Asian Cucumber Salad

This light and fresh Asian cucumber salad is our new favorite healthy side dish, complete with a sweet and tangy vinegar dressing.

Earlier this year I was working on an Asian steak marinade and I was playing around with the idea of using black vinegar in it. The final recipe was tested when Cade’s mom came into town and it was a total hit. Without even realizing it though, I’d added black vinegar to the cucumbers instead of the steak marinade that morning. It turned out both dishes needed something a little different than what I was doing and it was awesome!

You can read below for a substitute as we still love cucumber salad with just straight up rice or apple cider vinegar. In fact, we often use both. 

Ingredients for Asian Cucumber Salad

It only takes 7 ingredients to make this simple but refreshing salad recipe. Here is what you will need:

• English Cucumber – I just to just slice them thin by hand, but feel free to remove the seeds if you want
• Red Onion – totally optional but I love the zip it adds, do a fine slice on a mandolin
• Rice Vinegar – mild, sweet and sour flavor
• Chinese Black Vinegar – a dark mild vinegar with a slightly fruity flavor
• Honey – adds sweetness and balances the saltiness and tang
• Sesame Seeds – give them a little toast to enhance the nutty flavor
• Fine Sea Salt – dissolves easily into the dressing and adds flavor

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The secret to this Better Italian Stuffed Peppers recipe isn’t anything crazy, so why does no one do it? I guess it took a hater of stuffed peppers to make the magic happen.

Motherhood with Joy

My friend recently had her little boy in the hospital with a bad case of pneumonia. Anytime a child, especially one that’s still a young toddler ends up in the hospital, my heart lurches into the reality of time and love. It seems only yesterday and somehow a million years ago that I was lying in a hospital fighting to survive along with an unborn baby doing the same thing, but at my own expense. I lack an awful lot in life, certainly when it comes to parenting, but times like these always remind me of one thing, and I hope it will make sense to say it, at least I’m here.

I may not make perfect decisions or respond to situations perfectly, but oh how I perfectly ache to be a good mother. To remember to love them and to strive a little more to extend that love to those outside of my home. As I honor the gift of motherhood I find myself wondering, what is the secret to motherhood with joy?

My friend’s son made it out of a much longer stay in the hospital than expected. She had so much on her plate and could have lost faith in tomorrow, in medicine, even in God, but she continued on, giving all she could muster each day for him.

I guess that’s it. All I can do it strive each day to begin again and remember that though tempted to lose faith in many things, myself, people and the world, God never loses faith in those things. Maybe I won’t end up with adult children that think I was the best mom, but maybe they will think I was trying to love them. Maybe that’s enough. Just to try to love.

Buttermilk Biscuits

The fluffiest, flakiest buttermilk biscuits recipe! They are perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner and easy to make, you will love them!

Are you still in search of the perfect buttermilk biscuits? These are one of the best so far. Serve them with honey butter and you’ve entered a dream world!

These biscuits are big, soft, and have just the perfect crumb to them. Biscuits are also far easier to make than rolls, but I hardly think to do it. Not to mention, I’ve made a few hard and dry biscuits in my time, so sometimes I worry they will turn out like that again. But never fear, we’ve practiced these over and over and they turn out perfect every time!

Ingredients Needed for Buttermilk Biscuits

You don’t need many ingredients to make these perfect biscuits. In fact, you might already have everything in house already. Fingers crossed…

• Flour
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Sugar
• Salt (Cold)
• Butter
• Buttermilk

Do you have everything? Maybe you’re missing buttermilk. That’s one of those things that I use often enough that I always have it on hand.

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card below.

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Your Neighbor’s Tomato Cucumber Salad

What is it about the combination of tomatoes, cucumber and onions that is so dang good?! Am I right? It’s like the summer salad trifecta! This is the best tomato cucumber salad recipe ever!

It seems like every year we head off to some BBQ and someone that claims to hate cooking shows up with the most perfectly delicious recipe out of the whole neighborhood. And 9/10 it seems to be a tomato cucumber salad. SO! I’ve changed our neighbor’s recipe slightly and am here to beg you to pin it, especially those who say that they can’t cook because you DEFINITELY can cook this!!

It is so light and refreshing and perfect to cool down on a hot summer day! The dressing is tangy and flavorful without weighing the salad down. There are few things worse than a salad that is drowning in dressing! And this salad is healthy!

Ingredients for Tomato Cucumber Salad

Made with all fresh ingredients, here is your shopping list for this salad recipe:

Salad

• Vine Cocktail Tomatoes
• English Cucumber
• Brown Sugar
• Red Onion
• Parsley (fresh)
• Cilantro (fresh)
• Salt
• Pepper

Dressing

• Olive Oil
• Red Wine Vinegar
• Lemon Juice
• Pepper
• Kosher Salt
• Garlic
• Brown Sugar
• Basil (fresh or dried)

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post. You can save or print the recipe there as well.

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