Pat Piper or Sonoma, California, sends us her recipe rather assertively called Pat's Famous and Healthful Low-Cholesterol Salad Dressing. She first tried a balancing act of 1 to 1 (equal parts oil and vinegar). But overly tart results pushed her back to traditional ratios of 3 (oil) to 1 (vinegar).

She then elected to combine predominantly monounsaturated olive oil with three significantly polyunsaturated vegetable oils, hoping to bring better nutrition by way of variety. Liking the concept of variety, she also combined several vinegars.

In a small bowl or jar, whisk or shake together olive oil, safflower oil, soy oil, peanut oil, balsamic vinegar, cider vinegar, garlic, blue cheese, soy sauce, dry mustard, pepper, and basil. Makes about 1 1/3 cups.