The Best Cucumber Salad Recipe

We've been having a serious heatwave here for the past few days. It's pretty impossible to enjoy being outside when it's 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) but we've found a few ways to beat the heat. One of my favorites is this refreshing cucumber salad. It's simple, with just four ingredients, but it's like magic with the sweet cucumber crunch, pleasant variety of flavors, and just the right amount of zing!

Get the full recipe, as well as the perfect main course to have with it (which only requires a precious 8 minutes of turning on the stove), after the jump.

Obviously, you can get these ingredients anywhere, but I just happened to have all of these things from Trader Joe's. I really cannot express how much I love their Persian Cucumbers. They are small and crunchy and ever so sweet!

Start by peeling stripes into the cucumbers and trimming the ends. Then halve or quarter depending on the desired size. Add several tablespoons to a 1/4 cup of rice vinegar and one or two dashes of red pepper flakes to a bowl.

Chop your cucumbers and crush the peanuts. Then slide the cucumbers and peanuts into the bowl. If you pull the cucumbers across the space where you crushed the peanuts, you'll get all the yummy crushed bits and won't get peanuts stuck all over your hands.

Toss to combine and let sit while you make your main course.

We love having this salad with potstickers. They cook up so quickly and go really well with the salad. Not every potsticker package you find will give these instructions, but the best method I've discovered to make them is in a non-stick pan, add 1 tablespoon sunflower oil, 1/3 cup of water and the potstickers. Put a lid on it and cook over medium-high with the lid on until the water evaporates. Removed the lid and allow the potstickers to pan fry in the remaining oil. Toss to get all sides. Then eat! Yum. The perfect summer meal when it's too hot to even see straight.

My cousin has the clever trick of plugging in her crock pot outside on prohibitively hot days and avoiding the stove all together. What are your go-to summer meals?