Tomatoes $2.99 lb., Onions $.99 lb, My Mother's Face While Eating Them........Priceless

It only seems fitting that my first post of the year be a light and healthy one. I decided to use my mother’s favorite weekly request which is tomato and onion salad. I have been making a big container of this for her every Saturday for three years. Even though the food is pretty good at the nursing home, the little salad that comes on her tray has always left a lot to be desired. This salad, if you can call it that consists of a couple chunks of ice berg lettuce, one bite size piece of cottony tomato and if she’s lucky a thin slice of cucumber and my mother’s biggest disappointment there are never any onions (my mother is the queen of onions, she can eat them like apples).
The only way any of the residents there can get any onions is to go down to the cafeteria where they have a pretty extensive salad bar. Unfortunately for those who are bed ridden such as my mother this is not an option, so a big container of tomato salad with lots and lots of onions has become a tradition. Every week comes with a specially requested treat in addition to her salad. This week she is craving liverwurst and onions on rye. She has also informed me that in a couple weeks she wouldn’t mind some spaghetti and meatballs.
If you could see the pleasure and contentment on her face when she is eating her tomato and onions it is absolutely priceless. Something so simple, yet it brings such joy and it’s really quite healthy for her to eat, I should probably follow her example and eat more tomatoes and onions.

My Mother's Tomato and Sweet Onion Salad

6 lg. fresh Roma tomatoes
1 medium sweet onion, sliced on the thin side
2 tbsp. minced fresh Italian parsley
2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1/4 c. olive oil
2 tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
or
A bottled dressing such as Italian or some type of vinegrette works just fine

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Cut tomatoes as you desire and place in salad bowl. Add sliced sweet onion, parsley, basil, and salt and pepper. Mix olive oil and vinegar. Pour over the other ingredients. Mix gently and then refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.