Pickled Cucumber Salad

I love this salad: let me just get that out in the open right now. This is a salad that my sister Mica has made for several family get-togethers. Every time she makes it, I savor it and love every bite, then beg for the recipe...and then she promptly forgets to give it to me. I was finally able to get the recipe from her (because I needed to bring this to her birthday dinner!) and I am thrilled to be able to make it any time I want to now.

It's super simple (only 5 ingredients) and even quicker if you use a food processor to slice the cucumbers. This is a great way to use up extra cucumbers from your garden (and shallots and jalapenos if you grow those too--our jalapenos died but our shallots did great!). It tastes fresh and delicious, just perfect for enjoying during these last weeks of summer (can you tell I'm going through summer-is-ending denial? I keep posting all sorts of summery recipes because I want to hang on to summer just as long as I can). We served this with Thai chicken, rice, and Matt's Thai Chicken soup (how do we not have a picture of that? It is amazing)! I had the leftovers the next day with a BLT. Pretty much, it's good with just about anything, and makes for a very refreshing side dish!

Pickled Cucumber Salad

2 English (hot house) cucumbers, thinly sliced
2 Tb. salt
4 medium shallots, thinly sliced
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup + 2 Tb. granulated sugar

1. Toss sliced cucumber with salt (the salt draws the excess liquid out of the cucumber, this is important so that the salad is not waterery). Let stand for 30 minutes at room temperature, discard liquid, and pat cucumber dry with paper towels.
2. Toss together cucumbers, shallots, and jalapenos. Combine vinegar and sugar in small bowl and mix well. Pour over cucumber mixture and stir to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 24 hours. (I think this is best about 2 hours after it is made, that way the cucumber has time to soak up the vinegar but it doesn't get mushy).