Tomato, Avocado, and Cucumber Salad

When you have 4 beautiful Haas avocados, that are still fairly hard...you let it sit outside in a basket, or fruit bowl and wait for two or three days and they will be perfectly at their best, firm, yet soft to make some nice salad with it...if you let it ripen another day or longer; best to make Guacamole out of it. In my case I chose to make a beautiful and healthy salad. Same goes with the plum tomatoes. When you purchase them, and they are firm, but just getting ripe...let them sit outside for a couple days, and they will ripen to perfection.

Also, I decided to add hard boiled eggs to the salad...only because hard boiled eggs are a nice addition to any healthy salad...and because, I felt extremely guilty for having to toss out half a dozen eggs that I neglected to use up, and they were nearly one month old. I always check the dates on the egg carton and are careful not to use them more than 1 week pass the expired date. The expiration date is really just a caution to warn you but they will still be OK to use after the expiration date for a week, I'm quite sure of that! I always use organic eggs which cost a little more, but so well worth it. Same with my vegetables!

At our Latino produce market, everything is 'dirt' cheap. Just have to make an effort to stop there, and stock up on all the things I need; but it's more convenient to buy everything at the local supermarket when I do my weekly grocery shopping. Who can pass up Haas avocados...2 for $1.00 when at the supermarket they are $1.50 each! Same with the limes, at the produce market, they are always 10 for $1.00 compared to 3 for $1.00 at the supermarket. You really have a choice, but not always convenient to go out of your way when you can find all the things you need in one stop! Whole Foods Market is more expensive, but that still happens to be my very favorite market for the best quality!

Even though I live alone, but I have lovely neighbors/friends in my condo complex, and my family is just a few minutes over the 'bridge' on the other side of the Intracoastal waterway. I live on the island, which is quite a large size, and only 1 supermarket; which I recently realized, but it takes only 10 minutes to drive over the bridge and have the 'world at your feet'! I only cook about once or twice a week, and almost always have all my amazing meals at my daughter's Lora! ...and once a week at my son Joe...how fortunate can one mom be?...having loving family around me...feeling truly Blessed!

When you prepare something healthy and delicious, you really need to have the freshest ingredients, especially when you make a beautiful salad. You don't always need lettuce for your salad...just use your imagination, and create something that inspires you...no recipe needed for that. I happen to love sweet Vidalia or another brand of sweet onions. Naturally sweet; you can almost bite into it like an apple...but really, you don't want to do that; just peel, an slice, or dice it to saute it in cooking...never, ever any tears...which is the best part, as well!

Tomato, Avocado, and Cucumber Salad
created by; Elisabeth




4 Haas avocados
4 Plum (Roma) tomatoes
1 firm cucumber
2 hard boiled eggs
1/2 of a medium sweet onion
1 or 2 limes
1 bunch of Italian parsley
Extra Virgin olive oil
Sea Salt
freshly ground pepper







Cut avocados, tomatoes, in half...carefully remove the pits from the avocados, then cut them into half again, lengthwise...same with the tomatoes, and dice them into bite size pieces.

Peel cucumber partially, or all the way, cut it in half lengthwise, and dice it into bite-size pieces as well. For the hard boiled eggs, also cut in half lengthwise and dice into bite-size pieces.


For the onion, cut in half, and slice thin lengthwise, as well. For the parsley, chop a small handful, and save a few whole pieces for decoration. Combine everything in the proper order, starting with the tomatoes, and ending with the avocado, and hard boiled eggs...since they are delicate. they need to be on top.

Drizzle with about 1 Tbsp. of olive oil, and juice of half of a lime...or a whole if not enough juices. Salt, and pepper to taste, and additional oil, and juice of lime
if preferred.

Serve with pita bread, flat bread, or bread of your choice. Serves 2, generously!


Thank you everyone for your kind comments, and support; and I do appreciate your friendship, even though I don't comment regularly, and often...not even checking my own blog. I must confess that I'm  Pinterest...aholic, and not even bothering with my e-mails every day! (when you receive about 200 e-mails daily, you really have to add another e-mail address...can't see the 'trees' from the forest...as they say!
Have a wonderful weekend, dear friends! xo

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches...and a busy day!

I was so determined to make something light today for lunch, and suddenly, an idea just came to my mind...why not Cucumber Tea Sandwiches?!...after all, I had all the ingredients, including the 'soft spread' cream cheese and fresh dill, which I like to keep on hand but they go bad so quickly. I don't even like to freeze them because they taste terrible when you thaw them out!
These little open faced sandwiches are not enough to satisfy your hunger...but for an afternoon snack with 'tea'...in my case, iced tea, would have been just the right snack to 'hit the spot.'

Also, did the same thing to the cupboards to check for items, and I even made a banana bread, as well. It sure was nice to have a large piece with cold iced tea  after the little sandwiches.

In the meantime...the lawn care guys came, and of course the little doggies went crazy, barking their little heads off!

When you have ripe bananas, I mean ripe...as in little brown spots ripe; that's when its the best time to make banana bread and if you have some chocolate chips...even better...yumm

(Remind me to post the recipe on my next post)...although I do have at least two recipes on my blog for banana bread!

...and by-the-way, the loaf pan that I gave to my daughter, is a heavy-duty calphalon, so nice to bake in it, and it was actually brand new...such a treasure from Goodwill...a fabulous thrift find for $1.99.

We do get hot temperatures, but also rain, every day since last month. Doesn't rain all day long...just on-and-off, but trying to take pictures in-between the rain, and the sun...seriously; that's how it is here in S. Florida.

Getting back to my tea sandwiches!

First off: you must have one of these gadgets, the plastic mandolin...another thing, if you can't find this in a 'thrift store'...which is almost, but I should say...always new, because most people do not, or cannot use them because they don't know how! The cost:  99cents...and I have at least 3 of these, the other two have extra gadgets, for cutting different things.

For the method:
Take one, or two cucumbers, and peel partially, like in the photo, cut the ends off, and with a steady hand slice the cucumbers. (just watch the tip of your fingers, because the blade is extremely sharp.)
Set sliced cucumbers aside on a plate, and start cutting your bread.

You can cut your bread into any shape you would like to, if you want round shapes, just use a biscuit cutter, or different cookies shape cutters. Just make sure you cut the crusts of. I used a triangle cut, (they're not so even) but that's OK...it's just for myself!

The best cream cheese to use, is the Philadelphia spreadable cheese; leave outside for about 20 before spreading on your favorite bread slices. I used a really good oat bread. If you can't find the soft spread cheese, you can use the regular cream cheese, just let it come to room temperature!

Spread each slices lightly...

Line the thin slices of cucumber in a decorative style on the slices of bread, and with kitchen shears, snip a small piece off...I got a little carried away, on a couple slice of bread, with the dill; but I love dill so much, the fragrance is incredible, and so is the flavor! Such an Eastern European 'thing'...the famous DILL!

I sprinkled some freshly ground sea salt, and freshly ground multi-colored peppers on them...such light and delicious little sandwiches!




...and that's all there is to it; Enjoy!

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