Salads are a healthy way to put flavor, nutrients, and variety into your diet. They're also easy to make and nice when it's hot out. And a good part of what makes a good salad is a tasty salad dressing.

Dressings also add nutrients to your diet. Salad dressing actually aids the absorption of nutrients in the salad's other components, so you have a good excuse for adding a good dressing to your salad.www.newswise.com/articles/view/523785/

If you eat a lot of salad, buying dressing can get expensive. Bottled dressing often have additives you might not want to eat. But if you make your own, you can pass those by.www.agriculturesociety.com/?p=3081 The additives can also mask oils that are past their prime. Rancid oils have been linked to cancer because they contain a high amount of free radicals. http://www.westonaprice.org/The-Skinny-on-Fats.html By using your own fresh olive, walnut or other oils, you can avoid this health risk.

So many health benefits are associated with the parts of a good salad dressing. They're the components of the Mediterranean Diet: olives and olive oil; citrus juice; various vinegars; and herbs. www.webmd.com/diet/features/benefits-mediterranean-diet You can combine these in many ways in making salad dressings from scratch.

This Mahalo How To will show you how you can easily make several varieties of salad dressings.

Dressings fall into several broad categories:

• Oil and vinegar. The simplest ones you don't even really need to mix.
• French vinaigrette, which use mustard to emulsify, or hold together, the other ingredients
• Creamy dressings, which use cream to help thicken them
• Cooked dressings, which may use cream, starch, or oil as a thickener

The easiest and fastest dressings to make at home are the French-style vinaigrettes. This does not mean the orangey-sweet dressings at the supermarket, but ones that are held together using mustard. Other kinds of dressings can be unsatisfying to the cook because they do not hold together easily and can look unfinished; not the kind of thing you'd want to serve to guests. French vinaigrettes come together easily and quickly.

To make a French-style vinaigrette, you'll need:

• A large jar, or a bowl if you're going to make the dressing in the same dish you'll serve the salad in
• Measuring spoons
• Something to mix it with: a whisk, a fork or an immersion blender. You can also shake it up in a jar with a lid.www.frenchfood.about.com/od/dressingpreservessauces/r/tarragonmustard.htm
• If using garlic, a garlic press
• If using onions or shallots, a knife and cutting board
• Scissors

Now gather the ingredients:

• Dijon-style mustard. You can also use other flavored mustards, if it fits the style of your dressingwww.surlatable.com/gs/classic-french-vinaigrette-salads-recipes.shtml
• Olive oil. Don't use canola or soy, or the flavor of your dressing will be less than optimal. Use extra-virgin for strongly flavored dressings like a Rosemary vinaigrette, but use regular but good-quality olive oil to avoid overpowering more delicate flavors like tarragon.
• The acid component. This could be a variety of vinegars from unflavored or flavored wine vinegars; white or regular Balsamic vinegar; apple cider vinegar or even rice wine vinegar. It could also include or be replaced by citrus juices like lemon, lime, or grapefruit.
• Flavoring agents like onion, shallot, or herbs

This is about as much a cooking technique as falling into bed is a dance move, but still. So many classic cooking techniques sound difficult because they're difficult to pronounce.

If you're making more than you need for the salad you're preparing, do this in a glass jar with a lid so you can store it. Added plus: you can just shake it together, with no need to dirty something else to wash.

You can also mix this up in the bottom of the bowl you're going to serve the salad in, which also eliminates extra dishes to wash.

In your container, add together:

• 1 tablespoon lemon juicefrenchfood.about.com/od/dressingpreservessauces/r/lemonmustard.htm
• 1/4 cup shallot, chopped fine (about 2 heads)http://frenchfood.about.com/od/dressingpreservessauces/r/tomatovinegar.htm
• 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 2 cloves crushed garlic (about 1 teaspoon)
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1 2" sprig of rosemary, removed from stalk and snipped fine
• 1 2" sprig of thyme, snipped fine
• 1 2" sprig of parsley, snipped fine
• 1 teaspoon lavender budsherbsspices.suite101.com/article.cfm/classic_french_herb_blends
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Chop the shallot and tomatoes. Crush the garlic. Snip up the herbs. Combine all in bowl or jar, and either: shake well; whisk well; or use an immersion blender until all is combined.

Use as salad dressing; marinade; base; or combine with sour cream to use as a dip with a Provencal flair.