Tonight, we ‘threw together’ a meal that, like always, left me in awe of my grandmother. Not because the meal was particularly complicated or unusual, but just seeing my nai nai in action is inspiring. She can barely walk a block without sitting down for a rest (she’s 90 – it’s cool), but get her in the kitchen, and she will take a cleaver to a bunch of cukes like nobody’s business. Lucky for us, that means we often get to enjoy her cucumber salad dish – particularly delightful on an indian summer day.

Note from mom: “This isn’t a salad. This is a cucumber dish!”

Ingredients

• 3-4 Persian cucumbers
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• Red peppers or red pepper flakes
• (Optional) 2 cloves garlic

Instructions

1. Cut cucumbers in half and quarter them into slices. OR, if you’re a badass B like my nai nai, take a whacking to it (see video evidence below)
2. Salt the cucumber and let it sweat for 10-15 minutes
3. Rinse salt off cucumber slices
4. Add vinegar, sugar, red peppers. Let marinade another 10 minutes before serving.

It’s that easy.