Growing up, salads weren't the appetizer of choice. In Romania people prefer soups over salads. We would eat salads every now and then, but mostly when tomatoes were in season. My grandfather Bunu, who I dearly miss, had a big beautiful garden. He was very passionate about growing vegetables, which turned into his full time job after retirement.

I loved spending my summers at my grandparents' house. My grandmother, Buna, would cook for me whatever I wanted. All I had to do was to tell her what I was craving and the next day that's what we'd eat. It was heaven on earth for a chubster like me.

Dinners were especially fun, because I got to help Buna with the cooking. I would go in the garden, pick the vegetables I wanted, chop them up in the kitchen, and ten minutes later there it was- a big bowl of fresh tomatoes, green onions, gogosari peppers (a Romanian sweet pepper with a spicy kick similar in taste to bell peppers) and red radishes topped with home-pressed sunflower oil, coarse salt and cracked pepper. Salads were always served with a crispy loaf of freshly baked bread. So simple, yet so flavorful.