I regret that I don’t have any garden this year, but we moved in July, so . . . But the new place had a lovely herb garden already going, and I planted a couple more herbs in pots on the deck. It was a good year to forage for locally grown food – from farmer’s markets to road-side stands and generous friends with gardens overrun with tomatoes and goodies.

Yesterday I had a hankerin’ for tomato salad, so I gathered some of the fresh local lovelies I had gotten over the previous weekend and decided to use a variety of herbs from the garden and pots outside. I couldn’t decide which herb to feature, and I was quite sure it is a big culinary no-no to use cilantro, basil AND mint, but those who know me, know I am a bit of a maverick and kind of avoid rules.

I may not be talented in many ways, but I do seem to have a talent for rummaging through the fridge and available resources to make pretty yummy dishes. This was one of them.

The Goodies

2 cups variety of fresh tomatoes (heirloom, cherry, etc.)

1 – 2 carrots shredded

about 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1/4 – 1/2 cucumber peeled and chopped

1 – 2 tablespoons fresh chopped herbs (I used combo of mint, cilantro and basil)

salt & pepper to taste (I always use good sea salt & freshly ground pepper and make sure to mix it up w/ fresh veggies before drenching in the dressing)

The dressing

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup citrus vinegar from Trader Joe’s (or just some lemon, lime and/or orange juice)

1/2 – 3/4 cup good olive oil

1/2 – whole clove of garlic crushed

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

stevia to taste

One of the tricks to these types of salads is to make sure everything is chopped into small enough bits. Large chunks of red onion just doesn’t cut it (good pun, right?).

You may not need all the dressing, but be pretty generous with it and let everything marinate if you can. I couldn’t wait. I could only leave it alone for about a half hour. It was rockin.

eat. blog. be merry!