News Taffy

Eat simply and eat well. Food doesn’t have to be complicated or filled with lots of ingredients to taste good and satisfy our cravings. This simple salad that was making the rounds of social media recently is a perfect example of how you can prepare something quickly that is both healthy and wonderfully tasty. I served this to my family and we couldn’t get enough of it.

This salad can be assembled in minutes as long as you can use a sharp knife (hint: let your children make it). I did make a few changes to suit my taste; I used grape tomatoes instead of Roma and added the lemon zest for even more flavor. This recipe also shows how a few ingredients can make a salad dressing that is much better tasting and healthier than store bought without all the preservatives, fats and sugar. Since the lemon juice keeps the avocado from turning brown, the leftovers were even good the next day for lunch.

I’d serve this salad with some fish sautéed in olive oil or butter and seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika or thinly sliced chicken breasts cooked the same way but seasoned with a spicy rub. If you have a larger family to feed, add a steamed vegetable. Either way, dinner could definitely be on the table in 20 to 30 minutes.

Cucumber, Tomato and Avocado Salad
1 English cucumber, chopped or other cucumber that is seeded and chopped
1 pint grape tomates, halved
2 to 3 avocados, carefully diced
1/2 red onion sliced very thinly
1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
zest and juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper
2 to 3 Tbsp. olive oil

Wash and prepare all vegetables, zest the lemon and coarsely chop the herb. Place in a salad bowl and drizzle with the lemon juice, olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss gently and chill until serving time.

Here is a quick tip for picking a ripe avocado. First, gently squeeze the avocado. If it is very soft, it will be overripe or beginning to spoil and turn brown. If the avocado is rock hard, it is probably not ripe enough but try to pick off the small brown stem on the end. If it is yellowish green underneath, the avocado is ripe and ready to use. An avocado left sitting on the counter should be ready to use in a day or two if you purchase one that is not ripe. Never refrigerate uncut avocados. If you only use a portion of an avocado, you can wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate the rest. Use within a day or two and trim off the side where it has turned brown and it will be perfectly good to eat.