Avocado Peppercorn Dressing

Things have been pretty lazy around here lately, well, for the dogs. Miko got snugly in his office bed where it’s never too hot for a fleece blanket.

And Skipper has been switching between the cool floors and chihuahua beds.

Hubby and I weren’t lazy Sunday, we drove to a hilly trail for a run. I only logged four and a half miles on this trail, but it was some intense hill training with lovely views and fresh figs to snack on.

Later we headed to my sister’s house for a family gathering where I re-fueled on a huge place of vegan pasta, kale salad with hummus dressing, and coconut loaded fruit salad.

Very filling plate of beautiful colors.

And I’m still on a kale salad kick this week which isn’t a bad thing! Remember those odd wedge salads that were a restaurant trend for awhile? It was basically a chunk of nutritionally-void iceberg lettuce coated with fatty dressing and bacon bits. They didn’t deserve to be called salads, more like empty vehicles for fat. I came across a peppercorn dressing recipe for one of those salads recently and thought if could be much better once the mayonnaise, sour cream, and oil were replaced with something more wholesome, like avocado, since the flavor is basically tangy peppercorn. This is such a simple recipe to throw together and it paired perfectly with a massaged kale salad bringing it to life!

I intentionally left the peppercorns a little chunky for texture and flavor pop, but you can blend longer for a silkier texture.

Pepper is such a strong and poppy flavor that really comes to life with the zing from apple cider vinegar.

I coated this salad with it and topped with hemp seeds to make it a hearty meal salad that did not disappoint.