I eat a lot of salads as evidenced here, and my dressings don't tend to veer too far outside of a few select ingredients. There's usually fresh herbs, shallots, Dijon, and some good olive oil and vinegar. Why mess with a good thing?

One reason for messing is that I've had an influx of oranges, because I can't stop buying the fabulously juicy orbs right now. They're so ripe and ready. With only a finite amount of smoothies I can consume in a day (hello orange carrot ginger juice), I decided to bring some oranges into my close knit salad dressing world.

Oranges have some good friends in the flavor world like walnuts and honey, so they got invited too. Not wanting to slight one of my favorite dressing ingredients, I brought in mint since mint punches up anything it touches. 

I've put this vinaigrette over cold zucchini noodles for a nice lunchtime salad, and of course greens and vegetables are a given. I hope you enjoy branching out in the salad dressing world with me and this walnut orange honey vinaigrette.

Orange Honey Walnut Vinaigrette

Makes about 1/2 cup

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon organic, raw honey
• 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed orange juice (I like using blood orange)
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1/4 fresh mint, diced
• 3 tablespoon walnut oil

Instructions

1. Place the honey in a glass bowl and microwave for 5-10 seconds so it's easier to mix. Whisk in the orange, sherry vinegar and mint. Slowly add the oil, stirring until combined. Serve over your favorite salad or store in your refrigerator for up to a week.