Sweet and colourful tomato summer salad

(NC)—What are colourful, sweet tasting, full of vitamins A and C, provide a boost to your immune system, yet low in calories?

Tomatoes. Not only are they healthy and fresh tasting, but they come in a wide array of colours––from bright red to purple–and they enhance any summertime recipe.

“Of course the best tomatoes are ones you can grow and pick right off your own vine,” says Jeff Howe, Fernlea Flowers president. “Retailers and nurseries will soon have wonderful varieties of seedlings to put in your container or garden. They’ll also have a ‘six pack’ of favourite varieties on offer such as sweet 100, yellow pear, pink lady and celebrity for an instant garden.”

Descriptions of each variety and tips on how to grow them can be found online at www.bonnieplants.ca. Once you’ve planted your tomato container, complement it with additional containers of vegetables such as peppers and cucumbers and your favourite fresh herbs such as oregano, parsley, sweet basil and mint.

For a tasty, healthy garden to table summer meal, try Bonnie’s Best Tomato Salad Recipe:

Ingredients

12 yellow pear cherry tomatoes
12 sweet 100 cherry tomatoes
1 pink lady tomato
1 celebrity tomato
2 of your favorite Bonnie Plants’ cucumbers (bush crop, English, or rocky baby)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Fresh herbs of your choice

(Sweet basil, parsley or mint are excellent ways to punch up flavour in salad dressing, and a healthy no calorie addition of antioxidants.)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, add your freshly picked Bonnie’s yellow pear and sweet 100 cherry tomatoes.

2. Cut pink lady and celebrity tomatoes into cubes and add.

3. Thinly slice your two favourite cucumbers and add.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk oil, vinegar, chosen fresh herbs and salt to taste.

5. Gently combine all ingredients.

6. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, gently turning occasionally.

7. Serve with a slotted spoon, either alone or atop a bed of fresh picked lettuce.

Source: www.newscanada.com

More ideas for your veggies:

Harvest barbeque
Marinated Mushroom and Veggie Kabobs
Tomatoes Greco

Plus see what else is cooking in our in recipes archive.