Tomato and onion salad

Down in Florida there is a chain of restaurants known as Leaverock's. For years, this was the only place I could get this great salad. Then either they changed ownership or something happened to cash flow and this salad went away and was replaced by some sliced tomatoes and onions with bottled Italian oil dressing poured over them. Frankly it ruined one of the best things on their menu. So, for those of you who remember this salad and miss it as I do, and to those of you who have never had it and should have, here is how the original was made. This recipe will give you an idea of how things must be modified in order to enjoy what you are used to having. It is the only recipe that I will show a before and after look at. I will then present the modifications I have made that enable me to still enjoy this occasionally as I have for many, many years. Again, it is not a daily thing, and in reality I only make it every few weeks now, but I would rather do that than not have it at all.

Thin slice 2 medium tomatoes (3 large Romas) and 1 medium onion. (slices between) 1/16" and 1/8" thick at most. Note: I prefer Roma tomatoes as they are meatier (less juice) and hold together better for thin slicing as well through the marinating phase. Beefsteak tomatoes are OK, but for my taste they are just too soft to marinate well when ripened to the proper eating condition.

The marinade:

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tbs dill dry dill weed

1/4 tsp crushed Basil leaves

Mix sugar, vinegar, oil, dill, and Basil thoroughly and pour over sliced tomatoes and onions. Let stand for about 20 minutes. Do not let stand for more than 45 minutes or the tomatoes start to break down and it becomes very unappetizing in appearance. Taste is fine, but it looks ugly.

Serve on a salad plate by laying tomatoes and onions in a layered semicircle. The oil will cling to the vegetables and carry both the flavor of the sugar and vinegar as well as the dill weed and basil. It is a very simple salad, yet the taste sensation is wonderful.

Now the modifications: Sugar feeds cancer and so sugar goes away, no ifs, ands, or buts. In my case, I should also refrain from distilled grains such as white vinegar or Japanese rice vinegar, etc... and any use of vinegar must be strictly limited (all vinegars are acid and you need to alkalize, not acidize your body.)

Replace the sugar with either the equivalent of Stevia (natural plant sweetener from South America, or Splenda) As mentioned in the nutritional section, Splenda is probably not acceptable if you are a purist in healthy living. Thus far I have seen no studies to show that it is neither usable as glucose by your body or has potentially lethal side effects such as aspartame, and until I do, I will probably mention it as a usable item.

Because I cannot have white distilled vinegar and by the way Heinz has by far the fruitiest, best tasting vinegar I have ever used, I now substitute Heinz apple cider vinegar. Don't misunderstand, white vinegar still tastes better, but I can live with the change and still occasionally enjoy most of the flavor I have loved for over 2 decades without feeding my tumors.