Creamy Tomato Salad

We are officially in the midst of a heat wave and my gosh it's a dilly with extreme heat alerts and severe thunderstorm watches being issued daily.  Ah,  the dog days of summer when you don't really feel much like cooking in the heat let alone eating a hot, heavy meal.  Thank goodness there is a never ending variety of salads to refresh and nourish without heating up the kitchen!

There are really no hard, fast rules as to what makes a salad.  In  their simplest form, a salad is simply salad greens and some kind of dressing but even then the dressing can be replaced with a few spritz of fresh citrus juice.  With that in mind, I love making salads with what's on hand.  In the summer months, that means garden fresh produce.  I often add fresh herbs to my salad creations because I grow herbs year round.  Herbs add a lot of flavour without adding calories while being good for you.

Tomatoes are often included in many salads so I decided to make tomatoes the star of a simple creamy tomato salad as a side dish for our grilled entrée.  It was a light, refreshing salad full of flavour, just perfect for a hot summer's meal.

Creamy Tomato Salad
recipe by: Garden Gnome

20 grape tomatoes
¼ c red onion, chopped
¼ c cooked bacon pieces
¼ c English cucumber pieces
2 tbsp Miracle Whip
2 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp raw honey
¼ tsp celery seed
1 tbsp chopped chives

Cut two slices of bacon across short end to form small pieces.  Fry until crisp.  Drain and set aside.  Wash tomatoes.  Pat tomatoes dry and slice in half.  Rough chop red onion.  Cut about a 2 - inch piece of English cucumber into quarters length wise.  Slice across the quarters.  Stir prepared tomatoes, onion, cucumber and bacon together in mixing bowl.  Combine Miracle Whip, vinegar, honey and celery seed in small bowl.  Whisk to mix.  Pour the dressing over the vegetable mix and stir well.  Pour salad into serving bowl.  Sprinkle with chopped chives to garnish.  Refrigerate before serving if desired.