OK, I am always trying to find more and easier ways to serve fresh veggies. I love to cook, but salads have always been my least favorite dish to prepare. Especially green or raw veggie salads. I don’t know why, because I love fresh veggie salads. I think it’s because I have made so darn many of them that it’s just become a boring chore. So, when I find some new way to dress a veggie, I actually look forward to the new adventure. And when the salad is as easy to make and delicious as this recipe produces, I can’t wait to share it with you. And the best part, all the ingredients are refrigerator or pantry staples. (Or should be!)

This lovely recipe, with admittedly a few minor changes from me, comes from the aspicyperspective.com site. Great site BTW. And even though I have two recipes on this site already featuring chimichurri sauce – Grilled Argentine (Like) Marinated Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce and Argentine Picadillo Empanadas with Chimichurri Sauce, I never thought of using chimichurri as a salad dressing. But believe me, I will be using it on other salads, and on various grilled meats, over breakfast scrambles, and even in place of garlic butter on toasted baguette slices. The uses for this delicious sauce are endless. (And it’s bloody easy to make! Hurray!)

And not to worry. The sauce is not spicy hot. In fact, it’s perfectly seasoned.

So, grab some fresh parsley out of your fridge, peel a garlic clove, and throw all the ingredients in a food processor, and call it good. No, call it GREAT!

And in case you don’t own a small food processor, let me recommend the Waring Commercial Pro Prep Chopper-Grinder. They aren’t cheap ($171.97 on Amazon), but I have had mine for many years, and I absolutely find it to be the best tool in my kitchen. Well, right up there with my KitchenAid stand mixer, that is! And lest you forgot, I do not make money by recommending any product on my site. I just tell it like it is for me. And yes, I am as passionate about both my small food processor and my KitchenAid mixer as any other tool lovin’ fool! Because good tools are very important, no matter if its building homes, painting pictures, or enjoying the entire kitchen experience.

Well, that’s it for today. Mr. C. has another outdoor gig this evening. Last Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday evenings he also had outdoor gigs. And yes, there were predictions of possible rain, thunderstorms, and heavy wind for each of those performances too. But the bands made it through, even though the chances of “raindrops keep falling on my head” was there. And just to keep everyone on pins and needles, that same chance of precipitation is looming its ugly head for this evening’s event. (Ah Western Washington. How do I love thee, let me count the ways!) (At least it’s not 116-dgrees. For which I am truly thankful!) And so far, the extreme weather predictions have happened. They have just held off until the bands stopped playing. (The weather gods must love jazz and upscale classic rock as much as I do!) But even if it had rained on these events, we would always be able to come home to a dry and safe place to get out of the storms.

May you too always have a place where you can escape the cold, hot, wet, unhealthy air quality, etc., that so many people on planet earth do not have the luxury of experiencing. We who have a safe haven are truly the lucky ones.

But we can all help. We can vote in the upcoming presidential election for decency, humanity, empathy, and a positive future for the United States. If you have doubts about our future, one way to learn more, from a historian’s perspective, is to follow Heather Cox Richardson.

And especially now, with so much at stake for our country, please learn about the candidates before just voting the party line. That approach might have made sense in the past, but it truly isn’t acting responsibly in today’s crazy political arena.

As always, peace and love to all.  

¼ c. packed fresh Italian parsley leaves (I use Italian parsley exclusively)

1 sm. clove garlic, cut in half

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. red wine vinegar, or more to taste

1 tsp. dried oregano

¼ tsp. ground cumin

¼ tsp. kosher salt, or more to taste

freshly ground black pepper

4-6 crushed red pepper flakes

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes (2 cups), cut in half

Place the parsley, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, cumin, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes in a small food processor. Process until the parsley and garlic are broken down a bit. (Chimichurri sauce is meant to be rustic.) Taste and adjust seasoning.

Pour the chimichurri sauce over the tomatoes and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Remove from fridge about 30 minutes before serving. (I find tomatoes have more flavor when served at room temperature.)