Cucumber Moons with Seaweed Salad
INGREDIENTS
1-2 large cucumbers
1/4 cup mixed fresh or 'replumped' dried seaweed.
1 tablespoon apple cider or rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon wheat-free Tamari soy sauce
1-2 teaspoons honey, to taste*
OPTIONAL: 1-3 dashes of hot pepper sauce, to taste
DIRECTIONS
Whisk together all ingredients except for cucumbers.
If using fresh seaweed, rinse well to remove excess salt used in packing (or sand if freshly collected). If using dried seaweed, soak in filtered water to re-plump (consult package for soaking time) and drain thoroughly. Cut with kitchen scissors into smaller pieces if too large.
If cucumber peels are thick and/or waxed, peel
with a vegetable peeler (thin-skinned cucumbers may be peeled or not,
depending on preference- alternating stripes of green and white are
attractive too). Cut cucumbers lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with
a spoon. Then cut cucumbers crosswise into "moons". Place cucumber
"moon" slices in the shallow dish with drained seaweed and dressing;
toss to coat thoroughly.
*half of the vinegar and all of the honey may be replaced with 2
tablespoons of mirin, a slightly sweet Japanese cooking wine.
