unprocessed in october

the blog eating rules is hosting "october unprocessed" next month. our family has been toying with the idea of eating only real (whole or without added preservative ingredients) since i did the 5 day detox earlier this month.

october 1st seems as good a time as any to make the switch. however, when i went to make our grocery list for the upcoming week, i realized that we had all kinds of stuff on the list that wouldn't work. specifically, ketchup.

so, yesterday, i made ketchup. and of course, V flatly refused to eat it. but, i have to imagine that at some point if she really wants ketchup she'll give in and hopefully like it. i was missing a couple ingredients, but it turned out ok nonetheless.

this morning, after our trip to the market, we made apple butter. M has never had apple butter which i find to be a bit sad. we're all ready to change that.

do you have any processed foods that you'd like to learn how to make?

until i met M, i didn't actually know that you could make salad dressing. i assumed it was terribly complicated which is why it came in a bottle. here's my favorite go to salad dressing:

1/4-1/3 cup of red wine vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp diced onion (optional)
salt and pepper
about 3/4 cup to 2/3 cup olive oil

1. whisk all the ingredients except the oil together
2. slowly add the oil, whisking the whole time until thoroughly mixed