Boy, I have been a bit out of touch this week. Had some unforeseen stressors at home, but am clear-headed again and ready to greet the world. Hope everyone had a great 4th of July (for those of us in the U.S.) I spent the day with my family (source of stressor) and we went to see the fireworks. My son had a blast and thought it was the greatest thing in the whole world. We barbecued good ole American hotdogs (okay so mine were vegan, still American as far as I am concerned). Made my macaroni salad again. Why because I really and truly did love it. Nobody in the whole world could tell that it was vegan. I had a ton of cucumbers from my garden that I needed to use so I also made a cucumber and tomato salad that was easy, refreshing and delicious. The colors were vibrant and awesome. The basil for the salad also came from my garden. I also made a mint limeade (kind of like a mohito without the alcohol). At least I enjoyed creating recipes and spending time with my son.

Here are the recipes for the cucumber salad and the mint limeade:

Vegan cucumber salad:

3 medium cucumbers, chopped up
3 medium roma tomatoes, chopped up
12 leaves of fresh basil, chopped up
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
1/2 bottle Amy’s Tuscan Italian Dressing

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix to ensure that cucumbers and tomatoes are covered with dressing.

Mint limeade

1/2 lime
8 oz seltzer water
1 tbsp maple syrup
4-5 fresh mint leaves

Squeeze juice from 1/2 the lime into cup with ice. Add maple syrup and mix. Take a spoon and gently press on mint leaves to release oil and put into cup. Add seltzer water and serve.

Look for the next edition of The Vegan Place Ezine next week. Sorry it has taken so long, but like I stated things have been a bit crazy.

[tags] vegan vegetarian limeade cucumber salad recipes free blog blogs [/tags]