Mom's Tomato and Avocado Salad, Day 53, 7/20/11

When my parents bought new appliances 4 years ago, we joked that we could put my mom's stove in the driveway with a sign that reads, "20 years old and barely used.  Free." and it would be gone by day's end.  In my family we often tease my mom about her lack of cooking.  It's not that she's a bad cook.  Truth be told, she makes really good stuff.  She just doesn't enjoy cooking and so she probably doesn't do it as often as some other people do.

One of the really good things she makes is her Tomato and Avocado Salad.  And there are only a few other ingredients so it's a super simple, tasty salad that is perfect for summer.

When I made it a few days ago I used 2 medium tomatoes and 1 beautifully ripe avocado.  I diced the tomatoes first, and added some salt so that they would start to break down a bit and release some of their juice. 

Depending upon what's in the house at the time my mom usually adds either diced red or green onion and a cheese.  I think she usually uses a fresh mozzarella, but feta is great too.  I didn't have either of those in the house, but surprise, surprise, I did have blue cheese.  :-)  So I added some green onion and blue cheese crumbles.

Finally I diced the avocado and added it to the mixture along with some of the Aldi's seasoning that I love (pictured above.)  You want to add the avocado right before it's going to be served so that it doesn't sit around getting brown.  That's not appetizing... 

You could mix together a vinaigrette to pour over it, but for me that makes it a little heavy.  The juice from the tomatoes and seasoning that's added make a vinaigrette unnecessary and keep the dish fairly healthy.

I really think this Tomato and Avocado Salad is one of the most simple and delicious things I've made all summer.  Way to go, Mom!