No, you don’t get my life story in 25 paragraphs before you get to the recipe.

Here it is, right here. You might like it better in the late summer when the veggies are fresher, but I live on salad year-round.

What you need is a bag or two of those little sweet peppers – the yellow and red ones, and a green bell pepper

or…

4 good sized bell peppers, 1 each – green, yellow, red, and orange.

A good sized cucumber, seedless or not.

A box of cherry tomatoes or any other bite-sized tomatoes. Bonus points for growing them.

A small red onion or a couple of bunches of scallions.

Sliced Kalamata, or black olives, if you like (optional)

A can of white beans, cannoli beans, or garbanzos, drained and rinsed – or not, your preference.

Olive oil

Wine vinegar or lemon juice

Balsamic vinegar – just a dash or two

Salt and pepper

Fresh basil or a few sprigs of parsley – finely chopped

Sharp knife

Cutting board

Really big bowl

Seed the small peppers and cut into rings. The larger peppers should be cut in half at the middle and then julienned. Dump into bowl.

Cut the cucumber into quarters lengthwise and then cut into small chunks. Dump into bowl.

Depending on the size of the tomatoes, you can cut them in half or leave them whole. If you decide to use full-size tomatoes, seed and cut into chunks. Dump into bowl.

Thinly slice the onion or scallions and add to bowl.

Drain and rinse the beans and add to bowl.

Add the sliced olives – optional

Mix together a 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1/4 cup of wine vinegar or lemon juice, a couple of tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar, the chopped basil or parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix dressing into salad.

Chill before serving.

Sometimes instead of beans, I use quinoa or couscous. You can also use bulgur or brown rice if you like. Kidney or black beans give a different flavor.

Feeds me for a week. It could be a nice addition to a potluck.

The bowl I use is the largest of the Ikea 5-bowl set.