Balsamic Maple Sauce

This sauce is insanely delicious. I love it for a couple of reasons, one is that it is insanely delicious (did I mention that;), but secondly I usually have all the ingredients on hand.

It comes Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan, from my favorite vegan cookbook by Dreena Burton. Her recipes are simple, healthy, and delicious. She classifies this as a sauce, as you can see in the title, and suggests putting it on sauteed greens, grilled veggies, or as a dipping sauce for tofu or spring rolls.

We use it mostly as a salad dressing and dipping sauce. I like to make my own salad dressing when I can because a lot of times the dressings that are made with all natural ingredients are expensive. When you have four boys eating salad almost everyday, it really adds up. Not to mention the "glug, glug, glug then uh-oh", I am sure you all familiar with. A plate full of dressing and a bottle half gone, when they usually end up accidently using too much.

Without further delay...here is how you make it.

Combine 1/4 pure maple syrup, 1/4 balsamic vinegar, 2 tsp Earth Balance (non-dairy butter), 1 minced garlic clove and 1/8 tsp salt in a saucepan on low heat. Heat for several minutes.

Meanwhile in a measuring cup combine one tsp corn starch (or arrowroot) and 3 tbs tamari (soy sauce) until smooth. (Forgot to take a picture of that step!)

Add tamari mixture to pan and whisk to combine and increase heat to bring mixture to a boil, stirring continually.

Let boil gently for one minute until thickened.

Remove from heat and let cool. It will thicken as it cools.

It becomes thick and saucy and I love it warm on my salad.

This stuff is so yummy, I could just drink it. Sometimes I just leave it on the counter with a cut up cucumber and passers by nibble on it! We all love it!

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

From Our Home to Yours,

Jennifer