Memorial Day Weekend Fun!

May 31, 2011

Now, in southern Alabama when it turns hot…it never. looks. back. It seems summer hit AL on Memorial Day weekend this year – with a fury! This past weekend was hot, hot, hot! Summer time always makes me think of a few key recipes…and this weekend’s memorial day cookout was a prime opportunity to break one of those bad boys out!

Summer months in the SE = Vidalia Onion season!! While so many delicious foods are in harvest in the summer (which I will all address in due time!) Sweet yellow onions – native to Vidalia, GA – are one of the first crops, and something I look forward to every year. Their sweetness cools the bite of the onion and lends a unique flavor to so many dishes, hot or cold. Seeing how it was average 95 degrees and humid this weekend…we will go with cold for now! This salad is something my mom threw together ‘by chance’ one summer when a neighbor of ours had an overabundant crop of cucumbers. Sweet, cool and fresh – it’s everything a summer salad should be. We tend to keep this in a plastic container in the fridge and add more ingredients as the bucket runs out – the vinegar and different layers of flavor play together to make it a different and more delicious batch every week! Enjoy 🙂

Summer Cucumber and Sweet Onion Salad

2 large cucumbers, roughly peeled and coined

1 medium Vidalia Onion

4 cloves fresh garlic

1 red bell pepper, julienned

1 yellow bell pepper, julienned (for these two peppers you can substitute the small multicolored sweet peppers avaliable in most stores – they are sweeter and crisper I find!)

1 handful fresh dill, chopped

1 handful fresh flatleaf parsley, chopped

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Rice Wine Vinegar

Salt and Pepper

Assemble all ingredients in a non-reactive container and toss with olive oil and vinegar to coat – you can adjust this to taste. I used a mandolin slicer for the cucumbers and onions – allowed me to regulate the slices and make the salad more uniform. Refrigerate and serve cold. Allow to sit together at least an hour before serving – even better overnight!

Stay Cool! pictures soon

Steeplechase recap!

May 23, 2011

So the day was dreary and cold, but the horses were running and the day was still fantastic!! I, unfortunately, had my camera in my pocket but ended the day with not a single photo of the delicious spread we put together….here are a few rain soaked snap shots from the day! ‘Til next year!