Here's what I use for a marinated veggie salad. And I find that a tablespoon of parmesan cheese mellows it a lot. You may want to double the recipe...it keeps well for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator and is good on a green salad too.
SALAD DRESSING
1T dijon mustard
1clove of garlic, crushed (or chopped very fine)
1T honey
1/3 cup cider vinegar and balsamic vinegar mixed�mostly cider....or rice vinegar
Mix together, I use a wire whisk
1/2 cup olive oil...whisk the oil in a slow stream, whisking all the while
Then I like to add some dried or fresh herbs....most of the time I use oregano.

Thank you Lindac - I was hoping to hear from you. I make your marinated green beans all of the time and love them.

How much dried oregano would you put in the proportions you posted??

seagrass

Depends on how herby you like it....I think if you are using a "good" oregano like Penzey's....half a teaspoon would be a gracious plenty...try less to begin with.
And basil works too....as does dill or a little thyme and a lot of parsley.
I love a marinated veggie salad....may do that for christmas....

Here's my recipe, which uses fresh herbs instead of dried. I do not recommend substituting dried herbs for fresh in this recipe, but you can omit them and still get good results.

Herb Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Ingredients

3 tbsp Dijon mustard
6 medium cloves garlic or 3 if very large
1-2 shallots, depending on size (optional)
1/3 cup chopped fresh sweet basil
3 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme (stems removed)
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar, aged eight years, the best you can find - should be sweet*
2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar, medium quality
2 tbsp white Balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1-2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp salt
2-3 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, or to taste

Directions

Peel and coarsely chop garlic, and shallots, and put into blender with the mustard and herbs. Pulse a few times to chop the garlic and herbs, and add vinegars, salt, and pepper. Blend until all ingredients are very finely chopped or pureed. Add the olive oil a bit at a time and blend until smooth. If possible, pour the olive oil through a small hole in the top of the blender while blending. Adjust vinegars, salt, pepper, and oil to taste, remembering that the flavor will change after the garlic and herbs have had time to marinate in the vinegar and oil. If desired, add 2-3 tsp of water to make the dressing a bit thinner and easier to pour. Store in a jar in the refrigerator. Keeps for at least two weeks, although the herb flavors will diminish over time.

Yield: approx. 1-2/3 cups

*Note: if you do not have aged Balsamic vinegar that is sweet and syrupy, you can substitute 1/2 tbsp molasses for that ingredient. You can add more if you want it sweeter, but this combination has just the balance of sweet and tart that I like, which is why I use the combination of vinegars.

Lars

I would like Linda's marinated green beans recipe please.

Di

Thank you, Lars. The mix of vinegars is interesting and I understand why you do that. I just have not been able to find a perfect vinegar lol!! I will give that a test run.

Di - Here is the green bean recipe:

"make a dressing...
a clove of crushed garlic,
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup Extra virgin olive oil
2 T finely chopped red onion
2 teaspoons mixed fresh herbs ( dill weed, oregano, rosemary, tarragon, thyme....pick 3)
Wash and stem and tail a pound of small fresh green beans . Bring about 1 1/2 qts water to a boil and dump in the beans. Leave for 3 minutes, drain and plunge the beans into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain.
Toss with the dressing and chill for 2 hours. Serve with a topping of sieved hard cooked egg and crumbled bacon.
Linda C"

I always include dill and I've never bothered with the egg or the bacon (sorry Linda C). They're delicious.

seagrass

Hmm....I think the bacon and egg are the best part...LOL!

LindaC - I PROMISE I'll add them the next time.

seagrass