Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad

One of my college roommates, Sarah, has been visiting from Alaska for the past several days. I miss her. She's fun. We went out with friends Saturday night and they kept me laughing past midnight. MIDNIGHT, I say. That's almost unheard of for a pregnant narcoleptic. (You can read about our exploits at Pocket Jacks. Note that I did not observe the seven-drink minimum.)

And last night it was nearly 11 before I hit the hay. On a school night, I might add.

So today, I'm dragging. I'm falling asleep while typing this. But Sarah is forgiven. T'was she who bought me my first-ever cookbook, because I kept talking about how I wanted to learn to cook. Even though it resulted in the then-boyfriend/now-hubby and I making excessive messes in the tiny apartment kitchen, which Sarah often had to clean up. She's good peeps, our Sarah.

Oh, and she also introduced me to the hubby. That popped into my head after the cookbook thing. Heh.

Anyway, we've been eating out so much lately that I really wanted to cook tonight, even though I was falling asleep on my feet. So I marinated some beef for kabobs, and then threw together some veggie lo mein and this refreshing salad. Which I snacked on throughout the meal prep while everything else was cooking.

I apologize for posting two Asian cucumber salads in the same month. I really like cucumbers. I apologize, but I ain't sorry.

Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad
Serves 4

1 cucumber, peeled and cut in chunks
1/2 red bell pepper, cut in chunks
1/4 c. rice wine vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
Toasted sesame seeds (optional)

1. Combine cucumber and pepper in a bowl.

2. Combine vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce. Pour over veggies and toss to coat.

3. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds before serving.

Note that the servings will be smaller if you eat most of the salad before the meal.

Kabob recipe to follow. Must ... sleep ...