FRESH CHERRY TOMATO SALAD:

I picked these grape tomatoes up from a produce market with my dad. Because of the large amount of grape tomatoes that I bought, I made double this recipe, but I cut it in half for the site for practical purposes. Look at how pretty this salad looks! It's amazing and refreshing, and you can add it to pretty much anything: argula, rice, pasta, even pizza.

I ended up using soy sauce as a dressing, which turned out to be a tiny stroke of genius. It gave the grape tomatoes an extra salty and nutty flavor. I couldn't resist it and ate half of the three-pound salad in a day.

My younger brother, Mac, explained to me that, when he got home from the bar the night before, he smelled the tomato salad and got excited because he thought that it was chicken or something else that would satisfy his drunken munchies. (He hates tomatoes). When he took the foil off of the salad bowl, he was shocked and dismayed that the bowl was full of tomatoes. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't feeling brave enough to taste the tomato salad, but I know that he would've liked it a lot had he been able to muster up enough courage to try it. (He just recently got back from exploring Australia, Thailand, and New Zealand by the way).

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (or 1 package) red grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 1/2 cups yellow grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp soy sauce (to taste)
11/2 tsp. garlic salt or coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Dash of thyme
A few drops of lemon juice

Serves 4 (as a side dish).
Total Cook Time: about 10 minutes.
Instructions:

1. Add the  cherry tomatoes, parsley, onion, olive oil, and soy sauce to a large bowl. Mix together.

2. Add the sea salt, black pepper, thyme, and lemon juice. Toss to coat.

Personally, I wouldn't change anything about this salad, but here are a few ideas:
- Substitute Italian dressing or balsamic if you're not a big fan of soy sauce.
- Substitute Bragg Liquid Aminos for the soy sauce to make this recipe gluten free.
- Use sesame oil instead of olive oil to give this salad a richer flavor.
- Put this salad in a food processor, and process until smooth for a creative, Asian-style salsa. Eat with tortilla chips, on toasted French bread, or use as a pasta or vegan pizza sauce.
- Pair this with your favorite salad greens and crunchy Asian noodles for a perfect dinner or side salad.

My brother Mac and I right before going canoeing last week in Cook Forest, PA.