Smothered Tomatoes, Cucumber and Onion salad makes use of the best produce found at a summer farmers market. Courtesy of Don Mauer

Let's climb into my way-back machine and head to nearly 13 years ago: 2009.

That summer, I wrote a column about spending a sensational, sunny weekend at Green Mountain Lake in Stanardsville, Virginia. One of the great things I was able to do that weekend was learn how to wake surf behind a boat built for wakeboard surfing. The boat tips slightly to one side and creates a wake that, once you're in it and upright, you're surfing.

I drank some of that learning-to-wake surf. Once finally up, though, it was an absolute blast.

On Saturday evening of that weekend, a large group of friends got together to barbecue and share side-dish goodies. One of those side dishes was a tomato, cucumber and red onion salad dressed with a slightly sweet, creamy dressing.

That salad was so good I asked for the recipe. Instead of a written recipe, I got a brief explanation that the veggies are mixed with a dressing made from red wine vinegar, mayonnaise and sour cream.

Returning home, I wanted to make that special salad, and since at that time I was fat-focused, I proceeded to re-create that salad using fat-free mayonnaise and fat-reduced sour cream along with red wine vinegar. My dressing turned out pink, which didn't matter much, except for having to answer: "Why is the dressing pink?"

My way-back machine brought me back so I could make that salad again, with some 2022 twists. Here's my story.

Last weekend a couples group to which I belong nicknamed "Four Chefs" got together for the first time in nearly 2½ years (COVID-19, you know). In this group, four men do all the cooking and show off a little, while all eight get to dine and converse through the afternoon and early evening.

One of the chefs smoked beef brisket, a pork butt and chicken breasts. Knowing that menu and my usual visit to a Saturday-morning farmers market helped me decide to bring my smothered salad with an updated dressing.

At the farmers market, I found some beautiful yellow (Sun Gold) cherry tomatoes and some tasty red cherry tomatoes. A farmer had brought garden-fresh organic dill that I couldn't resist.

My original salad didn't include dill, but I knew it would not harm this salad.

No fat-free mayo like I'd used 13 years ago. No. I went with my favorite avocado oil mayo that is also sugar-free. This time I got to use an organic sour cream made without the thickeners and stabilizers frequently used in low-fat sour creams of the past. I switched to rice vinegar, which is slightly less acidic than red wine vinegar while avoiding the pink hue.

I cut the cherry tomatoes into halves, chopped the onion into small dice, cut the cucumber in half lengthwise, and then cut the halves into matching slices on my mandoline. I whisked together the dressing with the fresh dill, tasted it to adjust the seasoning, and then stirred it into my salad.

At least as good as the one I remembered from 13 years ago, and it got eight thumbs ups at the dinner. There was none to bring home.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at 1leanwizard@gmail.com.

½ cup sugar-free avocado oil mayonnaise

¼ cup organic sour cream

1½ tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon snipped fresh dill leaves

½ teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

1 packet organic stevia (or other natural sugar substitutes -- equal to 2 teaspoons sugar)

1 cup yellow cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cup red cherry tomatoes, halved

1 English or hothouse cucumber (8 to 10 ounces), halved lengthwise and cut into ¼-inch slices

¼ medium-large red onion, minced

Whisk mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, dill, salt, pepper and stevia together in a large mixing bowl until combined. Add tomato, cucumber and onion and, with a large rubber spatula, stir and fold until coated with dressing. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

Nutrition values per serving: 152 calories (80.5% from fat), 13.6 g fat (3.3 g saturated fat), 5.6 g carbohydrates (4.3 net carbs), 3.6 g sugars, 1.3 g fiber, 1.1 g protein, 10 mg cholesterol, 341 mg sodium.