Fresh Cucumber Asian Salad

"Look what I have created! I have made fire! *I* have made fire!!!" - 'Castaway' with Tom Hanks

To celebrate Labor Day (or Memorial Day, as I kept accidentally calling it), we had friends and family over for grilling and to try out our new fire pit.  It was great fun.

During our festivities, our sweet neighbor, who speaks zero English, stopped by and gave us a GIANT bowl of cucumbers to serve to our guests.Confession: I know zero cucumber recipes.

So I cut up some of the cucumbers and served them with salad dressing, when one of our friends said she usually eats them with vinegar and splenda (or sugar, as I didn’t have splenda). 

It was really good, and I still had about 10 cucumbers left, so I made it again this week, marinated it, and jazzed it up a bit.  Its very similar to the salad a lot of asian restaurants serve.

 

Ingredients:

3 cucumbers
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper 

Directions:

Step 1:  Cut the fresh cucumbers into thin slices. The thinner the slice, the more vinegary they will be!

Step 2: In a small bowl combine vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir. 

Step 3: In a large bowl, toss cucumbers, onion, and carrots. Pour vinegar mixture over the top and stir, ensuring every piece of cucumber is coated. 

Step 4: Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably over night, before serving. 

Serves 4-5 sides.

 

Throwing My First Party Since Going Gluten-Free

"Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life." - Mark Twain

Last night I had girlfriends over. We exchanged books, drank wine, and caught up on each other’s lives. Very relaxing and fun. 

This was the first event I’ve hosted since going gluten-free. I debated whether I wanted to serve all gluten-free foods, a mix of devil food and gluten-free, or what. My main worry was that people who weren’t gluten-free wouldn’t like the snacks, and I live to please--so I was feeling wary.

Since there were two other potential gluten-free friends coming, I decided to try to make everything gluten-free. I also wanted to make things relatively healthy, so this would be a real challenge!

To my delight, at the end of the night every plate was sparkling clean! Well, maybe one or two carrot sticks remained.   

Here’s a quick list of what I served, if you want to throw your own easy gluten-free snacks!

Plate 1: Fresh veggie plate: baby carrots, snap peas, and cherry tomatoes. This combo makes for an eye pleasing mix of colors, and they are super easy to eat and dip. The tomatoes were fresh from my garden, which always motivates people to try one!

Plate 2: Veggie Octopus. Green and yellow bell pepper, cut in slices, with a cherry tomato in the center. Cute, fun, and tasty!

Plate 3: Cracker plate. Two lines of Archer Farms Brown Rice Sesame Rice Crackers (note: they have a warning label that they are made in a factory that uses wheat), one line of Blue Diamond Almond Nut Thins, and one line of Blue Diamond Almond Nut Thins Cheddar Cheese.

(click the picture for the amazon link)

Plate 4: Annie’s Snickerdoodle Bunny Cookies. (for dipping in the Wildtree chocolate cheesecake dip—not pictured since it was in the fridge until the guests came!)

(click the picture for the amazon link)

Plate 5: Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

(click the picture for the amazon link)

Bowl 1: Tastefully Simple Garlic, Garlic dip. (used light mayo and light sour cream) Used for dipping both crackers and veggies.  Made in a facility that processes wheat.

(click the picture for the amazon link)

Bowl 2: Tastefully Simple Sweet Bell Pepper Mix. (used light mayo and light sour cream) Used for dipping both crackers and veggies.  Made in a facility that processes wheat.

Total prep time was 1 hour. Super fast and easy, and all the foods went over great. You certainly don’t have to use these products to serve gluten-free, these are just some suggestions and ideas. If you can’t find the dips, ranch dressing (just make sure its gluten-free) is also a easy and popular dipping sauce. 

And remember friends, almost all wines are gluten-free!

Served 8. 

 (my sister Michelle, left, Me, right)