Fresh Garden Chop Salad

If you have a productive vegetable garden, there is nothing better than picking fresh cucumbers, red onions, bell peppers and tomatoes for this recipe. My dad would bring these into the house and as he was chopping them you could literally taste the vegetables by taking a deep breath through your nose. In addition to the vegetables, my dad added salad oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.

For me, this is the taste of summer and takes me back to my childhood on a lazy summer day in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

This tastes best when chilled for about an hour before serving. It is a good side dish at barbecues (yes – vegetarians can barbecue).

Ingredients:

2 medium cucumbers (diced)

2 small red onions (diced)

2 medium bell peppers (diced)

2 large tomatoes (diced)

1/3 cup salad oil

¼ cup red wine vinegar

salt

pepper

Directions:

Combine diced veggies with salad oil and vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste. That’s it. Easy to make so make a boatload and share it with friends!

As published in the Ojai Valley News July 17, 2009.