Simple Red Wine Vinaigrette

June, and Jesse turns fifty-three next month but this week the food forest is pulling all the attention it's owed. The plum trees are at full ripeness and there's a window of maybe five days before the birds take most of what's left on the branches, so I've been harvesting every morning and processing every afternoon — fresh plums in the refrigerator, some dried in the barn, some going into the fermentation crocks that will become plum vinegar by October. The abundance management problem, which I wrote about in the guide, is one I still have to solve every year. Writing about it doesn't make it easier. It just means I can explain the problem while I'm also having it.

Tommy came for a week and his June self is different from his May self in the way four-year-olds are different from week to week, which is: noticeably. He has a new serious interest in where food comes from before the kitchen — not the food forest specifically but the whole chain, the seed-to-table sequence that I've been showing him in fragments for four years. He started asking this week about the plums: "Before the plum, what?" I said the flower. "Before the flower?" The bud. "Before the bud?" The branch. "Before the branch?" The tree. "Before the tree?" I got out the seed. He held it in his palm for a long time, studying it. "It's like a nap," he said. He remembered. I said yes, exactly. He put the seed in his pocket to keep.

With the fermentation crocks already bubbling toward October and Tommy’s seed still riding around in his pocket somewhere, I wanted a recipe this week that honored vinegar — what it is, where it comes from, the same patient transformation I was explaining to him in different words all week long. This simple red wine vinaigrette won’t be ready by October the way the plum vinegar will, but it captures the same idea: acid, time, and a little attention are all you need to turn something ordinary into something worth keeping. I make a jar of this most weeks during harvest season because a good vinaigrette makes every bowl of greens from the food forest taste like it was supposed to be exactly that.

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 5 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

Combine the base. In a small bowl or a jar with a tight-fitting lid, whisk together the red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, honey, salt, and black pepper until well combined.
Emulsify the oil. While whisking constantly (or with the lid secured on the jar), slowly drizzle in the olive oil in a thin, steady stream until the dressing is emulsified and slightly thickened.
Taste and adjust. Taste the vinaigrette and adjust seasoning as needed — a touch more vinegar for brightness, a pinch more salt, or a little more honey to balance the acidity to your liking.
Store or serve. Use immediately over salad greens, roasted vegetables, or grain bowls. Store leftovers in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks; shake well before each use as the dressing will separate.

Nutrition (per serving)

Simple Red Wine Vinaigrette — A Lesson in What Fermentation Teaches