Gurkensalat (german cucumber salad)

This one is for my friend Jess, she asked me for it. It is my version of it, not an *official cookbook one*. Sorry it took so long Jess

The Goods:

1 large cucumber (I prefer seedless or english, but any will do)
1 small very finely diced onion (optional)
dressing

The Works

Peel the cucumber (if so desired, some you can eat with the peel), slice thinly and sprinkle with salt. Let stand for about 10 minutes then get rid of the liquid that collected. Add the onion of you opted for it and your dressing and mix well, let stand in fridge for about 30 for best taste, but it is perfectly fine to eat right away.

Sour creme dressing for salads

I use this dressing for all kinds of salads it works perfectly for really anything and it is creamy, but yet on the lighter side, you can easily substitute the sour creme with greek yogurt regular yogurt or if you want to go extra creamy, heavy creme.


The Goods


1/8 of a cup very cold water

3 tablespoons oil ( I prefer extra virgin olive or grape seed)

3 tablespoons vinegar (I prefer balsamic or apple cider)

salt, pepper, italian herbs to taste (usually 1/3 of a teaspoon of each does the trick)

1/4 of a teaspoon sugar

1/2 tablespoon mustard

1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons sour creme (depending how creamy you want it


The Works


Mix the water, vinegar, herbs, spices and sugar thoroughly, add the mustard and sour creme, mix toroughly again, then add the oil and do the same. Pour, into bowl of salad and mix up or if you add portionwise just drizzle to taste

Nudelsalat (pasta salad, a lighter version to the mayo heavy ones)

There are tons of pasta salad recipes  in every country almost it seems, here in the US one of the ingredients that is usually used is mayo, which makes the salad very heavy in my opinion. In Germany, very few dressings are mayo based and even pasta salad has a vinegrette, which makes it a lighter version in my book. Since pasta salad is a favorite for cook outs and bbq's I thought adding my version of pasta salad here would be a good idea.

The goods:

1 pound of pasta cooked per package directions and cooled
1 cucumber (sliced, peeling optional)
1-2 tomatoes, diced
1 or 2 bell peppers, diced (color of choice)
 4 ounce of hard cheese (cheddar, monteray jack, swiss, really up to you), diced
4 ounce of honey ham, diced
 1 small can of sweet corn

for the vinegrette:

1/4 cup of cold water
1/16 cup of apple cider, wine or balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon mustard
3 tablespoons sour creme or plain fat free yoghurt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons of mixed herbs (dried italian is an easy option)

You can also scratch the herbs and sugar and use a pack of italian dressing, mixing it as directed and adding the mustard and sour creme/ yoghurt if you are pressed for time or simply lazy hehe.

The work:

mix all together, chill and enjoy