This 5-Minute Snack Is Perfect For Summer

If you want to try your hand at apartment gardening, start with mint. No, really. It’s like gardening for dummies. Having a mint plant right outside the kitchen window (okay, I actually have to stretch out the kitchen window and reach around to the other window in an awkward balancing act so as to not fall out of the fourth floor apartment and into the courtyard) has meant putting mint into absolutely everything. Eggs? Yes. Rhubarb? Yes. Yogurt? Yes. Chocolate? Of course.

So, I decided that mint would be fitting for one of my favorite summer recipes of all time: marinated cucumbers. Why marinated? Because the marinade takes less than three minutes to make, you let the sliced cucumbers sit for an hour, and then you have a delicious, vinegary item on hand for the rest of the week (if it lasts that long). No complicated pickling maneuvers required. Summer in a bowl, really. Serve on a salad, on a sandwich, or on their own. Click through for the recipe!

Ingredients
1 English cucumber, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons organic cane sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup water
Pinch of ground pepper and salt

Directions
In a bowl, combine water, sugar, vinegar, mint, salt, and pepper. Stir until sugar dissolves. Add cucumbers.

Cover and store in refrigerator (better yet, put in a glass jar with a lid). Eat.