Our House salad

Humans are creatures of habit - I don't think that is a new idea. I was thinking of habit this evening when preparing our evening meal - I guess we could call this our House Salad. 

Now, my salads are a bit different in that I don't want any greens, no lettuce, no spinach, no arugula.  Our most common salad is more of a vegetable salad.  The only required ingredient is fresh tomatoes, preferably Roma. If we have fennoccio (fennel bulb) that is a favorite.  Cucumber or avocado are acceptable additions. All ingredients are chopped at about the same size. We often add canned cecci (garbanzo beans) or canned salmon for additional protein and heft. Fresh basil cut from the pot by the garage, spicy Sicilian olive oil, sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and a tiny splash of balsamic vinegar create the dressing.  Stir it up, let it marinate for a few minutes, and enjoy! 

Very nice with fresh bread and we often have a bit of wine.  DH is especially fond of any $4 Shiraz he can buy at Wal-Mart.  Surprisingly, not too awful.  The current vintage is Lucky Duck 2008 Shiraz.