Fabulous Food Friday

I'm a first time participant in Recipe Lion's Fabulous Food Friday blog hop!

As our garden has been in full swing, I've been experimenting with all kinds of veggie recipes - mostly tomato and cucumber (as that's what we have the most right now).

Hubby's fave to date has been a homemade salsa, which is so easy that I'm embarrassed to call it a recipe. The other is a cucumber salad, courtesy of my grandfather, that we all love.

First, the salsa...

Tomatoes, seeded and diced

onion to taste

1 jalapeno, seeded and diced (more, if you like more heat)

lime juice

salt & pepper

My husband does not like garlic, so I leave it out. Seed and dice as many tomatoes as you'd like.

Dice some onion (I use the green onions from our garden for a milder onion flavor)

Dice one jalapeno (if you have sensitive skin, PLEASE WEAR GLOVES. The juice from the ribs and skin WILL burn you. And it hurts. A lot.)

Squeeze the juice of one lime (I used True Lime in a pinch and it worked well too)

Add salt and pepper to taste.

You can also add herbs like cilantro for added flavor.

Stir, and refrigerate.

Fresh and delicious!

On to the cucumber salad:

This is a recipe that needs to marinate. So plan ahead if you choose to make this one.

Cucumbers

Vinegar

*Oil (the recipe calls for equal parts vinegar and oil, but I usually only use a Tbsp of oil at the most. Sometimes I leave it out altogether.)

Sugar

Salt & Pepper

Peel and slice cucumbers. Lay them in a colandar, and sprinkle with salt. This will help to draw the liquid out. (I usually do this step in the morning, and come back later in the day to check.)

After several hours, squeeze cucumbers, rinse (to get rid of the salt), and squeeze again.

In a bowl, put cucumbers, just enough vinegar to cover, oil (if using), sugar (I have used Splenda with success), and salt and pepper to taste. Stir; cover and refrigerate.

After several hours, or overnight, taste cucumbers. If you want them sweeter, add sugar and stir.