It was 104 this afternoon in the Costco parking and 102 in our shaded gravel driveway. Dreadful for us, but for tomatoes!? Hot damn! About a dozen Early Girls ripened significantly since yesterday. And the English-type cucumbers rival the zucchinis in wowzers overnight growth. The bounty above made it in short order onto our dinner plates. By mid-September, we'll be tired of this fare, but tonight was a culinary celebration.
On the plate our first Caprese salad. We had to make do with cheese other than fresh mozzarella, not as good, but for our first tomato harvest, it had to do; simple cucumber and onion salad (recipe below); grilled New York steak; marinated grilled zucchini, onions, and peppers (not from the garden.)
The cuke/onion salad is a summer staple. It is so easy to make and delicious. I credit my mother, who is fast approaching age 98, for this recipe. It is a piece of my midwestern childhood that has been repeating every summer for decades. The first salad of the season always tastes the most amazing. Here you go:
Simply Delicious Cucumber Onion Salad
Ingredients (serves 2 with some leftover)
You can alter the amounts easily. Figure a medium cuke per person plus a little onion. The dressing is one third water, one third vinegar, and one third sweetener. If you use a food processor to slice the veggies, this fresh crisp salad takes about five minutes.
2 medium-sized English cucumbers (or other slicing cukes)
half of 1 small sweet onion such as Walla Walla
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons sugar (Or sugar substitute. I use Splenda.)
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Slice the cukes into thin rounds. Slice the onion thinly. Place into glass bowl. Mix the vinegar, water, and sugar. Add whatever salt and pepper you like. Pour over cukes and onions and mix. Serve immediately at room temperature or wait a few hours. This is good the next day, but will have "wilted". Even then, the cukes and onions remain crunchy.
