cucumber salad

When I first went vegan, I definitely had a hard time trying to figure out what I could and could not eat. Once I climbed over that hurdle time and time again, I soon met my next challange of finding meals I could make to take to bar-b-ques, pot lucks, etc. that would satisfy vegan, veggie and meat-eaters alike as well as keeping my checking and savings accounts in tact!

This easy raw cucumber salad is cheap, easy, quick and takes little prep time. This dish was inspired by my attempts to re-create a cucumber salad I enjoy at one of my favorite Thai restaraunts. A great thing about this salad is that you can customize it however you'd like and it is pretty hard to mess it up. If you like more cucumber, add it! Don't like peppers, replace them with some other crunchy cool raw veggie. You can also add more or less of the  vinegar, salt and garlic or other spices and flavors easily. Although you can always add more spice, you might be amazed the flavor the sushi vinegar adds to the veggies on its own after being chilled in the refrigerator for a little while. Also, we all know how good raw foods are for our health; this salad gives you plenty of that raw goodness with lots of taste. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 large cucumbers chopped
1/2 red pepper chopped
1/2 yellow, orange or green pepper chopped
1/2 small red onion chopped
1/3 c rice wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic finely chopped/crushed

Additional ingredient suggestions:
shredded/chopped jicama
chopped zuchinni
chopped squash
crushed nuts (peanuts, almonds, cashews, etc.)
chopped/slivered carrots
parsley
olive (sunflower,grapeseed, etc.) oil
liquid aminos

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and chill for 2-3 hours.