Rebuild from Depression Blog

To watch the video, click on the "play" button in the picture below or go right to the video on YouTube: marinated tomato salad.

Mom says:

Make this lovely dish when vegetables are garden fresh and full of flavor. This salad really plays off the flavor and texture of the summer garden. The first time I had this was 4th of July, sitting on a rooftop deck with a view of Lake Tahoe. Our hostess served this salad with barbequed chicken and corn on the cob. Memorable! Use fine food to create memories for your loved ones.

Ingredients
4 large tomatoes
3 small bell peppers in green, yellow, and red
½ red onion
Small can of salad olives
4 cloves minced garlic
Handful of basil leaves, cut into ribbons
2 tablespoons capers
Juice of half a lemon
½ olive oil

These are suggested proportions. Change any of this to fit your taste and the availability of produce. Ideally, your peppers will have thick walls to give the salad extra crunch. You could use one large yellow pepper in place of the three small peppers. A green or red pepper will work as well but won't add quite the color of the yellow bell.

Steps
1. Cube the tomatoes and yellow bell.

2. Thinly slice the red onion and place all in a bowl.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients and lightly but thoroughly toss. All the veggies should be well coated, but not bruised. You want them all to hold their shapes.

4. This is best if it can sit for an hour to blend the flavors. However, this particular salad is most tasty if served on the day it is made. Refrigeration dulls the flavors and the textures begin to break down.

The bright, robust nature of this salad make it a perfect accompaniment for beef. Picture it as a companion to a sizzling steak!

Variations:
Add sliced raw mushrooms or diced Armenian cucumbers.