So Simple

This salad represents my first "a-ha!" moment as a cook. My mother-in-law prepared it for us one night. I was amazed by its simplicity. I realized that excellent food can be really simple and the key is fresh ingredients.

Tomato Salad:
3 cups of tomatoes (any kind cut into bite sized pieces)
fresh basil (chiffonade about 5 leaves of basil)
red wine vinegar (about 2 tablespoons)
olive oil (also about 2 tablespoons)
salt
pepper
not pictured, but delicious: chopped garlic (1-2 cloves)

stir the vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic to make the vinaigrette . Add the tomatoes and basil. Stir and voila! You have a simple, delicious and healthy salad. Serve before dinner as an entree or with your main dish as a side salad. The vinaigrette is also delicious soaked up with a baguette.