As a boy, my favorite salad was thinly sliced cucumbers and red onions with tomatoes. They were sprinkled with red wine vinegar, olive oil, and liberal shakes of salt and pepper. 

 

This easy-made salad remains my quintessential summer salad for the hot days of summer. 

 

Add an egg, cheese, other veggies, and a salad can from snack to meal. Over the years, I've learned to make simple dressings. Be it one learned from my old friend Lydia Erwin and her simple mustard vinaigrette to decadent blue cheese-based dressings that wipe out almost all of the virtues of a healthy salad.

 

Salads are literally what you make of them.