Quick and Tasty Cucumber Salad

One of the best things about summer is the wide variety of just picked fruits and veggies that are readily available. I like to think this nature's way of telling me to stay away from the oven, keep my kichen as cool as I can and just let the farmer's market (or my backyard) guide the way for good food on a hot day.

To help with this, I seek out my grill! One of my favorite hot day meals is some seasoned and grilled meat paired with a refreshing side dish that makes great use of the amazing produce all around and keeps my behind away from the oven!!

One of my favorite grill day sides would be this cool and creamy cucumber salad. The tasty mix of fresh, crispy cucumber, salt, pepper and mayonnaise is a welcome addition to any summer table and so easy to make. If you can chop, scoop and mix then you can make this salad!

So the next time it's too hot to think about food but you are starving, gather some people, fire up the grill, whip up this tasty cucumber salad and give it and some drinks a chill and let summer work it's magic on you and yours!

Cucumber salad

Makes: 4 side servings | Prep Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 large cucumber (about 2 cups)
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise, (we like Hellman's/Best brand in the Western states) more to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Peel cucumber skin and thinly chop into circle, then slice the cirlces in half so you have a half moon shape.
2. Place cucumber pieces into a bowl and seaon with salt and pepper.
3. Add the mayonnase and mix well to combine
4. Taste and adjust seasoning until it is to your liking. At this point if you seek a creamier salad, add a dab more mayo. Do it slowly so you don't add to much at once!
5. Chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes and enjoy!

Tips

• This cucumber salad has few ingredients so it's important that you stick to the recipe. Unfortunatly salad dressing (such as Miracle Whip) will not work for this. It will change the flavor quite a bit, but not in a good way. Any brand of mayonnase is fine, just be sure it's mayonnase. Summertime is a a great time to find deals on mayonnaise and it keeps for a good amount of time. We use it often in my house but if you are stumped for ways to use it all up, add some Sriracha to the mayonnaise and top a burger with it or dunk your fries in it. I promise, no leftovers!
• I highly recommend that this be made and eaten in the same day. Cucumbers are very watery and allowing it to sit for long periods of time will release more water and make the salad runny and will dilute the mayo flavor. If you do find you have leftovers, I recommend before you eat it again, try to drain the salad as much as possible and mix in a bit more mayo. Taste, season and repeat until it is to your desired consistancy and flavor.