Cucumber Inspiration

Our first harvest from the summer garden was a cucumber! Okay okay that may not sound very impressive, but we were excited. What to do with it?! We didn't want to cover up the flavor of this exciting cucumber too much, so we decided on a simple sunomono.

Simple Sunomono

Serves 2-3

1 cucumber, thinly sliced

3 Tbsp. rice vinegar

1 tsp. sesame seeds

Pour vinegar over cucumbers. Serve in small dishes topped with sesame seeds.

Many traditional recipes use sugar and salt or soy sauce. Feel free to try that if you like, but we enjoy the simple flavors of the vinegar and cucumber.

But what else should we have with this special sunomono?! We decided on cold soba noodles. There happened to be a delish sauce recipe on the package. And somewhere in between, Brent splurged on a lovely ahi steak.

Seared Ahi over Cold Soba Noodles
Serves 2

1 ahi steak (approx. 2/3 lb.), cut into two halves
olive oil
sesame seeds (1/2 white and 1/2 black is especially pretty!)

1 3 oz. package soba noodles
1.5 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. finely grated ginger
4 Tbsp. lime juice

Coat edges of ahi steaks with sesame seeds. Thinly coat a skillet with olive oil. Sear ahi over medium high heat for 45 seconds on each side. Carefully cut into 1/2 inch slices.

Cook soba noodles as directed. Rinse well and drain. Whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, ginger, and lime juice. Pour over noodles, reserving remainder for dipping.