Delicious and Easy Dairy Free Ranch Dressing

All my life, I've loved Ranch dressing. To me, other foods were simply dipping or scooping devices designed to bring more Ranch dressing to my mouth. I'm sure all you fellow addicts can relate, and you can also probably imagine how distraught I was upon realizing that I had a dairy allergy. At this point I had already given up gluten and soy. How was I supposed to give up my favorite dressing, too?

Despite the depressing nature of the challenge, I faced it head on, going at least two years cold turkey and hoping my love for the sauce would gradually fade into memory. It of course, did not, and after playing around with different ingredients, I finally came up with a recipe for Ranch dressing that is dairy, gluten, soy and corn free, as well as vegan and 100% raw. This recipe should make about 4-6 servings, or enough to fill a dip bowl on an appetizer platter.

To get started, you'll need:

A Blender
Clean Water
1/2 Cup Sunflower Seeds, Soaked and Rinsed
1-2 Cloves Fresh Raw Garlic
1/4 Small Onion (Whatever variety you like)
1/4 Cup Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Pinch of Black Pepper
1 Teaspoon Dill
1 Teaspoon Basil
1 Teaspoon Parsley
1 Pinch of Thyme

All amounts are approximate, and you should feel free to play around with the ingredients. There are thousands of ways to make Ranch dressing your own, and I never make it the exact same way twice. Every time you make a batch, you work on perfecting your recipe. It's really creative, and a lot of fun!

The first step is to take your soaked and rinsed sunflower seeds and place them in the blender. Add the vinegar, salt, raw garlic and onion, and a little water. I usually use just enough so that some of the seeds are floating, but when in doubt, use a little less. Blend until smooth and creamy, and then add in your pepper, herbs and olive oil, and blend again. You may also throw everything in and blend all of the ingredients at once, but this may make it difficult to get a creamy texture. With an awesome blender, it probably won't matter.

When you get everything blended to perfection, slowly add water until the dressing is at a consistency that you like. You now have a delicious gourmet Ranch dressing that could stand strong against any milk based variety. Enjoy!