Mixed Vegetable Salad

Late June. We drove to Las Cruces. The whole family. Five days. The last big family trip before Diego leaves for college in August. Mamá and Papá met us at the door. Papá was thinner than he was at Diego's graduation. He moved more slowly. Mamá hugged me longer than usual.

The five days were full of the things we always do in Las Cruces. The Mesilla Plaza. The Organ Mountains. The Pic Quik green chile cheeseburger. The cemetery. Mamá's green chile stew. The patio at sunset. The cousins. Marisol. Alex.

Alex is ten now. He is the same age as the twins. He looks more like Ruben every year. He has Ruben's laugh. He has Ruben's posture. He has Ruben's easy way of being in a room. The first time he ran across the yard, I had to step inside for a minute. Lisa knew. She let me have my minute. I came back outside.

We had a Saturday night dinner with the whole extended Medina family. Twenty-eight people in the house. Mamá's stew in three pots. Tortillas in four stacks. Carne adovada. Pozole. Calabacitas. The kids running. The cousins reconnecting. Diego in the corner with my brother Miguel for an hour, talking football. Sofia on the porch with Patricia, talking medicine — Patricia is not a doctor but she has spent fifty years as a school administrator and is one of the wisest people I know, and Sofia has always gravitated to her. The twins ran with the cousins.

Sunday I sat with Papá on the back porch. The Organ Mountains turned gold. Papá said, "Carlos." I said, "Yeah, Papá." He said, "I am proud of you." I said, "Thank you, Papá." He said, "I am tired." I said, "I know, Papá." He said, "I am not going anywhere yet. But I am tired." I said, "Yes, sir." He said, "Take care of your mother." I said, "Yes, Papá." He patted my hand. He went inside to lie down.

I sat on the porch alone for an hour. The mountains went from gold to purple to dark. The road bends. Feed your people. The game is won at the table.

Mamá’s table that Saturday had three pots of stew and four stacks of tortillas and carne adovada and pozole and calabacitas—but there was always a big bowl of fresh vegetables, too, something cool and bright sitting at the far end of the table to cut through the richness of everything else. After that trip, after sitting with Papá on the porch and watching the Organ Mountains go dark, I came home wanting to recreate some piece of that table. I started with the simplest one: the mixed vegetable salad, the dish that never needs a recipe but always disappears first. This version is close enough to feel like Las Cruces.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 20 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 English cucumber, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 cup fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup black olives, sliced
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Prep the vegetables. Halve the cherry tomatoes, dice the cucumber and bell peppers into uniform pieces, and slice the red onion as thin as you can manage. Uniform cuts help everything dress evenly and make the salad easier to serve to a crowd.
Combine in a large bowl. Add the tomatoes, cucumber, red and yellow bell peppers, corn, red onion, olives, and parsley to a large serving bowl. Toss gently to distribute the colors.
Make the dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper until fully combined.
Dress and toss. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss well to coat every piece. Taste and adjust salt or vinegar as needed.
Rest before serving. Let the salad sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours. The vegetables will release a little juice and the dressing will deepen. Give it one more toss before bringing it to the table.

Nutrition (per serving)

Mixed Vegetable Salad — The Kind Mamá Always Set Beside the Stew