Channeling Paul Newman

I remember when Paul Newman died two years ago, I wrote my food column for the paper about him. I was very upset. Not only had the world lost a very sexy man (even into his "senior" years) and a great philanthropist but he also created some might fine spaghetti sauces and salad dressings (to name just a few things in his culinary arsenal).
I'm always on the lookout for a great salad dressing. Let's face it, I eat a lot of salad, especially in the summer time and I've yet to find that perfect dressing that combines everything I'm looking for in a dressing (and still remains somewhat low fat).  I can't really describe what that dressing tastes like honestly,  but I'll know it when I find it, although I think I came pretty darned close this weekend. And it all happened by happy accident (although I do believe that nothing truly happens by accident - it was all meant to be).
I stopped by a friend's yard sale this weekend. Her daughter is trying to raise money to go on a school trip and she was having a yard sale to help further her goal. As the mother of a cheerleader, I'm well acquainted with fundraising. Since cheerleading isn't considered a "sport" by my daughter's middle school and the school provides nothing, we end up doing a lot of fundraising to buy things like uniforms, shoes and pompoms. But I digress....
At this yard sale there was a $1 table and I found the greatest little kitchen device. Those of you who know me know the last thing I need is another kitchen gadget, but I couldn't resist this (and the price was right).  My $1 bargain was a Salsa Master - the Amazing Salsa Machine as the box proclaimed. It's basically a hand cranked food processor but what the heck, I'd only be out a buck if it turned out to be a dud. With my amazing salsa machine came a handy little recipe book on how to make different salsas. I think the original book must have been in Spanish and then translated into English because some of the instructions were a little vague and didn't make a lot of sense but that didn't matter because what I found inside that book was the recipe for the best salad dressing that I've ever tasted. Keep in mind, of course, what I think is the "best" may only be "good" in your opinion but I think it's at least worth a try. You don't have to own the amazing salsa machine to make this recipe though. You can certainly make it in a blender or a food processor.
Mexican Salad Dressing
Ingredients
6 tbsp vegetable oil (I used Canola oil)
2 tbsp vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
1/2 tbsp dijon-style mustard (I used Grey Poupon stone ground mustard)
6 sprigs cilantro
1 small Roma tomato (this wasn't in the original recipe but I added it to mine and think it really boosts the taste)
salt and pepper to taste
Place all ingredients into the blender and puree until cilantro and tomato are chopped.

That's it. It's so simple I can now whip up a fresh batch whenever I need it. So I now have a new salad dressing to get me through the salad days of summer. I think Paul would be proud of me.