Favorite Summer Salad

Summer is the perfect time to savor lots of fresh-from-the-garden (or farmers' market) veggies. This salad is one of my favorite ways to enjoy the tastes of summer, and it definitely benefits from freshness! If you don't have access to fresh, plant-ripened tomatoes, you are missing out. But, you can still try it. :)

This salad can be broken into three components: tomatoes, other vegetables, and the dressing.

Tomatoes: Fresh is best! Chop up tomatoes (about 1 cm pieces) until you have about half the amount of salad you want to end up with. Throw them in a bowl.

Other vegetables: Some go in fresh, and some should be cooked briefly (just until the colors are bright) and then plunged in cold water. In either case, chop small like the tomatoes.
            Vegetables to go in fresh: cucumbers, sweet peppers, mild onions
            Vegetables to be cooked: carrots, squash, corn
Use whatever veggies you have around or like best. It's up to you! A variety of colors makes for a pretty salad. Add these to the tomatoes.

Dressing: You can use any vinaigrette dressing, or you can do what I do and just throw stuff in. Basically, stuff consists of

• a few glugs of salad or olive oil
• a splash or two of vinegar (play with different kinds!)
• salt and pepper to taste
• a bit of sugar, if you like your dressing sweet
• any fresh or dried herbs you fancy (basil is great)

Stir, taste, and adjust. When winging something like this, always start small and add more of whatever seems to be missing. You can't ever take out too much salt!

Refrigerate for a few hours to blend the flavors, stirring occasionally so all the veggies get acquainted with the dressing. This is great served with anything just like it is, or spoon it over a bed of fresh greens. Perfect way to enjoy summer!