Summer has finally begun. Finals are over, and I have finally caught up on the month of sleep I missed. Since I am home, I can final start cooking again. Schoolwork and other responsibilities keep me from cooking during the school year, but tonight I made one of my favorite meals. Below are the recipes for my favorite summer meal.

Cucumber Salad

Cucumber salad is the easiest dish to make. I recommend making this dish first because it tastes better chilled, so you'll want to leave it in the fridge while everything else cooks.

Ingredients:

2 cucumbers
1 bundle of green onions
3/4 cup of vinegar
3/4 cup of olive oil
1 handful of dill.

To start, slice up the cucumbers and the green onions, and toss them into a bowl. It does not need to be a special bowl, but you should be able to mix stuff in it. Toss in a handful of dill into the bowl, too. If you can find fresh dill, use that. Sadly, I forgot to pick some up while I was at the farmer's market today, so I had to use dried dill instead. Next, mix up the vinegar and oil in a smaller bowl or a measuring cup. Use a fork to mix it up until it turns a white color. If it tastes too tart, a pinch of sugar will make it taste better.

Roasted Potatoes

The potatoes are relatively simple to make as well. You can cook them in the oven or out on the grill with the steaks. It really doesn't matter. The recipe below serves about four people. Just add more ingredients if you're cooking for more people.

Ingredients:

5-8 potatoes
1 large red onion (White onions work, too, but the red onions add a little bit of tang to the potatoes)
1 stick of butter
Cracked Sea Salt
Cracked Pepper
Hungarian Paprika (Regular paprika works too, but it's not as good).

Chop the potatoes and onions, and toss them in baking pan. Slice up the stick of butter next, and put the chunks all over the potatoes and onions. Then crack the salt and pepper over everything, and add a few dashes of paprika. Bake the potatoes at 450 degrees (Fahrenheit). Be sure to stir everything periodically while everything else is cooking.

Sauted mushrooms

The mushrooms go on top of your steak. If you don't like mushrooms, you can skip this section. If your grill has a burner off on the side, you can saute the mushrooms while you cook the steaks, but a regular stove works just as well.

Ingredients:

2 cartons of mushrooms
1 bundle of green onions
Enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a frying pan
Bacon (this is optional, but bacon makes everything better)

As with most recipes, start by chopping the onions. Coat the bottom of the frying pan with olive oil, and begin sauteing the onions on medium to low heat. Chop the mushrooms while the onions are cooking, and them to the pan with everything else. After the mushrooms begin to turn a golden brown, stir in the bacon. I used some leftover bacon from breakfast, so it took less time than raw bacon. I turned the stove down to low heat for a little bit, and then turned the stove off completely.

All of this goes well with steak, but there's really nothing to explain about that. The best way to cook the steak is to season both sides, and slap them on the grill. Just find a steak rub you like, and you're good to go.