TOMATO SALAD

When my youngest girl was in preschool she made a card about her mom's favorite things.   One of the things was "what is your mom's favorite thing to cook" well she answered "brocoli".   Brocoli? What? That was embarasing!   But, she wasn't too far off.   I had fallen into a rut of making the same old, same old with so many picky eaters in our house, I just made the same side dishes EVERY night with a variation on main meal items.   I knew I had to make some changes, after all I didn't want to be known as the "brocoli mom".   So let's talk side dishes.   When I was growing up one thing that always made an appearance at our family meals (big or small) is TOMATOES. Yes that's right I said tomatoes! They are so versatile, taste great and are good for you too. Let's go over the good for you part. Not only are they a good source of Vitamin C, but you also get vitamins A, E, K, B's and also potasium and mangenese, trace minerals and not to forget licopene and all for around 40 calories per medium size tomato (which is great if you have guests that are watching there diet) Now just a little side note: Licopene is fat soluble and that means you need a small amount of FAT to absorp it (the dressing on this salad will provide that for you) Oh yeah and tomatoes are a good diuretic which helps eliminate toxins from your body.

Tomato salad

INGREDIENTS:


Tomatoes (any variety mix and match. 1 medium sized tomato per person)
Basil (fresh or dry chopped, just enough to sprinkle on top)
basic vinegraite (recipe below)
salt and pepper to taste

Simply slice tomatoes about 1/3 inch thick, arrange around platter in a spiral slightly overlapping each slice (if you are using different colors/varieties alternate them) drizzle a generous amount of vinegraite over the tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle the basil on top.


NOTE: You can also add thinly sliced mozzarela or goat cheese to each slice of tomato, salt and pepper and drizzle with some balsamic vinegar for a great appetizer.


Enjoy!

BASIC VINEGRAITE

1 small glove garlic
1 cup olive or canola oil
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
stainless steel bowl and wire whisk or food processor (I like to make mine right in the processor)

Mince garlic and put in bowl or chop in food processor, add dijon mustard, vinegar and salt & pepper, blend.

Once blended continue to mix while slowly adding oil and blend well.

That's it, EASY huh? and this dressing will work for so many different salads. You can also make it with lemon or lime juice or balsamic vinegar instead of the red wine vinegar. You can also adjust amount of vinegar and oil to your taste, this is just a basic recipe.

ENJOY!

Jacqui Allen