Summertime Cool

Despite the title, I am not summertime cool. First of all, this is Texas. Our lows have been in the upper 80s. Second of all. . . . . . . . GAH!!!! I'm freakin' out here!! I have a mountain of homework to take care of, and I have a mountain of work. Add on the fact that my boss asked me to lead a presentation for some "very important people" that are gracing us with their presence this week at work. Don't get me wrong, I was pleasantly surprised that they asked, but still . . . .FUN FUN FUN!!!!! NOT STRESSFUL AT ALL!!!!! EEE!

Luckily I have this blog to calm me down.

Cucumbers have always been a favorite veggie of mine. And it always reminds me of summer since my mom always had a veggie garden in the summer. Surprisingly cucumbers grow really well when it's as hot as the surface of the sun.

So I decided to make a summer salad last weekend. I wanted to add some tomatoes to go with my cucumbers for a splash of color. It's always fun to make pretty food. :)

I based this salad from this recipe, with a few of my own changes.

What you need:
1 large cucumber
1 small container of grape tomatoes
sea salt
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
couple cloves of minced garlic
1/2 cup of olive oil

For the dressing, I mixed 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar and 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar with 1 tbsp dried basil and 1/2 tbsp oregano.

In another bowl, I mixed 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil with a couple cloves of minced garlic (I love garlic, so I kinda just scooped up whatever suited my fancy, so it's up to you how much you put in here). Let both bowls marinate for awhile (10 minutes minimum).

Just FYI, the dressing starts smelling super good. I was chopping onions for something else I was making (though you can add onions in this recipe if you want. I just didn't). Usually chopping onions causes me to cry like a baby, but in this case, I was completely fine. Thanks magical dressing!!