Cooking: Italian Marinated Vegetable Salad

I love salads, especially in the summer. My mother-in-law brought some great marinated vegetables to our Fourth of July celebration and this weekend I had a hankering to knock them off. She doesn't typically use a recipe, something I'm trying to do more, but I confess I do like to write things down when I do them so I can duplicate it, and because it seems I too easily forget about good options I've made in the past.

So here it is, a recipe for a simple marinated salad. The thing that makes this good  is the selection of vegetables--I especially love heart of palm. And please note this salad needs to be made at least one day ahead in order to marinate.

• 2 cans artichoke hearts (or you can use frozen--I combined)
• 1 can heart of palm, sliced into 1/4" thick rounds
• 2-3 cups quartered mushrooms
• 1 red bell pepper cut into 1" chunks
• 1/2 cup Italian (flat leaf) parsley
• 2T fresh basil chopped
• 1 T dried basil
• 1 T dried oregano
• equal parts good olive oil and red wine vinegar (you need enough to cover the vegetables generously)
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Mix the vegetables and fresh herbs together in a ziploc bag. Mix the remaining ingredients for the vinaigrette in a bowl (dried hers, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper) and then pour into bag. Refrigerate turning occasionally for at least 24 hours. I think it's even better after 48 hours. When ready, pour into a serving dish and serve cold or room temperature.

This is a great salad to make in a larger quantity and keep on hand to accompany sandwiches for lunch or something grilled for dinner.