepper and give a few shakes of hot sauce until you get the heat you desire. This dressing is great over a simple green salad but I'm convinced that tossed with a can of rinsed black beans, corn, diced peppers and a little sweet onion, you'll have the makings of a nice little lunch.

Southwestern Ranch Dressing
1 c buttermilk
1/4 c Greek yogurt
1/4 c mayonnaise
1 chipotle chili in adobo, minced + 1/2 t of the adobo sauce
1/4 t dried red chili flakes
1/4 t hot smoked paprika
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pinch each of dried dill & oregano
1/2 t kosher salt
1 t freshly ground pepper
juice & zest of 1/2 lemon

Add all ingredients into a screw top glass jar and shake, shake, shake it. Pour over your salad, use it to dip your pizza crusts into or sip it with a spoon (I won't tell).