Summer Side Dishes

The Farmer's Market is full of all kinds of summer squash and I just love it! It is so colorful and healthy and you can cook it in so many different ways. This great side dish was inspired by a summer time dish that my mom always made: Cucumber and Onions. She would slice the cukes really thin, then add some sliced onions and more often than not she would use the Seven Seas salad dressing shaker and mix up a package of the zesty Italian dressing to pour over the top. There always seemed to be an endless supply of this salad, it just got better as it sat in the fridge.

For this Sweet and Tangy Summer Squash Salad, I took some zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper and onions, sliced them thin and then mixed together a sweet and tangy dressing to go over top. The dressing is a cross between the marinade you would normally put on a 3 bean salad and a honey mustard vineagrette. It is a really good summer time salad, it goes great with the leftover chicken from my basic roasted chicken and just like my mom's cuke and onion salad it just gets better with time.

Sweet and Tangy Summer Squash Salad

1 large zucchini
1 large yellow summer squash
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thin
1/2 medium white onion, sliced thin
2 tablespoons red wine vineagar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh snipped chives

With a vegetable peeler, peel long thin ribbons from the zucchini and the squash. Add them to a bowl, then add the red bell pepper and the white onion. In a seperate bowl (I use a small container with a tight fitting lid), addthe vineagar, sugar and mustard. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Whisk in the oil, season with salt and pepper then pour over the squash mixture. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (The longer the better) Garnish with fresh snipped chives before serving.