Trying to keep family harmony (always a precarious task!), and put only one dinner on the table is my goal for the summer. Last night, this tenuous peace was put to the test when I made the HUGE mistake of giving my boys two choices for dinner. Of course, Casey picked one choice, while Evan insisted on the other. What to do?
I decided to go with Casey's choice of pasta, but make a nutritious, filling salad that I knew would please Evan, even if he continued to insist that our family staple of pasta was now gross.
I had some beautiful cucumbers in the fridge from the farmer's market, a tomato and chickpeas. A quick, easy vinaigrette with fresh herbs resulted in a dish that was crunchy and fresh-tasting. Since some folks like a more-dressed salad than others, I'm leaving the exact proportions up to you.
My sister taught me the Weight Watchers tip of tossing your salad with oil first, then adding the other dressing ingredients, so that you can use less oil.
We shared this recipe as part of Cybele Pascal's Allergy Friendly Fridays. Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love and Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Allergy-free Wednesdays. Please check out the other recipes!
Ingredients:
2 cucumbers, peeled and seeded
1 tomato
1 15-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
small bunch of fresh basil
small bunch of fresh chives
olive oil
red wine vinegar
agave nectar
salt and pepper
Preparation:
Thinly slice cucumbers and tomato.
Combine vegetables with chickpeas, and minced herbs.
Toss salad with oil, then other ingredients.
Happy Cooking!
Kim and Megan
Find tasty recipes in Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen and Gluten-free Vegan Recipes.
Kim and Megan, I'll have to give this salad a try. I love cucumbers and chickpeas but never thought of combining them.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jean. We can't resist all of the beautiful produce at the farmers' markets this time of year. This was a great way to use some of the many cucumbers and tomatoes that ended up in our kitchen!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this recipe. I'm curious as to why you specify that the cucumber should be seeded. How do you seed your cucumbers?
ReplyDeleteHi Janet,
ReplyDeleteIf you're using an English cucumber, you don't need to seed it, but I think the texture is better if you remove the wet pulpy center along with the seeds of the cucumber, and just use the firm flesh. If you don't mind the seeds, by all means keep them in!