Garden Fresh Heirloom Tomato, Pepper, and Cucumber Salad

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Eat your vegetables!  
Eat a more colorful array of foods!
Eat more local, more fresh, and more in season!

Not a problem with this summer salad!
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Growing up, my mother always made very simple, delicious salads using tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and onions.  There's no secret, magic recipe to this.  Just cut up what you've got in your garden or that's available in the fresh markets or at your local farmers' market, mix them up with a bit of red wine or balsamic vinegar, some olive oil, garlic and basil . . . and there you have it!

It's the garlic and the fresh basil that takes the flavor of this vegetable salad over the top of deliciousness!

I have heirloom tomatoes falling off the vine in perfect ripeness right now, along with all of the other tomato varieties doing the same thing!  The peppers are in perfect harmony of readiness in picking too!  Looks like it's time for me to start freezing and canning sauces!

In the meantime, it's a scorching hot weekend . . . even our cats who love to bask in the heat of the sun are refusing to go outside.  This means it's time for some no-cook/no-bake items whenever possible.  This salad is perfect for that!

Garden Fresh Heirloom Tomato, Pepper, and Cucumber Salad

3 heirloom and/or regular tomatoes (in a variety of colors if possible), cored and cut into 1/2" chunks
1 large green pepper, cored, seeds cleaned out, and cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeds removed, and cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 cup chopped green onions
10 large basil leaves, chopped
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. red wine or balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, generously used to taste.

Blend all ingredients in a medium bowl.
Add more of any ingredient that you prefer.
Salt and pepper to taste (I use a good bit of these).
Allow the salad to set for about 15 minutes for all of the juices to blend well together.

Now how easy is that?
Plus you get your veggies in all of their summer color and vine-ripe freshness!  
Cool stuff on a hot summer day! 
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Happy 4th of July weekend!

Garden Fresh Heirloom Tomato, Pepper, and Cucumber Salad

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Fresh Food Friday and Seasonal Saturday!

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Happy 4th of July my friends, and Happy Birthday to the U.S.A.!  What a fun celebration with so much meaning!   This is a special time for folks to get together, cook outside, savor the fresh bounty of summer, and watch some fireworks light up the skies!  Ya just gotta love it!
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Oh my gosh, I just cannot get over the sensational, mouthwatering recipes being shared here on Fresh Food Friday and Seasonal Saturday as more and more foodie and gardening bloggers discover this get-together that has been growing each week!  This get-together may not total over 100 posts, but by golly, they are the best of the best out there!  And quality is more important than quantity any day!  A nice, long, well-deserved weekend holiday has begun and I'm really anxious to see what you're preparing for it!

I can't thank each of you enough for returning or if you're new to this link-up. Both oldies and newbies are selected for the weekly Featured Posts.  Have a safe and happy weekend and may God bless YOU, our precious freedom, and this wonderful place that we call home!
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Now let's take a look at these lovely Featured Posts from last week!

Katie from This Chick Cooks shared this creamy, dreamy Cream Cheese Fruit Dip for all of those seasonal and fresh picked fruits that we're enjoying right now.

Margo from Joyful Homeaking linked up this incredibly cheesy, garden-fresh   Meatless Spinach Lasagna.  This is certainly a keeper in my kitchen!

The 4th of July in the USA would not be complete with out a superb red, white, and blue dessert!  Just look at "I Savor The Weekend's" Patriot Trifle . . . Beautiful!

Concetta from Concetta's Cafe is at it again with a tangy-sweet, perfect Lemon Glazed Party Cake.  I'd love a slice of this right now with a cup of iced tea!

Kate from A Spoonful Of Thyme shared this jaw-dropping gorgeous Sour Cream Cake with Blackberries and Blueberries.  Simply perfect and delicious, I'm sure!

Anne from Domesblissity shared one of everyone's all-time Italian favorites, but with a twist . . . on top of penne pasta:  Osso Bucco with Tomatoes and Gremolata.  Osso Bucco is my dream Italian dish of all time, Anne!

So all of you featured bloggers, please go ahead and grab the "I've Been Featured" button/badge and place it anywhere on your blog if you like!


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Time to share your new posts now for this week!
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Please use the URL address of your post and not your blog in general.
Recipe or gardening posts only please.
You can share up to 2 posts from any date.
To be considered for one of next week's featured blog posts, the button/badge to this get-together and/or link to "Fresh Food Friday" or "Seasonal Saturday" needs to be shared in your post.



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Thank you for your kindness; I appreciate each of you, whether this is your first visit or if you share a post each week!  I truly enjoy each of your posts so much.  May God bless you during this next week and always!




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Creamy Orecchiette with Cherry Tomatoes, Basil and Garlic!

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I've fallen in love with a married man!  Well, not really with HIM, but rather with the authentic Italian recipes that he prepares, as well as his TV show, Dolce Vita, filmed in Tuscany!  I'm talking about my obsession with the cooking methods of David Rocco, a Canadian-Italian who now lives with his young family in Italy.  David takes us on his escapades throughout Italy alongside some of his crazy Italian friends, and always speaks to them in Italian . . . he speaks in English during the cooking portions of the show.  The only other celebrity Italian chef that even comes close to this level of authenticity of actually filming in Italy in all of it's food culture is Lidia Bastianich; but even Lidia films the cooking portion of the show in her kitchen here in the States.

Finally, after waiting for six months, his first cookbook that parallels the television show is once again available on the market.  I just received it last week and couldn't put it down!  I have also pre-ordered his second cookbook which will be out this fall sometime.

So what to prepare for dinner today?  How about a new recipe that I can use up some of the baskets of cherry tomatoes that we harvest every morning?  I have a great recipe for roasted cherry tomatoes that has been prepared with positive reviews, Sweet Cherry Tomato Basil Pesto Sauce on Farfalle Pasta, but I'm always wanting to try something new.  Flipping through the Rocco cookbook, I found this recipe for orecchiette (little ears) pasta in a smooth, creamy, velvety cheese sauce.  I tweaked it quite a bit because Bill and I found it to be just a little too bland for our taste buds.  I doubled the tomatoes, added lots of garlic, and replaced the cilantro with basil from my garden.  It is simply delicious!  I highly recommend this recipe for all of you pasta and tomato lovers!

Creamy Orecchiette with Cherry Tomatoes, Basil, and Garlic
(very adapted from David Rocco's Dolce Vita)

1 lb. box Orecchiette pasta
4 Tbsp. olive oil
40 cherry tomatoes, washed, cut into halves (David Rocco used only 20 tomatoes)
2 - 3 large garlic cloves, minced (my addition)
30 leaves fresh basil, chopped (my addition, David Rocco used cilantro)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup of the saved pasta cooking water
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (my addition)
salt and pepper to taste

Boil a large pot of water.
Add a few tablespoons of salt.
Cook the orecchiette for about 9 minutes, just before the 'al dente' stage is achieved.
Drain pasta and reserve 1 cup of the cooking water.
While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan.
Add the cherry tomatoes to the oil and cook for a few minutes (3 - 5 minutes).
Add the minced garlic.
Add the chopped basil.
Add the pasta and ricotta.
Add the red pepper flakes
Use some of the saved pasta cooking water to make the mixture a little more creamy.
Blend everything well until the sauce is creamy and smooth.
Serve immediately.

Below is a glimpse of the beautiful bake ware from Lydia Bastianich.  

Gorgeous, huh?

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