Good-bye to Summer and Tomato & Cucumber Salad on Petite Heirloom Lettuce

I had a hard time this year saying good-bye to summer. It did come rather late this year, but it ran on into September and made me appreciate that we homeschool even more. We were even able to sneak in a spur of the moment excursion to BC on the September long weekend and the weather was incredible! There were a couple of times where even heat-seeking ol’ me was tempted to say it was too hot, but I bit my tongue and just enjoyed that we had access to the delightfully clean lakes in the Slocan area. All because I knew that the time would come all too soon for the cold weather to set in and I would have to hunker down in our nice, cozy abode and whine and complain until next spring!

Yesterday, Guy finally convinced me that we had to pull out the tomato and pepper plants. But I had bought three weeks more time with the makeshift greenhouse Guy built over the plants. It made a big difference and I am hoping the structure will survive the winter as I fully intend to use it to get a head start on next year’s planting season. It wasn’t a huge harvest by any means, but I am quite pleased, as I started all of the tomatoes from seed last spring. It was the first time I have had any success with starting seedlings indoors. I grew two kinds, a bio-dynamic cherry which tasted incredible ripened on the vine, and an heirloom variety called Striped German. Apparently these can grow quite large, so none were able to ripen on the vine, but I am anxiously waiting for them to ripen so I can give them a try. I am hoping to save some seeds from both varieties, as well.

This year’s tomato harvest and rescued pepper plants.

It’s good timing for all these tomatoes. I am really enjoying fresh tomatoes and have been loving the locally grown ones from the store. They are, of course, included on tonight’s menu. One of the tasty treats we discovered on this last trip to BC, was a sauce made of honey, apple cider vinegar and garlic. I fell in love with it, and have been playing around with it ever since. I will share some of the things I have been putting it on in future posts. For tonight however, I came up with my own version of it, as the bottle I bought isn’t going to last me until the next time we are in BC!

Tomato & Cucumber Salad on Petite Heirloom Lettuce

Tomato & Cucumber Salad on Petite Heirloom Lettuce – low fat, raw vegan

4 ripe organic tomatoes, cut into bite sized slices
1 long organic english cucumber, thinly sliced
3 organic green onions, chopped
1/2 recipe of Saucy Honey Garlic Dressing (recipe below)
4 Earthbound Farms Organic Petite Heirloom Lettuce Heads, wash whole and allow to dry
avocado slices, if desired and you are wanting to add some healthy fats

Mix everything except the lettuce together and let marinate for at least 1/2 hour. Take the lettuce heads and form into a rosette of sorts by pulling the leaves away from the center. If you don’t have the petite lettuce heads, feel free to use any other type of lettuce that you have available. Divide the marinated veggies amongst the 4 lettuce heads. Garnish with avocado slice, if desired.

Saucy Honey Garlic Dressing

1/3 cup water
1/3 cup organic apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup organic honey
4 cloves of peeled garlic, or to taste

Combine all of these ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until well blended.

Hope you all enjoyed your summer and are ready to embrace the next season!