Cucumber and Carrot Salad

On the somewhat hotter days of summer, I’m always craving something light and refreshing like the watermelon salad I made before. Today I simply paired cucumber and carrots for a nice refreshing summer salad appetizer.

By slicing them thinly you get the carrot nice and crisp mixed with the softer cucumber which has more of a hydrating quality to it. The vinegar, honey and dill worked out perfectly. I genuinely think you can have this as an appetizer with anything, but it will definitely pair nicely with the slow baked salmon I made a few months ago. Andrea always talks about planning out your dinner when you’re serving 3 course meal so that you have items that are easy and don’t cost much time to make to compensate for other dishes which might be more labor intensive. This falls into the category of easy and doesn’t take any time to make. You can make right before serving and it only takes 10 minutes.

I tend to use white wine vinegar a lot in salad recipes, but I simply like the acidity and fruity flavor it adds to the dishes. White wine vinegar is basically white wine that has been fermented, oxidized and diluted with water to create the vinegar. While with a classic Italian balsamic vinegar you know exactly which grapes where used to make it (either Trebbiano or Lambrusco), white wine vinegar can be made from blend of any white wine. Balsamic vinegar has a much stronger taste that has possibly taken years to cultivate and stands stronger on its own, while white wine vinegar is a better base to mix with in dressings and such. I find it interesting to share these differences because next time you are doing groceries or making something off the cuff you know and understand why certain choices were made and it aides you in your cooking skill.