With only a few more weeks of summer left, it’s time to savour every minute and morsel. The beginning of summer is always exciting, holidays to look forward to, long days and warm summer nights, but when summer is ending the crops are ripe for picking.

This summer we decided to give our garden a bigger footprint, doubling it in size. While I was a bit hesitant about the upkeep of a bigger garden, with a little one and a dog, it has been really nice to go out and grab fresh herbs and veggies each day for meals.

Growing up my grandmother always made fresh salads from her garden vegetables, so when we chose the vegetables to plant in our own garden I based them on the ingredients we needed to make a salad just like hers. In fact, she recently asked if all of my veggies were enough to make a salad, and I am happy to say, yes! Over the past few years my family has been playing around with the ingredients in this light and refreshing dish and lately we’ve been adding a lot more herbs to the mix. It’s amazing how much flavour a few fresh herbs can bring to a simple dish.

Below is my take on a simple salad recipe my family has been enjoying for generations. Hope you enjoy it!

Josephine’s Simple Summer Salad

Ingredients

16 -20 cherry vine tomatoes, halved

2 cucumbers, chopped

3 leafy celery stalks (leaves and all), chopped

½ a white onion, chopped

3 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

3 sprigs of fresh oregano, minced

2 bunches of parsley, finely chopped

¼ cup olive oil

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, onion, basil, oregano, and parsley.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to make the dressing.
3. Pour dressing over vegetables, toss and enjoy!

Make it a Meal:

This salad pairs really well with pasta dishes; see Josephine’s One Pot Pasta for a perfect pairing.