As the summer is coming to an end, so are our gardens. There’s no reason to waste all of those good greens when you can make some refreshing salad recipes out of them. It’s great too because it is just in time for Labor Day and may be one of the last opportunities to enjoy a family cookout with fresh veggie salads. Plus, there’s something rewarding about creating delicious recipes out of fresh ingredients that came right out of your very own garden.
This brand new recipe comes from our friends the Two Old Crabs and is the perfect way to use up your fresh gardens goods. Packed with vitamins in every bite. Tomato & Cucumber Salad is a raw nutritious salad that will complement any cookout fare. Add in some of your favorite vegetables to make it the way you like. Enjoy and happy and healthy eating.
Tomato & Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 3 firm tomatoes
- 1 medium cucumber
- 3 medium size mushrooms
- 1 small can sliced black olives
- 1/2 can garbanzo beans, drained
- 1/2 can green beans, rinsed & drained
- small handful chopped parsley
- 1/4 cup thin sliced red onion
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon (each) salt & pepper
Directions:
1. In small bowl, combine wine vinegar, water, dill, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper.
2. Using whisk, blend in olive oil, whisking fast until completely blended.
3. Cut tomatoes into small bite-sized pieces.
4. Rough chop mushrooms.
5. Peel cucumber. Remove seeds. Cut into small bite-sized pieces.
6. Add tomatoes, cucumber, black olives, garbanzo beans, green beans, parsley & red onion to large bowl.
7. Drizzle with salad dressing & refrigerate for flavors to blend.
8. Cover & refrigerate at least 1 hour for flavors to blend.
I love this recipe, and make something similar often. During summer I substituted some of the ingredients for summer watermelon and sunflower seeds. Also any cucumber salad with feta cheese is to die for. I wondered if you had any more modifications to make this recipe a year round staple.
This recipe looks fantastic! The fresh vegetables and seasoning seems like the perfect simple yet refreshing summer snack or side for a family BBQ. I would definitely try this recipe out and maybe even add other vegetables depending on the time of year or what is available. In the summer, I always try to buy groceries from the local farmers market and include them in new recipes!