

WHAT YOU NEED:
Sliced cucumbers
Sliced tomatoes
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
WHAT TO DO:
It’s pretty self explanatory from the photos. Thinly slice the cucumbers and tomatoes, and then drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Grind salt and fresh black pepper to the seasoning of your preference.
For the Balsamic Strawberries:
WHAT YOU NEED:
Strawberries. Lots of them.
Balsamic vinegar
WHAT TO DO:
First: don’t hesitate. I know you are all thinking: what is this girl talking about? Who mixes vinegar with fruit?
Well, get over it, and trust me. Every single person I’ve made this for has given me a look of disgust until I force fed them these strawberries — and then they end up finishing the strawberries before I even get the chance to pair it with anything else. Needless to say, my friends do trust me in the kitchen, so I don’t actually force feed them… but sometimes I like to think that, just to feel like I had the power to change someone’s mind, dramatizing the event in my own head.
Balsamic vinegar and strawberries might actually be my favorite unexpected combination in the world. I grew up eating strawberries with whipped cream, or sugar. Until I met balsamic vinegar — which actually makes the strawberries taste unbelievably sweet. If anything in this world could make a bowl of red, ripe strawberries taste even more like strawberries, it’s balsamic vinegar.
So, get out your best paring knife. I prefer to slice the strawberries first across the top, to chop off the greens, and then vertically, so they form little triangles. Then, go crazy. But not too crazy. Drizzle your strawberries in balsamic. Toss. Eat. Alone, or with vanilla ice cream.