Tomato, Cucumber, and Artichoke Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Hi friends! 

What a beautiful day we were blessed with today! It's a solid 75 degrees, sunshine, a slight breeze, and 0% humidity here in the old Land of 10,000 Lakes. Summer is basically here and that means there's going to be lots of grilling and sitting around bonfires! My favorite :)

I love eating FRESH this time of year! There are gardens everywhere and farmer's markets are opening up for the season which means there's lots and lots of fresh fruits and veggies for the pickin'!

Tomatoes and cucumbers are my top two go-to veggies! They are the two veggies that I constantly have on hand because they are so versatile and DELICIOUS! Seriously, I could eat tomatoes on everything and anything all day every day. I've been known to eat a whole tomato just like an apple. LOVE TOMATOES. 

There's a traditional version of this salad with tomatoes, cucumber, and raw red onion. Let me just be very clear here. My love for tomatoes is HUGE, and my hatred for onion is just as huge. Especially raw red onion. Yellow aren't that bad. Cooked onions are a little better, but not ideal. So you can imagine how quick I decided to make my own version of this tomato, cucumber and onion salad since I had 2/3 ingredients in high supply.

The vinaigrette adds a nice tang and the lemon brightens it up immensely! I chose artichokes instead of onion because of the saltiness it brings to the dish. Feta gives it a creaminess and richness and follows the Italian-esque vibe I was going for here. If you like black olives you could add those (not an olive fan either) and the red onion too.

The best part of this salad? Took me about 10 minutes from start to finish, including chopping my veggies and making the vinaigrette. Super easy, super quick, super fresh, super healthy, super DELISH! 

 







First, you're gonna wanna chop your veggies.

I sliced my cucumbers in wheels like this, but they do make for large bites if your cucumber is big so go ahead and cut them in half if you don't have as big of mouth as me.

I sliced the tomatoes in half, then sliced the halves in half, and then sliced those in half as well. So basically cutting your tomato in eighths the long way.

I forgot to take a picture of the artichokes. (#blogfail) 
Basically all I did was drain them from the can and rinse, and gave them a rough chop. Remember if you're using whole artichokes cut the woody, fiberous portion off the bottom or else you'll end up with really tough parts that you can't chew in your salad. (I may or may not remembered to do this the first time...) Toss all the veggies in a large bowl.

Combine all the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a separate bowl and whisk thoroughly until combined. Pour over the veggies and mix. Sprinkle the feta over everything and finish by zesting a lemon.

Serve this as a side dish to your favorite Italian meal or as an appetizer! 

 
Roma Tomato, Cucumber and Artichoke Salad

       1 large cucumber, sliced
       3-4 Roma tomatoes, sliced in eighths 
       1 can whole artichokes, stems cut and roughly chopped
       1/4 cup feta cheese (I used reduced-fat)  
 
Lemon Vinaigrette
       4 tablespoons olive oil
       1 tablespoons red wine vinegar
       1/2 lemon, squeezed
       1-2 tsp salt
       1-2 tsp pepper
       2 tsp garlic powder

Combine the sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, and chopped artichokes. Mix the vinaigrette separately,  then pour over the chopped up veggies. Mix thoroughly, then add the feta cheese. Finish by zesting some lemon over the top of the salad. Serve immediately. Enjoy!