let's talk about cucumber salad
I realize that we’ve had a shortage food posts over the last couple of weeks and I would like to blame that on a broken camera. I’m a really bad liar. Would you accept dance recitals as an excuse? Or soccer tournaments?
Here’s a quick and dirty of what we’ve been up to Chez Susie in the last week.
Boise. Twice. Let’s refresh. Boise is a two hour drive each way. Last week, I went twice.
On Monday, we went for an OT appointment. We talked extensively about tantrums, social skills, and emotional recognition. More on this subject later because I could really use a sounding board on this one. We also went to Build-A-Bear. I’m still recovering from this part of the trip. If your kids are Build-A-Bear unaware, do yourself a favor and take all paths possible to avoid their ever knowing anything about it. This may mean that you have to skip every mall in America as well as Downtown Disney. So far, I've only managed to keep my kids unaware of the fact that you can add sounds or smells (gross) to your bear. Just trust me on this one. Stay away.
On Saturday, we went back to Boise for a soccer tournament. Abby’s team was missing their goalie, so, of course, Abby volunteered. Direct kicks are fantastic to watch when your kid is kicking them but they are NOT fun to watch when your kid is in goal. I am happy to say that the weekend was a success. The girls played fantastic soccer, they won all four games, and Abby was only scored on twice. For the first time in my soccer mom career, I actually enjoyed watching my kid in goal. I might be willing to do it again next year.
In between those two trips to Boise? Lauren presented her big senior project, Théa performed in her spring showcase, Gus painted a horse, Sam had two lacrosse games (their team won the quarter final, but lost in the semis – heartbreaker), Gus and Théa had a school play, and Logan flew off to Spokane to try out for a AAA hockey team. Are you tired yet?
In between all of those things, I think we might have eaten. There was Chick-Fil-A. And there may have been pizza. But before there was pizza, there was seared ahi and cucumber salad with fried onion strings. I could eat that meal every single day.
Fried onion strings are a nice little lagniappe that occasionally show up on menus in restaurants, am I right? The unfortunate thing is that they are typically a garnish for a steak or something. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have to order a steak to get my hands on onion strings. And those fat Outback Steakhouse style onion rings (you know what I’m talking about – I know you’ve seen the commercials) are not a substitute for the thin, crispy bits of heaven that I want.
It turns out that onion strings are ridiculously easy to make at home. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner, but of course Ms. Ree Drummond (a.k.a. the Pioneer Woman) has a recipe for onion strings and of course there are step by step photos. Tiny girl crush going on right now.
It goes without saying that these onion strings are excellent atop a simple salad of sliced cucumbers and red bell peppers. I used Martha Stewart’s Rice Wine Vinaigrette as a dressing for my salad. Can someone tell me why vinegar is spelled with a “vine” and a “gar” but vinaigrette uses an “ai” instead of an “e”? Anyway, this vinaigrette is light and perfect for the cucumbers and fried onions. I’m not sure why it only received three stars on Martha’s website. I thought it was perfect for this dish.
One of the worst food photos I've posted on this blog. I don't want to talk about the styling or the light. I was hungry and wanted to eat. I'm posting this photo only to prove that I actually sat down to a meal rather than standing at my stove eating handfuls at a time of fried onion strings. I may have done both.
I’d love to tell you about the ahi that my husband made but I have no idea what recipe he used and admit that I was attempting to stay out of the kitchen. It was Mother’s Day after all.
But if you need another basic dressing recipe, might I recommend this basic vinaigrette from Ina Garten? I used cane vinegar instead of champagne vinegar because it was what I had on hand. Very good, very simple dressing that proves that there is no reason to have bottles of dressing in your refrigerator.