The challenge: Use up some garden vegetables before they have a chance to go bad. The result: An easy, delicious salad! 

My cucumber vines were done, so it was time to harvest the cukes & clean up the box for a late planting of sugar peas. My basil needed pinching and the grape tomatoes & green beans were maturing faster than I could collect them. Turned out I still had some baby potatoes, too, though those weren’t from my garden. 

This is such a simple salad that it hardly merits its own recipe, but the combination worked out so well I wanted to be able to replicate it. You’ll find a printer-friendly version of the recipe at the bottom of this page.

Ingredients:

1 large handful of grape or cherry tomatoes, about 6 oz.

1 large handful of fresh green beans, about 4 oz.

1 medium cucumber (I used half of the behemoth in the pic)

1 large handful of baby potatoes, about 8 oz.

1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint

1 tsp chopped fresh basil

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp white balsamic vinegar (I used Oliva’s Gravenstein Apple White Balsamic)

Preparation:

1.) Snap the beans into bite-size segments, about ¾-1 inch. Fill a medium bowl with cold water and some ice. Bring a small pot of water to a boil; add the beans for about 1 minute – until just becoming tender. Scoop the beans out with a slotted spoon or small strainer (save the water), and immediately plunge into the water bath.

2.) Bring the water pot back to a boil, then add the potatoes to the pot. Cook about 15-20 minutes, until fork tender. Remove the beans from the ice water bath, saving the water, & set aside. Scoop the potatoes out of the hot water & plunge into the cold water. Let sit until cool enough to handle, then cut in quarters.

3.) While potatoes are cooking, quarter the tomatoes and chop the cucumber & herbs. Place vinegar & lemon juice in a large bowl. Whisking constantly, slowly add oil. Continue whisking until well-blended, then stir in the herbs. Add the veggies & spuds, and stir gently to combine. May be served immediately, or refrigerated a couple of hours until needed.