Summer In a Bowl: Tomato and Cucumber Salad

This simple salad of tomato, cucumber, and onion says summer to me. It is a quick and easy way to use fresh summer produce from the garden or farmers' market. And, it's the perfect for a picnic or a pitch-in. It's so easy that an actual recipe is not required.

You will need: tomato, cucumber, onion, cider vinegar, and sugar. To make about 6 servings I used 1 cucumber, 2 medium tomatoes, 1 onion, 1/2 cup vinegar, and 1/2 cup sugar. To make larger quantities, just remember to use equal parts vinegar to sugar for the dressing.

Combine vinegar and sugar in a small sauce pan. Heat it enough to bring it to a boil and melt the sugar into the vinegar.

While the vinegar/sugar mixture is cooling, peel the onion. Peeling the tomato and cucumber is up to you. I always peel my tomatoes just because I come from a family that peels their tomatoes. Whether or not I peel the cucumber really depends on the individual cucumber and this one had beautiful, thin skin, so I left it on.

Chop the onion, cucumber, and tomato into whatever size is pleasing to you. I would call this medium, with the tomatoes and cucumbers in about 1 inch pieces and the onion a bit smaller. When one of my mom's friends used to make this salad she would dice everything to about 1/2 inch.  I have also seen it made with much larger pieces of tomatoes and sliced cucumber and onion.,

Pour the cooled vinegar/sugar mixture over the veggies and stir. It's best if you have time to chill before eating. It will keep well in the refrigerator, so you can make it a day or so ahead of time.