Creamy dressing recreating summer salad memory

Last summer I wheeled my way to southern Virginia and spent a pleasant Fourth of July weekend at beautiful Smith Mountain Lake. Sitting on a boat's bow watching the fireworks elicited my own kidlike "ohhhs" and "ahhhs."

Before the fireworks, young and old celebrants enjoyed an outdoor dinner of cool summer salads, grilled burgers on whole grain buns, chilled farmers market watermelon and ice cream for the kids. (OK, I had a small scoop, too.)

A lakeside neighbor contributed a creamy and tangy chunky cucumber, onion and tomato salad that delighted my taste buds. I asked for the recipe and was disappointed when told that there wasn't one. The salad-maker explained she'd simply combined some mayonnaise and red wine vinegar with the tomatoes, cucumber and onion. That's it.

When I returned home, I promised myself I'd play with those simple ingredients and see if I could come close to duplicating this delicious, summery salad.

First, I got the vegetables ready: I cut a seedless cucumber, large tomato and red onion into chunky slices.

Then I faced the big issue: the dressing. Knowing that a cup of real mayonnaise delivers 1,600 calories and a whopping 176 fat grams, I decided to switch to fat-free mayonnaise; slashing calories to 175 - goodbye 1,360 calories and a boatload of fat.

On a side-by-side, taste comparison fat-free mayonnaise (sometimes labeled mayonnaise dressing) doesn't taste as good as traditional, full fat mayonnaise, but the savings in calories alone made the switch worthwhile. Because I planned to season that fat free mayonnaise and mix it with three great vegetables I believed it would work as the foundation of a yummy salad.

I measured 1 cup of the fat free mayonnaise and added 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, some salt and fresh-ground black pepper and whisked it all together. I dipped a cucumber chunk in for a taste. Not bad; but a little flat. I added some artificial sweetener, whisked it in and took another taste. Better. I mixed my dressing into the vegetables and then chilled it to let the flavors blend and mellow.

I served the salad at dinner later that evening and asked my guests what they thought. The dressing's pink hue didn't sit well with them and they all agreed the dressing was too sharp. Hmmm.

A week later I made the salad again. This time I split the cucumber in half the long way, before slicing it crosswise into smaller half-moon shaped pieces. I cut the tomato into wedges and then cut those wedges into thirds, since slicing and chopping them as before made them almost disappear. And, I ran the red onion through the julienne cutter on my V-slicer to produce minced onion.

Using my smothered cucumber dressing (available in the recipe archive at dailyherald.com) as a guide, I added a half cup reduced-fat sour cream to the mayonnaise, seasoned it with lower-acid rice wine vinegar and less artificial sweetener. I mixed it all up, chilled it and sampled it. Exactly the same as the sensational salad I tasted last summer. Perfect.

You want a last taste of summer, too? Here's the recipe.

Lean and lovin' it just marked its 17th year. During those years I shared more than 800 stories and recipes with you. Writing this column is not work, it's fun and it wouldn't be possible without you, my readers. Thank you.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write him at don@theleanwizard.com.